Methods of mental health maintenance in teachers experiencing emotional stress

Introduction. Modern society associates its progress with education development. In the conditions of a rapidly changing world and growing requirements to education quality, it is of great importance that school teachers react flexibly to all innovations, stay fit, and maintain the feeling of well-being. However, it is established that the teachers’ environment is characterized by high professional risks, namely psychological risks. Such risks can be frequent and sometimes serious for teachers. Tough social and technological tendencies affect teachers’ working conditions.

This study deals with the diversity of factors destroying the teachers’ mental health. 384 teachers from the Chelyabinsk region (Russia) were surveyed in 2017. The results obtained allowed us to reveal tendencies, which were regarded as the most negative for a teachers’ mental health by respondents.

• 1.    Digital devices and different media games that compete with a teacher.

• 2.    Family violence, video games, and violent movies.

• 3.    Academic failure compensated by violence.

• 4.    Social and ethnic groups provoking the clash of cultures.

• 5.    Parents’ requirements (high or low) to education quality.

• 6.    Officialism in the system of educational establishments.

Therefore, the psychological status of a teacher is seriously affected, and teachers experience emotional stress. Their negative feelings can affect the academic process negatively.

These circumstances highlight the urgent need for an optimal problem-solving search. Systemic work with schools is required when it comes to psychological support for teachers. The authors strive for searching effective solutions, aimed at decreasing the risk of mental health worsening in teachers.

In modern science, mental health is considered as a feeling of well-being characterized by the absence of negative psychological phenomena and adequate behavior regulation in compliance with the conditions of reality [12].

In recent years many articles have been published on different aspects of mental health. Its characteristics, structure, and factors connected with health improvement and health maintenance have been described. There are many opinions on this problem.

The statistical analysis of the frequency of “psychological health” word combination occurrence within Web of Science showed that from 2001 to 2006, the increase of publications on this issue was 200%. Comparing these data with the data obtained for 2006–2018 years we can see that the further increase was 300%.

The majority of publications was issued in the USA. At the same time, there are only 35 papers of Russian scientists in Web of Science, which proves that this issue remains understudied in Russia compared to other countries. Therefore, this article is also aimed at improving Russian authority in this field of study.

Scientists from India demonstrate successful approaches to the diagnostics and improvement of mental health. They affirm that teachers’ mental health is connected with optimal professional performance [19, 22, 23].

Apart from these approaches to teachers’ mental health, there are other opinions. For example, Y. Zhang admits that a teacher should know his or her mental and psychological resources for maintaining mental health. One of the methods of self-improvement is working on personal character and searching for good mood during a day [21].

The article of Liu Xun is of particular interest in terms of the range of the psychological problems studied. The author analyses the methods for mental health maintenance in female teachers. At the same time, the author did not work with male teachers [20].

M. Brien, C. Hass, and A. Savoie describe mental health as a certain mediator between professional tasks and the main psychological needs of a person. The authors consider competence, autonomy, and relatedness [15] as the main psychological needs.

Among European scientists, Jean-Baptiste Clérico is distinguished by a quite interesting approach to mental health maintenance. He focuses on the advantages of the social surrounding for mental health maintenance. According to Jean-Baptiste Clérico training for empathy development for the persons of the same age can contribute to mental health maintenance [17].

Russian scientists offer different methods for mental health maintenance in teachers, including pedagogical affirmations to innovative activity at school [9, 10]; personal support, open-mindedness, hobbies [11]; psychological follow up of professional development [4]; valeological, psychological, and pedagogical education [8]; special techniques for changing self-attitude [6]; attraction of acmeological resources for the qualitative transformation of personal characteristics and functions [13, 14]; the individualized character of such work, which requires a subjective position of a teacher, the development of his/her psychological and pedagogical expertise by means of psychological and preventive group training [1–3].

After carefully studying scientific works on the topic, the authors concluded the complicated nature of mental health and its complex character. A further study of mental harmonization requires taking into account the following provisions: social and psychological attitudes to pedagogy and the system of values; providing assistance to teachers in improving their psychological and pedagogical expertise; conducting group training sessions aimed at activation of teachers’ internal resources to cope with stress and emotional imbalance. The analysis of literature demonstrated their significance and made actual the current study.

Aim. The article deals with justifying theoretically and describing the authors’ methods of mental health maintenance in teachers experiencing emotional stress.

Materials and methods. The quality of professional performance depends on the psychological and physical status of a teacher. Therefore, the theory of psychosomatics and a humanistic approach have been chosen as a methodological basis of the study.

