Cortisol

A herd of gazelle graze in the savannah. Heads down, eating as they do every day. One is alerted to the rustling of the grass ahead of them. She stops eating and listens. Her senses are on alert to detect danger ahead. Seeing her, others in the herd also go to alert. Evolution has taught the herd to pay attention when any other member senses possible danger as a survival mechanism. Is it the wind, or a lion stalking them? As one gazelle sees the lion inch forward, it bolts in the opposite direction, and instantly the others in the herd flee to safety as well. None of this is learned behavior. There is no discussion or debate on the potential presence of the lion. It is simply biology at work. It is thousands of years of adaptation that have led the gazelle to safety. But it’s not just the gazelle that responds this way, we do it too. 

This has been a stressful year for teachers and we are entering an even more stressful end as we attempt to wrestle with double the student population in our school on top of large numbers of students that do not share the same urgency for effort that we do. On top of that, we are all tired and many of us bring other stressors from outside of school into our hallways. When our bodies are stressed, we release a chemical called cortisol. Cortisol is the chemical opposite of serotonin, the chemical that makes us feel happy. Cortisol can be good if you’re gazelle sensing a lion. It tells your body to go on alert. It’s the “fight or flight” chemical. In some situations, it can keep you alive. But the prolonged release of cortisol has very negative effects on humans and just like the herd of gazelle on the savannah, we respond to others and their stress as a biological mechanism for survival. 

Perhaps the most damaging effect of cortisol on teachers, is how it inhibits you from doing your job. The release of cortisol makes your body focus on trying to remove the stress that it is under and this shuts off the part of your brain that is capable of empathy for others. It tells your brain to save itself and not to worry about anyone else. And if you are a teacher, that means you can’t teach. You can’t care for others. All you can do is wait for someone to jump so that you can jump too. 

In these last six weeks of what has been a very stressful year, I beg you to find a way to release your stress so that you can keep that cortisol from running rampant through your body. Not only will your own body appreciate it, but others around you won’t face a biological need to respond to your stress. Managing your stress allows you to be a good colleague and an even better teacher. So go exercise, read a book, enjoy your family time, eat well and get your sleep. The rest of our herd needs you that way.