Abstract

The present study was conducted to draw out the causes of stress, anxiety and depression among the teachers as these issues are now very common in government school teachers. The main motivation behind the study was to evaluate the current practice and Strategies used by a teacher to cope with these issues, to cure the impact of school management on mental health and to know coping strategies. A questionnaire was developed to investigate the general perception of teachers About the causes of stress, anxiety and depression in school and coping strategies to overcome these issues in Punjab. The questionnaire was based on sources of stress, anxiety and depression and coping strategies subdivided into sections i.e. emotional coping strategies and problem-solving coping strategies keeping in view of all domains of anxiety, depression and stress. The study was focused on exploring what are school sources cause stress, how school management cause stress and what are coping strategies a teacher can use to increase mental peacefulness. The present research study was conducted in 9 division Punjab schools involving 100 teachers from the education department as participants. This research study was quantitative in nature.  Questionnaires were developed and approved by experts in the field of special education. The participant’ responses were analyzed to infer conclusions. The results of the study support our claims school management is the main reason for creating anxiety, stress and depression while improving mental health and bringing emotional stability emotional and problem-solving strategies are beneficial for them. The research suggests that building good mental health of the teachers must be aware of these strategies so, they can achieve good social and academics outs in a better way.

Key Words

Coping Strategies, Depression, Anxiety, stress

Introduction

The construct of dealing with stress is preferable because it provides for natural psychosocial adaptation versatility. In the same way, as stress is caused by a person's relationship (or transaction) with their surroundings, the handling of issues and the resulting negative effect is influenced by a variety of influences. Adaptation can necessitate changes in both the atmosphere and the person. Coping's power lies in its adaptability, in its ability to react to both situational and personal needs. People can learn new skills, whether, in self-management or environmental management, that will enable them to overcome difficult problems using adaptive strategies (Aldwin, 2007).

Depression and anxiety, both socially and personally encountered, are part of the standard human stress response arsenal. Anxiety and depression are complex mental states that include cognitive assessments as well as affective and physiological responses. There is little question that several neural structures in the brain are involved in the pathophysiology of these closely associated diseases, given the sophistication of these feelings, which can be represented in many scientific languages at various stages of study (Kasper, den, & A., 2003). Anxiety issues can naturally lead to depression (Delfos, 2004).

Depression, anxiety and stress are very common among teachers. The purpose of this study is to explore how school management is causing depression, stress and anxiety among teachers in Pakistan and how to cope with these issues. Which strategies they are using and how much they are affected. Following were the objectives of the study; 1) to find the sources of stress, depression and anxiety for the teachers in the school, 2) to find out coping strategies of anxiety, stress and depression used by a teacher, 3) to explore the teacher perception about the coping strategies for stress, anxiety and depression and 4) to find out the effect of demographic such as gender, locality, teacher education on the effectiveness of strategies for stress, anxiety and depression.

Following were the research question of the study; 1) what are the sources that cause stress, depression and anxiety to teachers in the school? 2) what type of coping strategies for anxiety, stress and depression were used by a teacher? 3) what is the teacher's perception of the coping strategies for stress, anxiety and depression? and 4) does the demographic such as gender, locality, teacher education put an impact on the effectiveness of strategies for stress, anxiety and depression?

Stress is a normal psychological and biological reaction to the demands that other persons, activities, illnesses, or even one's own self impose on them. People will reflect on and respond (either mentally or physically) to a condition while they are stressed. When you're stressed, the body produces more stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These molecules aid the body's response to stress in the short term by increasing concentration and memory, diverting blood supply to vital organs, and stimulating the immune system. As stress becomes permanent, however, the constant increases in these molecules tend to affect the body, placing it at risk for cardiovascular disease, infection resistance, ulcers, depression, and even brain cell failure. Stress researchers are interested in identifying not just the causes that place people at risk for having stress-related health conditions, but also how to avoid or reverse these issues (Olive, 2007).