According to the theory of psychosomatics [7, 16], negative emotions suppressed by a person can result in somatic manifestations and various diseases. A scientific basis for studies in this field was developed by S. Freud, who created the conversion model. F. Alexander is considered one of the founders of psychosomatic medicine. He writes about vegetative neurosis as a result of constant emotional stress. If there is no constructive solution to such stress, functional symptoms lead to irreversible changes in the body, and psy-chosomatosis appears.

According to Malkina-Pykh, internal conflicts, neurotic reactions, and psychoreactive states determine the character of the organic changes in the body. A teacher’s ability to cope with negative phenomena allows preserving both psychological and somatic health.

The idea of this article is also based on a C. Rogers’ humanistic approach [18]. According to the scientist, the main personal reserves are in the man himself and his personal characteristics. C. Rogers says about the importance of creating the conditions for unlocking one’s reserves. This approach will serve as a base for the development of teacher’s resources aimed at maintaining his/her mental health. Based on this approach, the authors strive for creating a constructive self-concept of a teacher, his or her belief in personal abilities, and positive self-perception. Being a practitioner, C. Rogers used so-called encounter groups. The atmosphere and support of such a group improve personal problem-solving. Through the lenses of other participants, one sees his or her abilities objectively and forms an adequate self-concept. Such work can be called as a path to oneself through others. The group discussion of professional difficulties allows finding new resources for self-development and mental health maintenance.

Based on the abovementioned considerations, the methods for mental health maintenance in teachers experiencing stress have been proposed. These methods imply three main directions connected with life satisfaction analysis, energy recovery methods, and the management of emotions.

The first direction is connected with forming a reflexive position in teachers with respect to their life. Many teachers perceive negatively their professional activities and other life conditions (social, routine, etc.). However, discussing personal circumstances, it becomes obvious that the picture, in general, is quite favorable. This is connected with teachers’ negative attitudes towards different life and work-related phenomena. There- fore, teachers should reflect on different aspects of their life with the help of various psychological techniques.

The most optimal technique is the life balance wheel (P.J. Meyer). This technique requires creating a wheel divided into segments (family, work, health, hobbies, self-development, etc.). Teachers have to estimate each of these segments according to a 10-point scale where 1 stands for dissatisfaction and 10 stand for total satisfaction. Then, teachers are proposed to reflect on how to live their life with such a wheel. After that, teachers are asked to think of several steps for improving their life in certain spheres. The focus should be made on real measures. It is also advisable to use various graphical visualizations (mind map, timeline, scribing, clustering) for lifeanalysis.

The second direction for mental health maintenance in teachers is various methods for energy recovery (respiratory, motor, mental). Respiratory methods allow to bring oxygen to the body and improve brain activity. The brain regulates the activity of the whole body, and its proper feeding improves all brain functions. Moreover, respiratory exercises allow a teacher to relax. At the same time, it is advisable to visualize pleasant colors or nature. It is possible to overcome stress with respiration. For example, one can exhale anxiety, fears, stress, and other negative feelings. Inhaling, a teacher can imagine that the body is filled with calm, strength, confidence, and ease.

Motor methods are also of great importance for overcoming stress. Teachers can be recommended to use kinesiological exercises, which allow coping with fatigue, tonify, and overcome sleepiness. These exercises also improve cognitive functions (attention, memory) and concentration. Motor techniques can include both stress and relaxation exercises. They can be performed standing, sitting, lying, or in any comfortable position. It is recommended to make teachers familiar with the techniques of self-massage or acupressure.

Mental methods consist of a shift in teacher’s perception from negative to positive phenomena. It makes sense to remind teachers that they control a great number of events in their lives. This improves adaptation in teachers instead of resistance. A teacher can control certain events in his or her life or even change them (relationships at work, in family, with friends). It is important to focus teachers’ attention on a proactive stance, using an optimistic approach to life.

The third direction of the technology proposed is oriented towards different strategies of the management of emotions in groups. Group work (such as C. Rogers encounter groups) provides teachers with the opportunity to discuss their professional problems. Discussing problems results in their rethinking and is considered as the effective tool for problem solving.

At the same time, in a group of teachers, there are quite enthusiastic people. They provide support to their colleagues and propose constructive solutions. When the group creates a feeling of solidarity, there is an atmosphere of security and confidence. Then, teachers start discussing their personal issues. Their attention should be pointed to the fact that accumulated offenses, fears, and increased anxiety gradually destroy the body while positive emotions such as a feeling of joy, happiness, love, and gratitude possess an opposite effect. Therefore, the principles of mental health maintenance are connected with positive thinking and the ability to recover effectively. The mental health maintenance principles proposed for teachers are quite universal and can be used by the majority of people. They also possess certain advantages as these principles can be implemented individually, are not time and energy consuming and available both at home and at work.

