4 minute read
Social Work
“…there’s NO QUESTION OF HEROISM in all this. It’s a matter of common decency. That’s an idea which may make some people smile, but the only means of fighting a plague is -
Richard Alston Department Head, Social Work
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Camus’s prescient quote from his novel The Plague captured how a community in Algeria joined together in the face of an unimaginable existential threat to life. For Camus, common decency was a virtue whereby ordinary people organized despite great risk to preserve and protect each other from the ravages of the plague. Faced with our own modern day “plague,” The Parkside School, through the heroic effort of staff, parents and children, wove together threads of decency that held us together during a tumultuous period.
The ongoing threat from COVID-19 continues to challenge our physical safety and our mental health. As a social work department, our mandate for the foreseeable future is to closely monitor our sense of safety and connection with each other. Our vigilance and willingness to listen and support staff act as protective measures against debilitating chronic stress. After sixteen months of living with the virus, what have we learned and how can we use this knowledge to guide us toward a brighter future?
We began in-person learning in September on the 19th anniversary of September 11th. For those of us that were at Parkside on September 11, 2001 there were eerie similarities and notable differences. Both events confronted us with traumatic stress, danger and uncertainty. The WTC attack was a “one time” event. COVID-19 is ongoing. In this particular trauma, we were the first responders when it came to children’s educational, social and emotional needs. We were driven by the same sense of calling and urgency that led rescue workers to search for survivors at the World Trade Center site. The sense of urgency to respond however made it difficult at times to take care of ourselves. The chronic collective fear and danger we all experienced put us in danger of burnout or vicarious traumatization (traumatized by caring for traumatized people).
COVID-19 blurred the psychological boundaries and experiences between children, parents and staff. We were never more separate and together at the same time. We shared many of the same fears, needs for safety, comfort, connection and desires for a “roadmap” for how to safely navigate physically and emotionally through each day. We learned (or were reminded) that every person and family had different circumstances and needs. Each needed to find their own path of what worked for them and their child(ren) to get through the school and work day. We learned the importance of acknowledging and accepting feelings not as facts, but as information which one could choose to respond to or
Albert Camus
“The Plague”, 1947
not. We learned that being “ok with not being ok” is healthy. We learned the importance of reaching out to others when we were feeling lost or lonely. We learned that a useful approach to reduce stress was to accept that we are doing the best we can. Acceptance means focusing on the things you need in the moment, knowing what you can control and letting go of things you cannot control. We also learned about the importance of taking breaks throughout the day to prevent the accumulation of stress.
People that study mindfulness and affect regulation say that taking short breaks at regular intervals throughout the day, as little as 60-90 seconds, can keep stress from becoming unmanageable. The challenge is to bring attention to your body (where we first feel stress) before it overpowers us. The experts suggest naming the stress (e.g. “worry brain” for kids). Then, take a little time to engage in a self-care activity that promotes kindness toward oneself. Bringing awareness to stress disrupts the stress cycle by bringing it into conscious awareness (stress is part of the autonomic nervous system and out of our awareness). Activities that attenuate the stress cycle could include texting or calling someone you trust, walking around the block, looking at a video that makes you smile or laugh, doing something mindless (yes, that can be mindful!). Alicia Lieberman, a psychologist who works with traumatized children and parents often recites a quote from the Talmud during her 60-90 second break: “You are not expected to complete the work, but neither are you permitted to abandon it.” I do not think any of us should expect perfection especially while experiencing ongoing major or chronic stress. We need to give ourselves permission to take breaks that offer respite from stress. It will make us better teachers, therapists and parents. Children will learn to recognize and reduce their stress by following our examples.
Finally, if you have ever visited the 9/11 memorial and museum you will notice as you walk through the memorial there are many well marked exit signs. The curators of the museum recognized the memorial could be traumatizing for visitors if they stayed immersed in the intense experience for too long without the option to easily leave. The exits open to quiet, reflective and peaceful spaces that allow for repose. We learned this year that we need to find our own “exit doors” in our daily work and home lives. When we recognize signs in our bodies that we are stressed, we need to take time to breathe, put our feet back on the ground and be with people we love.