Anxiety may be triggered by a strong yet sometimes latent need to alter aspects of our lives. Under these situations, this need can be followed by unspoken desires and emotions that give us distress as they emerge. This process may trigger free-floating or generalized fear, or it may be the product of a variety of behavioral and cognitive behaviors that sustain elevated physiological arousals, such as running about, failing to relax, or consuming a lot of coffee, as well as unrealistic perfectionist expectations, incorrect event perception, or pessimistic unconscious thinking. However, we can experience anxiety in response to specific circumstances or events. There are three key aspects in which anxiety becomes correlated with particular objects or circumstances, apart from certain situations where anxiety is a reaction to a real danger to our survival (Simmons & Daw, 1997).

The first thing to realize about depression is that it is not an illness, a penalty for wrongdoing, or a symptom of madness. It's an adventure. It's how we perceive, feel, and respond in response to the environment. All go through periods of feeling down, miserable, hollow, flat, pessimistic, helpless, and so forth. At some point in our lives, we all feel this way; what distinguishes depression is the extent to which we struggle (Simmons & Daw, 1997).

1. Grief is less severe than depression.

2. Depression persists for a longer period of time.

3. Depression affects how we go through our everyday lives.




Depression is accompanied by a slew of symptoms. The following are the most common: 1) a sense of emptiness and/or numbness, 2) getting out of bed too early in the morning, 3) a lack of inspiration and resources, 4) anorexia nervosa, 5) sulking, self-pity, a lack of trust and self-esteem, 6) inability to concentrate, 7) a sense of isolation from others, 8) a sense of hopelessness and defeat about oneself, the world, and the future, and 9) having the impression that whatever we do can make a difference.

Furthermore, depression is often a passive illness. It seems to happen out of nowhere. It appears out of nowhere and with no apparent reason. This is distinct from mourning, remorse, or depression, and maybe a healthy and appropriate reaction to a traumatic life event. Grief, for example, does not transform into sadness until the time of grief lasts particularly deep and lengthy.

The concept of stress is significant in many dimensions. First, as the casual perusal of any supermarket, newspaper or tv news show can demonstrate, tension is intrinsically fascinating. Second, stress plays an important role in psychosocial adaptation models. As we will see, a transactional perspective encompasses several of today's mental disease models. Third, tension is important to biomedical adaptation models, and it has changed our perceptions of fitness, how to maintain healthy health, and how to cure disease (Aldwin, 2007).

The repeated use of these logic errors characterizes the cognitions of persons with internalizing behavioral disorders (Delfos, 2004).

1. All-or-nothing mentality – categorizing the traits into total, all-or-nothing categories: 'I can't seem to get it right.'

2. Labelling – associating yourself with your flaws or characteristics: ‘I am such a sickening person to be capable of such a thing.'

3. Exaggeration – interpreting a single bad incident as a pattern of failures: ‘I still do that!'

4. Mental filtering – the ability to transform neutral or positive experiences into negative ones in order to keep yourself occupied with them: ‘She smiled at me in a sweet way, but she was actually just feeling sorry for me.'

5. Mind-reading – believing other people's pessimistic feelings for yourself

6. Internalizing Conduct Disorder (ICD) Treatment The year is 2197. Emotional reasoning is where you base your decisions on how you feel. For example, ‘I feel inferior, so I am inferior' or ‘I feel ridiculous, so I am ridiculous.'

7. Criticizing yourself or others with orders, responsibilities, challenges, or other strict expectations is referred to as thinking ‘should.' Words like "want" and "should" help this way of thinking: "I should be a little better."

8. Self-reproach – blaming yourself entirely over something for which you are not, or are not primarily, responsible: ‘If only I hadn't picked a battle, the accident would not have occurred.'

Sources of Stress, Depression and Anxiety

According to recent reports, teaching is becoming one of the most stressful professions (Engelbrecht, Oswald, Swart & Eloff, 2003). Workload and other causes of burden induced mild tension for research participants, according to a Malaysian study by Ghani, Ahmad and Ibrahim (2014). There were no major differences in work-related stress among teachers based on gender, marital status, or highest academic qualification, according to the findings. Furthermore, the study found no substantial link between teacher stress and demographic factors such as age, length of teaching experience, or the monthly salary of respondents. Excessive teacher workload, higher pressure to finish within a limited time, large numbers of learners within the classroom, and an increasing number of students with behavioral problems among them, according to previous studies in several countries, are more specifically related to the causes of stress illness (Kunkulol, Karia, Patel & David, 2013). Work overload, lack of perceived success, frequency of direct contact with children, staff-child ratio, program structure, and responsibility for others are all factors that contribute to burnout in teachers, according to a study (Johnson, 1990).

