COVID-19 has created worry, anxiety, and a sense of being out of control. These feelings are real and understandable in the unique times we are living in! Coping with our emotional state constructively and adjusting to the rapid changes is essential to our mental and social health.
As disorienting you may have found it being off campus, the prospect of reopening your charter school is probably causing concern as well. How will the change in routine and physical distancing affect learning? What will happen with class size and time management? While dealing with your own emotions, you will also be supporting your students with their fears and feelings.
To avoid becoming overwhelmed, we suggest you remember the acronym CALM:
Control – focus on the things that you do have control over
Awareness – be alert to your own emotions and the factors that affect them
Limit – keep your exposure to media limited and your expectations for yourself reasonable
Manage – maintain your activity schedule and acknowledge emotions before they reach a peak
"Recognize how stress affects you to resist negative emotional responses."
