to figure out how to best handle the situation (Rominger). Along with these suggestions for dealing with students in a different way to reduce stress, there are other suggestions available for teachers to attempt to reduce the amount of stress that they deal with on a day to day level, such as realizing that you have a choice regarding how you react to the stress that exists (Bozzone).

A Healthy Lifestyle One of the best ways to deal with the negative stress within day to day activities is to have an overall healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle sometimes requires behavior change, or eliminating the unhealthy behaviors and replacing them with behaviors that will contribute positively to our overall level of wellness (Powers, 291). A healthy lifestyle includes a reduction of bad habits and an increase of good habits. Healthy eating, exercise and sleeping well are all elements of life that will not only make a person healthier, but will also help in reducing stress levels and dealing with stress once those levels get too high (Powers). One major step towards a healthier lifestyle begins when one decides to modify unhealthy behavior. A healthy lifestyle sometimes requires behavior change, or eliminating unhealthy behaviors and replacing them with behaviors that will contribute positively to our overall level of wellness (Powers). A major element in being able to change any behavior is the desire and decision to make changes. Changing sleeping patterns, eating habits and exercise routines requires devotion and commitment. Without a genuine desire to make lifestyle changes, the best behavior modification plan is doomed to fail (Powers).

Conclusion There is no denying that stressors surround teachers on a day to day, class to class, and student to student basis. Certain stressors can help teachers their different tasks better, such as deadlines for returning student work or preparing lessons, but when stress levels become too high, teachers often become overstressed. The most difficult task for a teacher trying to manage their stress is their ability to recognize their stress level is high and to acknowledge that their responses to the stressors in their lives can often lead to an increase in the stress level. For some teachers, it is difficult to see the negative implications that this high stress level has on life itself, which often carries many health consequences. Teachers also often struggle to recognize that the stress in their lives tend to have negative implications within their classrooms and with their students. Once it is acknowledged that the stress level is too high, one can work take steps and suggestions to help deal with the different surrounding stressors and lowering the overall stress level from day to day. Finally, a major step towards managing stress and decreasing the health effects that stress may have on both the body and the mind begins with an overall healthy lifestyle. For many people, a healthy lifestyle can be reached only through specific behavior modifications. Modifying behavior is not a task goal that is easily reached, but requires much devotion, commitment and the decision that this goal must be reached.
References

Bozzone, M. A. (n.d.). A teacher's stress survival guide - includes related articles | Instructor | Find Articles at BNET. Retrieved July 11, 2009, from http://findarticles.com/p/arti cles/mi_m0STR/is_n5_v104/ai_16 564666/

Powers, S., Dodd, S., & Noland, V. (2006). Total Fitness and Wellness. San Fransisco: Pearson Education.

Rominger, L., Laughrea, S. P., & Elkin, N. (2001). Your first year as a high school teacher. Roseville: Prima.

Learn more about this author, Marius Linstead.
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