Teaching is not a simple or straightforward profession; it is one of the most difficult. Sitting is a difficult occupation due to its difficulty. Although job-related stress is a concern in all professions, studies in recent years have shown that teaching is one of the occupations that are prone to high-stress levels (Engelbrecht, et al., 2003). High-stress levels for special education teachers who teach special needs students in mainstream classroom settings are commonplace (Engelbrecht, et al., 2003). According to the results of a study conducted by Platsidou (2010), special education teachers' burnout and poor work satisfaction, which may occur at some point during their careers, are likely to be avoidable while they are grappling with stress. Furthermore, the introduction of an inclusive school curriculum has not yet been completed (Engelbrecht, et al., 2003). The results of this analysis indicate that integrating a significant number of students with developmental disabilities into classrooms creates increased difficulties and stress for general/mainstream education teachers. Since they are expected to change the evaluation based on the specific special needs of each pupil, those teachers would have elevated workloads. Teachers frequently must re-explain a concept using various teaching strategies in order for students of various abilities to comprehend it. Teachers must revisit each student's Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) each term and evaluate it based on their previous behavioral and academic performance. These stressors may also be understood in the case of special education teachers, who are often under time pressures. When listening to special needs students and using the government-mandated program, both special needs and general/mainstream teachers are under a great deal of tension (Gyimah, Sugden & Pearson, 2008).




Coping Strategies

Coping is the process of dealing with challenges or issues in a relaxed and appropriate way (www.dictionary.com, 2010). The effect of stress on a teacher's psychological well-being and physiological reaction is influenced by how they deal with stress in the classroom (Griffith, Steptoe, & Cropley, 1999). Coping habits or tools can take the form of physical, psychological, social, or material influences, and they can assist teachers in overcoming job-related stressors and achieving their desired student results (Blasé, 1982).

Exercise, social resources, avoidance, reading, hobbies, movement, and meditation are all common stress-relieving techniques used by teachers (Gulwadi, 2006). Teachers' coping mechanisms influence their perspective on the situation, changing their stress experience (Griffith, Steptoe, & Cropley, 1999). Teachers may use internal or external coping mechanisms to change their stress perceptions. Finding stillness and concentration are inward techniques that involve focusing on something narrow in the area of stimulus surrounding oneself. Connections, distractions, and movement are all part of outward techniques like exercise (Gulwadi, 2006). Despite the fact that there are many coping mechanisms available, most teachers focus on social reinforcement, active preparation, restorative environments, and the avoidance of conflicting behaviors.

Teachers' well-being, career satisfaction, and risk of physical illness will all benefit from social support. Teachers seek guidance, share emotions, gain social encouragement, receive sympathy and empathy, and speak about their feelings from families, acquaintances, and colleagues. Teachers who have more support in their personal life are less likely to be stressed at work (Griffith, Steptoe, & Cropley, 1999). Although active preparation is a natural part of the job, it helps teachers to de-stress and concentrate on their jobs. Active preparation entails focusing efforts, forming a schedule, taking action, devising plans, attempting to take actions, and doing what is necessary to hold their mind on the students rather than the stressor (Griffith, Steptoe, & Cropley, 1999).

Teachers who are able to relieve tension in ways other than the school setting are said to have restorative coping experiences. Teachers choose locations that represent characteristics that are beneficial in mitigating the impact of the cause of stress. Home, nature-related outdoor spaces, city places, temples, and cafes are among the most common places for teachers to feel happier while they are tired. These settings are beneficial in reducing stress because they have sensory conditions, social interaction, props, and natural environmental elements that can assist teachers in reducing stress (Gulwadi, 2006).

