Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/paralyzed-by-personal-stress-a-directors-story/5009911/
As directors of child care centers, we have a very demanding job. Our days and evenings are filled with dealing with teachers, parents, and children. We are expected to fulfill the responsibilities of purchasing, administration, counseling, planning, budgeting, billing, and a myriad of other jobs. Most of us can use the pressure to accomplish our objective. The tension gives us strength which we can turn into a positive force. But when a director meets problems in his or her personal life, the adversity is often overwhelming and result in a breakdown of the systems that we rely on to cope with the daily pressures of our jobs. This collapse is stress.Stress is an external event that taxes the physiological system and produces a non-functional response. Stress acts on the body's autonomic nervous system and affects each person differently. Stress is a physical reaction to a situation. Just as for other people, directors' lives are disrupted by divorce, financial problems, personal and family illness, and death of a loved one. No one can predict when this will occur, but a readiness plan can help avoid the pitfalls. I did not have ...