Results. The proposed methods of mental health maintenance in teachers experiencing stress were implemented for a year. The teachers of the Chelyabinsk Region (Russia) participated in the study. Mental health diagnostics was conducted with the help of Nemchin’s method for the assessment of nervous and psychological stress [5]. The statistical significance of nervous and psychological stress allowed estimating mental health level. The authors believe that the objective assessment of mental health requires taking into account psychosomatic indicators. Due to the peculiarities of the experiment, the Wilcoxon signed rank test was chosen. Measurements were conducted in the same group of participants before and after acquiring the method of mental health maintenance in teachers. This group consisted of 50 persons selected from 384 participants of the survey (teachers from the same school located in the Chelyabinsk Region).

At the beginning of the experiment, extensive nervous and psychological stress was registered in 28 persons (56% of the sample). Only 9 persons were characterized by slight nervous and psychological stress. In 2018, the methods of mental health maintenance described in the ar- ticle were implemented in practice. The indicators of nervous and psychological stress after acquiring these methods decreased significantly compared to the indicators registered before the experiment. The number of teachers with slight stress increased by 32%, with moderate stress – by 14% (Table 1).

Table 1

Nervous and psychological stress in teachers from the experimental group at the summative and control stages of the experiment

Group (50 persons)	Nervous and psychological stress
	Slight	Moderate (intense)	Excessive
	The number of teachers (%) at the summative stage
Experimental group	9 (18%)	13 (26 %)	28 (56%)
	The number of teachers (%) at the control stage
	25 (50 %) 1	22 (44 %)	3 (6 %)

The second diagnostics revealed statistically significant differences in the distribution of the Wilcoxon signed rank test (Table 2).

The empirical T-value is within the significance range of Т emp < Т cr (0.01). The H 1 hypothesis is proved stating that the indicators of nervous and psychological stress decrease after the implementation of the technology proposed. Statistics prove the benefits of the implementation of the mental health maintenance technology in teachers.

Conclusion. The survey conducted among Russian teachers demonstrated respondents’ difficulties connected with mental health maintenance. Therefore, the authors studied international databases, as well as the best practices of Russian and foreign experience. Little attention is paid to the trends of the methods proposed for mental health maintenance in teachers. The authors suggest paying attention to psychosomatics (S. Freud, I. Malkina-Pykh) and non-directive psychotherapy (C. Rogers).

The authors propose original methods for mental health maintenance in teachers: selfanalysis of a current life situation, energy recovery, and self-regulation of emotions in group interaction.

These methods were implemented in one of the schools of the Chelyabinsk region, as they have a certain novelty and possess practical significance. The proposed approach expands the theoretical ideas about solutions to the problem of mental health maintenance in teachers experiencing emotional stress.

Table 2

Before measurement, tbefore	After measurement, tafter	Difference (t before –t after )	Absolute difference	Difference rank number
78	52	–26	26	35
67	56	–11	11	17.5
67	54	–13	13	20.5
78	33	–45	45	45
50	44	–6	6	9
90	43	–47	47	47
87	56	–31	31	37
46	31	–15	15	23.5
79	67	–12	12	19
77	71	–6	6	9
55	33	–22	22	29
76	66	–10	10	15.5
79	63	–16	16	26
65	50	–15	15	23.5
78	71	–7	7	11
50	54	4	4	5
72	31	–41	41	42
81	56	–25	25	33
75	55	–20	20	27
39	45	6	6	9
58	50	–8	8	13
89	52	–37	37	39.5
90	56	–34	34	38
58	50	–8	8	13
49	48	–1	1	1.5
73	51	–22	22	29
89	41	–48	48	48
50	42	–8	8	13
62	61	–1	1	1.5
77	72	–5	5	7
76	51	–25	25	33
82	45	–37	37	39.5
67	56	–11	11	17.5
89	67	–22	22	29
78	51	–27	27	36
77	32	–45	45	45
63	50	–13	13	20.5
85	32	–53	53	49.5
76	31	–45	45	45
65	50	–15	15	23.5
54	52	–2	2	3
88	35	–53	53	49.5
76	34	–42	42	43
65	40	–25	25	33
50	54	4	4	5
74	50	–24	24	31
50	50	–4	4	5
89	51	–38	38	41
43	33	–10	10	15.5
66	51	–15	15	23.5
Total				1275

Effect of the mental health maintenance technology in teachers

(based on the data obtained at the summative and control stages of the experiment)

Further work will be aimed at acquiring the methods for mental health maintenance in teachers experiencing emotional stress. According to the authors, the following strategies will be helpful in this respect: a special program of a modular training course for mental health maintenance in teachers; classes in active and interactive forms; initiation and creation of permanent psychological health centers; positive practices aimed at mental health maintenance.