Teachers can continue to use environmental coping tools in addition to restorative experiences. Teachers' awareness of potential environmental hazards can be a very useful coping tool. The capacity to understand a person's future surrounding atmosphere may be used as a resource. Environmental integrity refers to their ability to alter certain environments in order to accomplish personal goals. Time, income, relational connections, interpersonal capital, and physical environmental resources such as places that teachers access and use for their spatial and sensory properties are the most common environmental resources that are readily accessible to teachers (Gulwadi, 2006).

Negative coping mechanisms are used by certain individuals to cope with tension, either deliberately or unconsciously. Stress and feelings of overwhelm are important triggers for negative coping mechanisms. These tactics may offer immediate stress relief, but in the long term, they may create more stress (Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Centre of British Columbia, 2010). Unhealthy behaviors, distractions, aggression, and avoidance are examples of negative coping mechanisms. To cope with tension, people engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, consuming alcohol, overeating or undereating, and drug addiction. To stop facing challenges, people turn to distractions such as tv, computers, and loading up schedules. When a situation gets too overwhelming, aggression such as violent outbursts, lashing out, and physical violence are common. People tend to relieve tension from their lives by resting, procrastinating, withdrawing from families, acquaintances, and hobbies, and disengaging (Helpguide, 2010).

Teachers who are disengaged have given up on the ambitions that the stressor is messing with. Teachers who are disengaged use detrimental coping strategies such as not trying, participating in other hobbies, daydreaming, relaxing, watching tv, and reducing their classroom efforts. Disengagement may be implemented quickly and without the assistance of others, but it is just a temporary remedy. Disengagement will lead to overworked teachers, noisy classrooms, and feelings of poor self-esteem and helplessness in the long run (Griffith, Steptoe, & Cropley, 1999). Teachers who suppress conflicting behaviors do so by setting aside the other interests of their life so that they can focus exclusively on their job. In order to eliminate overlapping behaviors, teachers prefer to avoid distractions, focus more on job assignments, avoid outside interferences, and concentrate more on their thoughts on work. Teachers experience higher stress levels as a result of reducing the demands of other facets of life and relying only on work. This prohibits them from finding time to rest (Griffith, Steptoe, & Cropley, 1999).

Techniques for dealing with depression and anxiety include stress control. Stress reduction can also help to avoid the onset of depressive symptoms. Below are a few useful stress control tools that primary school teachers should use in the classroom to cope with depression, anxiety, and stress. The following are several ways that teachers can use in reducing tension (Renner, 2018):

• Putting yourself under less pressure to perform at work or school, such as by lowering the standards to a level you also find acceptable 

• Not taking on as many responsibilities at work or activities at school 

• Sharing responsibilities or delegating tasks to other teachers around you




Stress-relieving activities such as yoga, meditation, and worship services may also be beneficial. Combining these strategies may be much more successful. It's important to figure out what fits best for you. And, whichever path you choose, having close friends and co-workers who are able to help you is critical (Renner, 2018).

Talking to a counsellor, psychiatrist, or another mental health provider about stress and depression may also be beneficial. Both depression and persistent stress may be treated with talk therapy alone or in combination with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or medicine.

Stress Management

Individuals experience stress when they consider a mismatch between the physical or psychological demands of a situation and the services available to them by their biological, psychological, or social structures (Sarafino, 2012). There are several methods for dealing with tension. The efficacy of these techniques varies depending on the type of stressor, the person, and the circumstances. Consider how your peers cope with stressors such as tests. You'll see a variety of common coping strategies. Some people will walk about or express their anxiety, and others will rewrite or bug their teachers for answers. According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984), there are two forms of coping responses: emotional and problem-focused.




Coping with Emotions

Emotion-focused coping is a form of stress

control that aims to minimize stress-related negative emotional responses. Individuals use a variety of coping techniques to minimize or eliminate negative feelings such as shame, terror, anxiety, sadness, enthusiasm, and anger. Where the root of stress is beyond a person's reach, emotion-focused techniques can be the only viable alternative. Since it works on the arousal induced by stress rather than the issue, drug therapy may be thought of as emotion-based coping. Such strategies for dealing with emotions include (Mcleod, 2015):




• Distraction, such as making yourself distracted divert your attention away from the problem.

