New shoes

'Change is always difficult, even change for the better' - Phil Vogel

I can't tell you how many times I quote this to my students and remind myself of it in personal circumstances, but it is so true.

The year group I work with are year 10. Many of them are finding the 'step up' to y10 difficult. This is all because there are many changes happening at once.

Starting GCSE courses, new teachers, new mixes of students, more homework than previously, new subjects they have never done before. And that's just for starters. On top of this heady mix which nigh on fills the metaphorical 'stress bucket' already, they also have family issues, friendship issues and of course, a generous pre-fill of their stress bucket with that murky mix of almost 2 years of Covid and it's effects on mental health.

This Summer many of us heaved a sigh of relief and managed to relax more than we have in the past couple of years. For some of us that will have been quite emotional - tears of relief at finally managing to enjoy a holiday and not wear a mask in shops, etc.

And then comes the Autumn. The constant wearing of open toed shoes changes to fuller shoes. And we sometimes get blisters due to the change.

The analogy I have used with students is of new shoes. When we first buy them, if we bought the right size and they felt ok in the shop, we know and trust they are going to be good in the long term, but the change is hard to get used to at first. We have invested, so feel we must persist. The shoes may feel stiff and uncomfortable. We get blisters and aches. We may even regret our purchase. But we decide to stick with it. As we work through the 'struggle zone' (a current 'buzzword' in Teaching and Learning in schools in the past couple of years), we eventually find the shoes get softer, they fit better, they mould to us and they eventually become the most comfortable shoes we have ever owned. We forget the struggles, because further down the line we make a good match and go everywhere together. We even comment to others how comfortable they are.

And so it is with change and the effect on our mental health. If we stick with it, work through the 'struggle zone', eventually our patience results in resilience, waves of stress calm to still waters and we feel more comfortable. If we have a number of changes at once, it seems more difficult. But hang on in there - persist. Accept the struggle, because it won't always be that way. It's ok not to be ok and to say so. Talk it through with others until things start to feel more comfortable. Ask for help, tell others you are finding it tough. Ask people to bear with you. This too shall pass - and in time things will get easier.

Take care and remember - we can learn to manage our mental health