During the awards ceremony in the Marianas High School cafeteria on Monday in celebration of 32 years of the Public School System, Ada talked about the “situational awareness of stress and how our body is responding” to it.
He said the brain and body are flooded with millions of sensory information every day, and with an increase in anxiety and worry, a person’s stress response system is triggered, resulting in tense muscles, headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, among other manifestations of stress.
“If we do not…process how we’re experiencing these sensations and emotions, our immune systems can become compromised and we will find ourselves living day after day in a fight, flight, or freeze response,” Ada said.
“Unprocessed negative emotions can be expressed in our bodies, and we can feel a knot in our stomach or a lump in our throat, or we may become choked up and teary. We may feel hot and sweaty, or experience a pounding in our ears or heads,” he added.
Here, he said, are some simple ways to stay calm:
Talk to yourself.
Take a deep breath.
Control what you can control.
Hum or sing.
“When we find our inner balance and feel grounded, we’re able to share this with our students and colleagues,” Ada said.
Emotions, negative or positive, are contagious, he said, “and when we prioritize the health of our nervous system, we can share that health and well-being with all those around us.”
“Like I always tell my principals and key management team,” he added, “yesterday ended last night. Today is ours. Tomorrow is unknown. Let’s enjoy today and act as if this day is our last.”