• Emotional transparency. This entails voicing intense feelings by speaking or writing about the negative experiences that triggered them (Pennebaker, 1995) This is a crucial aspect of psychotherapy.

• I'm praying for wisdom and courage.

• Mindfulness meditation, for example.

• Increasing the amount of food consumed, such as snack food.

• Taking alcoholic beverages.

• Used illegal substances.

• Journaling, such as keeping a thanks journal (Cheng, Tsui, & Lam, 2015).

• Reappraisal of the mind. This is a type of cognitive shift that entails reinterpreting an emotionally eliciting situation in a way that alters the emotional effects (Lazarus & Alfert, 1964).

• Negative feelings or impulses are suppressed (stopped/inhibited). Long-term suppression of emotions compromises immune competence and results in impaired physical fitness (Petrie, K. J., Booth, R. J., & Pennebaker, 1988).




Problem-Solving Adapting

Problem-focused coping focuses on the sources of stress in realistic terms, addressing the problem or difficult condition that is generating stress and thereby reducing stress directly. Problem-solving is one of the problem-focused techniques that aim to 

• Eliminate or reduce the source of tension.

• Time management is an important skill.

• Obtaining important social assistance.

Research Methodology

The research design for this study is the survey method. It is a Quantitative study by its nature. A questionnaire will be used to find out the facts and figures. This research study is about teacher perception about using the strategies for coping with stress, anxiety and depression, All the teachers working in govt schools of southern Punjab either in general education or in special education are part of our population. The sample was drawn on the base of simple random sampling. The data from 100 teachers teaching in Government schools (General & Special Education) was collected through google form because of the closure of schools due to COVID-19. A self-made questionnaire was used to collect data on google form because of the closure of the school due to COVID-19 privilege in Punjab. Data was collected online through Google docs and then analysed on SPSS. Statistical tools such as mean, median, mode, ANOVA, t-test and frequency distribution were used to analyse the data.

Results

Table 1. Sample Description on the base of Demographics

S. No	Respondents	Frequency (f)	Percentage (%)
Gender
1	Male	59	59
2	Female	41	41
	Total	100	100
Designation
1	Gazetted	33	33
2	Non-Gazetted	67	67
	Total	100	100
Area
1	Rural	53	53
2	Urban	47	47
	Total	100	100
Experience
1	1-5 Years	45	45
2	6-10 Years	24	24
3	11-15 Years	11	11
4	More	20	20
	Total	100	100
Division
1	Lahore Division	6	6
2	Multan Division	18	18
3	Rawalpindi Division	4	4
4	Sargodha Division	4	4
5	Bahawalpur Division	12	12
6	Dera Ghazi Khan Division	32	32
7	Faisalabad Division	11	11
8	Gujranwala Division	5	5
9	Sahiwal Division	8	8
	Total	100	100

 




The table illustrates the description of demographic variables outcomes. Frequency analysis of the data suggests that in the gender column both male and female participants have almost equally parts for this study as 59 %male and 41% female teachers respond overall. Almost there was a quite sure reaction from all the special education teachers working in Special Education Department Punjab. The result illustrates that there are almost respondents were 100 after basic data omission and cleaning. while talking about the designation of teachers only 33 teachers were on the gazetted scale of our population and 67% of teachers were non-gazetted because mostly the primary school teachers fall in this category.

Then again, in the experience section, there are 45 teachers who are in 1-5 years of working experience which constitute 45% of our population. Almost 24% of the teachers were in rank two having 6-10 years working. Only 11% of our population has 11-15-year experience and 20% of the total population has more than 15 years of working experience. This is because of newly appointments done in the department of education.

When we discuss the locality of our population more than of the population belongs to rural areas which constitute almost 53% of our population while 47% are from urban areas. When we stratified our population division wise there were 9 divisions were selected and When we describe the deviation of the respondent with respect to their locality in these divisions the disbursement of our population shows 32 participants were from the Dera Ghazi Khan division which constitutes the largest number of responses, then from Multan division 18% teachers from the total population. The rest of the division has less than 15% of the respondents. A minimal number of respondents were from Rawalpindi and Sargodha divisions.




