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Webinar helps educators and staff de-stress By Steve Metsch A webinar for teachers, support staff and administrators in the Allegheny County School Health Insurance Consortium was intended to help them cope with stress and anxiety during the pandemic. The online event in November was hosted by Highmark’s Director of Behavioral Health Demetrios Marousis and Alicia Kaplan, an associate professor of psychiatry at Drexel University and a psychiatrist for the Allegheny Health Network. “Stress and anxiety, it’s not something we talk about often,” Marousis says. Uncertainty is prevalent because teachers are not familiar with teaching online, he says. “As teachers, you were trained to teach, and part of that training puts you in class- rooms in a multisensory experience, and that is now not available,” Marousis says. “Teachers fulfill many community roles. It’s not just the education of children. Some- times it’s a safe place for children, a respite of tumultuous family life.” Teachers miss the interacting in the same roomwith students. So do students. Marousis notes that students learn in different ways, and getting through to students virtually is another challenge that contributes to stress. “You have the impact that COVID has on our entire lives, our entire community, our family, our connectivity to everyone around us,” he says. “That’s important to recognize that we are in such extraordinary times.” “We’ve all been effected by the stress,” Kaplan says. “This is a collective experience that was abrupt on all of us.” Continued uncertainty can create an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Anxiety and stress can hit people in different ways. “Not one of us is exactly alike, so by understanding some of the symptoms of stress and anxiety, we can not only help ourselves but help those around us,” Kaplan says. Some signs and symptoms of anxiety may include feeling nervous, irritable or on edge; having a sense of impending panic, danger or doom; an increased heart rate; breathing rapidly, sweating or trembling; feeling weak or tired; difficulty concentrating; having trouble sleeping; and experiencing gastrointestinal problems. “We tend to overestimate the probability of something bad happening in the future,” Kaplan said. “And we also tend to underestimate our ability to cope.” The first step in the right direction is recognizing stress and talking about it, Marousis says. “The other piece is we have to go beyond ‘Hey, how’s your day?” he says. “Leadership has to have a plan. Some of that is mutual recognition. Some of it is ‘I hear you and we’re going to work on it’.” “The things we avoid tend to build upmore anxiety,” Kaplan adds. “If I haven’t been to my place of work in a while, it’s only normal that I’ll start having feelings of anxiety going back in. Avoidance can create anxiety.” Amore relaxed body, she says, can help achieve relaxation in the mind, and, hopefully, lessen the strain of stress and anxiety. Given the ever-changing news about COVID-19, it’s smart for people to try for a good sleep pattern, good diet and regular exercise. “Relaxation techniques can be very helpful,” she says, suggesting breathing with abdominal muscles and progressive muscle relaxation. “When someone comes to see me, I want to make sure none of the symptoms are related to another medical condition,” she says. Kaplan strongly suggests not overloading on news about the virus. She says it’s okay to watch the news, but advises limiting viewing to perhaps 15 minutes each day. “There are plenty of ways to help ourselves at home,” Kaplan says. “It’s important to be kind to each other and to also know there’s help available.” Virtual chill pill

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