Episode 94: Pause to Ponder - Subconscious Stress

Welcome to the Counter Narrative Podcast, a show designed to change the way we talk, and think, about education. By sharing stories of successes and triumphs, we aim to challenge the dominant narrative that often negatively portrays our disenfranchised populations.

I’m your host, Charles Williams. An urban educator for more than 15 years, a current school principal in Chicago, an educational consultant, an equity advocate, and the co-host of Inside The Principal’s Office.

Let’s get started.

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This episode is a pause to ponder segment. These biweekly sessions will allow me to share with you my personal thoughts and reflections on a wide spectrum of topics as they relate to education. It is my hope that you will be able to take something from these segments and apply it in a meaningful way as you continue to do amazing work. Remember, while we all have different roles, we all have a single job, educating our students.

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We all know that stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and thus we often do as much as we can to avoid and/or treat it. But what happens when those stressors are not immediately known to us? What happens when they are lurking within our subconscious and yet still negatively impacting our physiological and mental systems? 

This was a thought that came to me while considering the misunderstood physical ailments of my wife and reflecting on the current events. Something clicked. What if all the chaos happening around us, combined with the notion that we must operate normally, is causing us to suppress our reactions to these various external stimuli? After doing some research, I realized that this is a documented yet not well-researched issue. 

Maybe, just maybe, much of the stress and burnout that we are experiencing doesn't all stem from the source we originally imagined. It is very possible that our subconscious is filtering those experiences through stress thus impacting our perceptions. 

Listen as I share my thoughts on this, how its impacting me, and my suggestions for moving forward. 

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