 

Table 2.

S. No	Statements of Questions	Agree f (%)	Not Sure f (%)	Disagree f (%)	M	SD
1	Bad behavior of school principal cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	95(95)	3(3)	2(2)	1.08	.37
2	Dealing with parents cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	63(63)	10(10)	27(27)	1.47	.67
3	Demands on after school time activities cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	84(84)	4(4)	12(12)	1.20	.49
4	Students’ rude behaviors cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	86(86)	4(4)	10(10)	1.18	.48
5	Inability to meet the professional goals cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	86(86)	10(10)	4(4)	1.24	.62
6	Too much work or responsibilities cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	88(88)	7(7)	5(5)	1.19	.54
7	Large number of students in class cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	82(82)	11(11)	7(7)	1.29	.66
8	Lack of discipline in the school or class cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	87(87)	9(9)	4(4)	1.22	.60
9	Lack of appreciation cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	87(87)	5(5)	8(8)	1.18	.50
10	Evaluation by the supervisor cause Stress, Depression and anxiety	65(65)	7(7)	28(28)	1.42	.62
Part-2: (a) Emotion Focused Coping strategies
1	Distraction, e.g., keeping yourself busy to take your mind off the issue is a helpful coping strategy used by teachers	84(84)	9(9)	7(7)	1.25	.61
2	Expressing strong emotions by talking or writing about negative events (Emotional disclosure) which precipitated those emotions is an important part of psychotherapy	84(84)	11(11)	5(5)	1.27	.65
3	Suppressing (stopping/inhibition of) negative thoughts or emotions is helpful coping strategy	80(80)	10(10)	10(10)	1.30	.64
4	Praying for guidance and strength is supportive coping strategy	84(84)	12(12)	4(4)	1.28	.67
5	Meditation, e.g., mindfulness can help to cope with stress, aggression and anxiety	86(86)	9(9)	5(5)	1.23	.60
6	Social reinforcement is a powerful strategy to reduce stress, depression and anxiety	87(87)	8(8)	5(5)	1.21	.57
7	Avoiding conflicting behaviors is also one of the best techniques to reduce tension	94(94)	3(3)	3(3)	1.09	.38
8	Keep yourself busy in reading the books is helpful to reduce stress / tension.	93(93)	5(5)	2(2)	1.12	.46
9	Movement from the place of tension is a helpful tool to reduce stress/tension somewhat.	88(88)	10(10)	2(2)	1.22	.61
10	Sharing emotions lessen the stress and anxiety	94(94)	4(4)	2(2)	1.10	.41
11	Proper sleep may also help to reduce tension and stress in state of depression or anxiety	92(92)	5(5)	3(3)	1.13	.46
12	Eating a nutritious diet can help to reduce stress and depression.	85(85)	11(11)	4(4)	1.26	.65
13	Taking holidays or daily breaks from work will help to reduce tension / stress.	90(90)	3(3)	7(7)	1.13	.42
14	Breathing exercises will help you lower your heart rate in stress.	89(89)	9(9)	2(2)	1.20	.59
15	Sharing responsibilities or delegating tasks to other teachers around you helps to reduce stress and anxiety	92(92)	6(6)	2(2)	1.14	.49
16	Talking to a counsellor, psychiatrist, or another mental health provider about stress and depression may also be beneficial.	90(90)	8(8)	2(2)	1.18	.56
(b) Problem Focused Coping
17	Problem solving is a best technique to cope with stress and anxiety	96(96)	4(4)	0(0)	1.08	.39
18	Time management is helpful to cope with aggression, stress and anxiety	89(89)	6(6)	5(5)	1.17	.51
19	Obtaining instrumental social support is good coping strategy	91(91)	6(6)	3(3)	1.15	.50

 




Statistical technique Independent Sample t. test was used to compare the male and female response about Coping Strategies Used by the Primary School Teachers dealing with Stress, Depression and Anxiety and results were interpreted in below tables




 

Table 3.

