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Recently, the SIPsquad has been feeling like we\u2019re in \u201ccrisis mode,\u201d and we know others feel the same. Faculty, staff and students seem stressed out in general and anxious about the future. Pressures at work, increased urgency around deadlines and the fielding of multiple requests from superiors are creating a burdensome atmosphere at work. Global climate change, political chaos, mass violence and other big-picture concerns weigh on all of us. Families and homes feel more like onerous responsibilities than joyful, life-affirming sources of strength. How can we confront these pressures in order to work and live well?<\/p>\n
The SIPsquad contacted Emily Goldberg, LCSW, middle-school counselor at Stanley British Primary School and Gail Bruce-Sanford, Ph.D., director of the MSU Denver Counseling Center, to ask about the perceptions and realities of crisis mode. Based on our own experiences of working in crisis mode, we threw in our own two cents to round out the conversation.<\/p>\n
Goldberg:\u00a0<\/strong>The stress of a perceived crisis throws our bodies into \u201cfight-flight-freeze\u201d mode. Excess amounts of adrenaline are released into our system, and the stress hormone cortisol is activated. Early humans experienced this response only sporadically \u2013 but when it happens to us every single day, it takes its toll. Our bodies were not built for this.<\/p>\n The Harvard Medical School\u2019s\u00a0Harvard Health Publishing blog<\/a>\u00a0said this regarding the recurrence of reaction to stress: \u201cOver time, repeated activation of the stress response takes a toll on the body. Research suggests that chronic stress contributes to high blood pressure, promotes the formation of artery-clogging deposits and causes brain changes that may contribute to anxiety, depression and addiction. More preliminary research suggests that chronic stress may also contribute to obesity, both through direct mechanisms (causing people to eat more) or indirectly (decreasing sleep and exercise).\u201d<\/p>\n Bruce-Sanford:\u00a0<\/strong>Metro faculty are so dedicated, but they are often underpaid, living in an overly expensive city and often sharing their students\u2019 burdens while trying to manage their own. In particular, the management of this vicarious trauma can produce chronic pain, chronic fatigue, migraines, stomach issues and other physical symptoms that we should be watching for.<\/p>\n SIPsquad:<\/strong>\u00a0When I\u2019m in crisis mode, I\u00a0panic!<\/em>\u00a0I feel like everything is urgent and I\u2019m unable to prioritize. I feel like I\u2019m on a hamster wheel that won\u2019t stop. I am constantly moving but not getting anywhere, and nothing actually gets done. It makes me tired, but ironically it makes it hard for me to actually sleep. I\u2019m sure that people around me can sense this stress.<\/p>\n I know I\u2019m in crisis mode when I abandon my planner because I\u2019m simply working on the next thing due and when I start losing stuff and missing meetings.<\/p>\n I know I am in crisis mode when I stop caring. I stop caring about the quality of my work; I stop caring about my students. I am just going through the motions of getting things done, just to get them done and off my list, and I don’t care how I do it.<\/p>\n Bruce-Sanford:<\/strong>\u00a0More demands and expectations are placed on us today, and they arrive more quickly due to email communication. We are bombarded with instant requests and instant expectations. The nature of our work creates increased complexities in our roles \u2013 we are attending to many things simultaneously (although the ability to multitask well is questionable for anyone).<\/p>\n Goldberg:<\/strong>\u00a0Student issues are increasingly complex now too. Three decades ago, a university student was just a student and that was their main role. For married students, their spouses took care of all the house stuff, and the students could participate fully in school. But now, attention is divided and people have conflicting interests that make focusing on school difficult.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t point to one simple reason why the pace of life is now heightened, but we know for sure that technology bears some blame. On the one hand, technology is often a distraction that diminishes our productivity. But on the other, technology helps to create a dialogue that suggests, \u201cI\u2019m so great because I work 65 hours per week and I\u2019m always available and connected, and this has resulted in a big car and a huge house, so I\u2019m doing it right.\u201d Furthermore, technology has also inspired a curated FOMO (fear of missing out) \u2013 constant notifications around news and our friends\u2019 \u201camazing\u201d lives make us feel like we need to \u201ckeep up,\u201d and this is a stressor.<\/p>\n Bruce-Sanford:<\/strong>\u00a0If you know someone who appears to be in crisis mode, you might gently say to them, \u201cYour mood seems a bit different, you have been a bit snappy, and maybe you don\u2019t realize it, and I\u2019m concerned about you. Are you doing OK?\u201d<\/p>\n SIPsquad:<\/strong>\u00a0I think instead of piling on about how stressed out we are, we might remind them to practice self-care, which might, in turn, motivate us to do it.<\/p>\n Goldberg:<\/strong>\u00a0Self-care is a huge step toward prevention. When the community writ large engages in self-care, then everyone does better and the students are better. Here are a couple of ideas:<\/p>\n Goldberg:<\/strong>\u00a0Parents need to model for kids; faculty need to model for students. It doesn\u2019t matter if you are at the \u201ctop of the food chain\u201d \u2013 you have the power to model the behavior that will create positive change.<\/p>\n SIPsquad:<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t do the academic-martyr thing (bragging about long hours, lack of sleep, etc.). Support others who cut back or say no instead of making them feel bad. Stop apologizing for practicing self-care or taking a few days to answer a nonurgent email because that implies that there is something wrong with doing these things.<\/p>\n Check out these invaluable on-campus resources:<\/p>\n Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? Recently, the SIPsquad has been feeling like we\u2019re in \u201ccrisis mode,\u201d and we know others feel the same. Faculty, staff and students seem stressed out in general and anxious about the future. Pressures at work, increased urgency around deadlines and the fielding of multiple requests from superiors are creating … <\/p>\nQ: Why are things so ramped up these days? It seems like we didn\u2019t live in constant crisis mode in the past.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Q: When we see friends or colleagues in crisis mode, how can we help?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Q: What proactive steps can we take to build avoidance of crisis mode into our syllabi?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Q: What self-care steps can we take to ensure that crisis mode doesn\u2019t get the best of us if the crisis mode itself is pretty unavoidable?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Q: What can we do to contribute to culture change around crisis mode, even if we don\u2019t supervise other faculty or staff?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Still thirsty? Take another SIP of this: dealing with crisis mode<\/em><\/h3>\n
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