Gender	N	Mean	SD	df	Sig.	t
Male	59	33.525	3.578	98	.028	-4.125
Female	41	37.073	5.026
*P < .05 Level of Significance

 




The difference in the opinion among teachers about Coping Strategies Used by the Primary School Teachers dealing with Stress, Depression and Anxiety on the basis of type of their scale (Independent Sample t-test shows that t _value is less than 0.05 which illiterate that there is a significant difference among the opinion of male and female teachers lies on the base of gender found in the opinion of male and female respondents because significance value is (0.028) which is less than (0.05) value and t value is -4.125 on the base of gender.




 

Table 4. The difference in the opinion among teachers about Coping Strategies Used by the Primary School Teachers dealing with Stress, Depression and Anxiety on the basis of type of their scale (Independent Sample t-test)

Scale	N	Mean	SD	df	t	Sig.
Gazetted	33	36.878	5.011	98	3.042	.073
Non-Gazetted	67	34.044	4.039
*P > .05 Level of Significance

 




The difference in the opinion among teachers on the base of scale does not show any significant difference as sig. value is (0.073) which is higher than (0.05) and the t-value is also (3.042), so no difference is found in opinion according to the scale of teachers.




 

Table 5. The difference in the opinion among teachers about Coping Strategies Used by the Primary School Teachers dealing with Stress, Depression and Anxiety on the basis of type of their area (Independent Sample t-test)

Area	N	Mean	SD	df	t	Sig.
Rural	53	34.094	4.030	98	-2.098	.189
Urban	47	35.978	4.945
*P > .05 Level of Significance

 




The difference in the opinion among teachers on the base of their area (rural/urban) does not show any significant difference as sig. value is (0.189) which is higher than (0.05) and the t-value is also (-2.098) so no difference is found in opinion according to the area of teachers.




 

Table 6. The difference in the opinion among teachers about Coping Strategies Used by the Primary School Teachers dealing with Stress, Depression and Anxiety on the basis of experience of participants (one way ANOVA test).

Experience	Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Between Groups	33.292	15	2.219	1.822	.045
Within Groups	102.348	84	1.218
Total	135.640	99

 




The table illustrates the data on the basis of working experience One-way ANOVA test is used to find the difference in groups as we have a categorical variable to measure but the calculated significance value (.045) was more than the stander significance level (.05). So, it shows that statistically significant differences are not found among the participants on the base of Divisions. So, it does not support the claim.




 

Table 7. The difference in the opinion among teachers about Coping Strategies Used by the Primary School Teachers dealing with Stress, Depression and Anxiety on the basis of Divisions one way ANOVA

Designation	Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Between Groups	29.871	15	1.991	.337	.989
Within Groups	495.919	84	5.904
Total	525.790	99

 




The table illustrates that the One-way ANOVA test is used to find the difference in groups as we have a categorical variable to measure but the calculated significance value (.989) was more than the stander significance level (.05) so, its shows that statistically significant differed is not found among the participants on the base of Divisions. So, it does not support the claim.

Discussion

The discussion of the study indicated that according to the perception of teacher’s bad school management can cause stress, anxiety, depression among the teachers but through proper strategies we can cope with these issues if the teachers are aware of these strategies. The discussion of this study includes that avoiding conflict, problem-solving, sharing emotion, proper exercise, taking rest, social reinforcement, proper sleep, good food can reduce depression, anxiety and stress.

Conclusions

The main motivation behind this study was to discover the teacher’s perception about the impact of stress, anxiety and depression among teachers and the coping strategies to overcome these issues, how they stay healthy and mindful with peace, which was the cause that mostly creates stress and mental illness among the teachers in education department Punjab. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on a Likert scale for data collection. The study shows that more than 95% of assessments were recorded that bad behaviour of school management causes Stress, Depression and anxiety among the primary school teachers.

About 88% of respondent are of the opinion that extra workload cause stress and anxiety respectively 87% are on the view that lack of appreciation causes anxiety stress and depression, however, while talking about coping strategies statistics shows that 94% of teachers think that sharing of emotion can be the best strategy to cop stress, while 93% thought that books are the best source of comfort for avoiding stress, anxiety and depression. 90% are on the view that taking holiday can be the best option to settle stress anxiety and depression. The overall reaction of expert’s perception shows that school management is the main reason for stress, anxiety and depression among the teachers and reading books, taking holiday, sharing emotion, eating nutrition diets, time management and obtaining social support are the best strategies to cope with these issues to obtain social, moral and emotional stability. Only a few people's responses were in disagreement which Was about 1% or less and this is not a significant value to be discussed. 

Recommendations

• The future Recommendations research, also include the importance of obtaining data for a huge number of samples to find out facts.

• Although coping strategies checklist and satisfaction level measurements is very critical, it is highly recommended that in future a study.

• Not only teacher opinion but also data must be collected from headteacher for their perception is also needed.

• It is highlighted the importance of further investigation in the cultural context and socioeconomic influences on the teacher’s mental health.

References

• Aldwin, C. M. (2007). Stress, coping and development an integrative perspective. The Guilford Press.
• Billings, A. G., & Moos, R. H. (1981). The role of coping responses and social resources in attenuating the stress of life events. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(2), 139-157.
• Blasé, J. (1982). A social-psychological grounded theory of teacher stress and burnout. Educational Administration Quarterly, 18(4), 93-113.
• Cheng, S. T., Tsui, P. K., & Lam, J. H. M. (2015). Improving mental health in health care practitioners: Randomized controlled trial of a gratitude intervention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(1), 177-186.
• Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of British Columbia. (2010). Coping with Stress. Crisis Centre.
• Delfos, M. F. (2004). Children and behavioural problems: Anxiety, aggression, depression and ADHD - a biopsychological model with guidelines for diagnostics and treatment. London: Jessica Kingsley.
• Engelbrecht, P., Oswald, M., Swart, E., & Eloff, I. (2003). Including Learners with Intellectual Disabilities: stressful for teachers? International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 50(3), 293-308.
• Ghani, M. Z., Ahmad, A. C., & Ibrahim, S. (2014). Stress among Special Education Teachers in Malaysia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 114, 4-13.
• Griffith, J., Steptoe, A., & Cropley, M. (1999). An investigation of coping strategies associated with job stress in teachers.British Journal of Educational Psychology, 69(4), 517-531.
• Gulwadi, G. B. (2006). Seeking restorative experiences: Elementary school teachers' choices for places that enable coping with stress. Environment and Behavior, 38(4), 503-520.
• Gyimah, E. K., Sugden, D., & Pearson, S. (2008). An investigation into the emotional reactions to inclusion of Ghanaian mainstream teachers. Support for Learning, 23(2), 71-79.
• Johnson, F. (1990). Teacher stress in elementary and special education. PhD diss., Northern Arizona University.
• Kasper, S., Den, B. J., & A., S. J. (2003). Handbook of depression and anxiety. New York: Marcel Dekker.
• Kunkulol, R. R., Karia, R., Patel, P., & David, A. (2013). Levels of stress amongst the school teachers in a public school of rural Western Maharashtra. International Journal of Medical Research & Health Sciences, 2(4), 905-910.
• Lazarus, R. S., & Alfert, E. (1964). Short- circuiting of threat by experimentally altering cognitive appraisal. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 69(2), 195-205.
• Mcleod, S. (2015). Stress management.
• Olive, M. F. (2007). Child abuse and stress disorders. New York: Chelsea House.
• Pennebaker, J. W. (Ed.). (1995). Emotion, disclosure, & health. American Psychological Association.
• Petrie, K. J., Booth, R. J., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1998). The immunological effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(5), 1264-1272.
• Platsidou, M. (2010). Trait Emotional Intelligence of Greek Special Education Teachers in Relation to Burnout and Job Satisfaction. School Psychology International, 31(1), 60-76.
• Renner, H. (2018, August 14). Depression & stress MANAGEMENT Techniques: Therapy & amp; more.
• Sarafino, E. P. (2012). Health Psychology: Biopsychosocial Interactions. 7th Ed. Asia: Wiley.
• Simmons, M., & Daw, P. (1997). Stress, anxiety, depression: A practical workbook. Bicester: Winslow
• Stress Management (2010). Helpguide.org.
• The Definition of Coping (2010.).