How did you feel when you were heading back to school after the summer holidays?
I would experience a mixture of excitement and anxiety both as a student and as a teacher.
As a teacher the first term of the year was hard- new classes, sometimes new subjects, learning sooo many names, creating new routines with students, as well as all the usual lesson prep - it was exhausting!
Despite this, it was also fun and unpredictable and fulfilling to teach a subject I was passionate about to a group of new and interesting characters.
But as the school year progressed, this feeling could change. The excitement dissipated as I settled into the routine and at times, I would experience the ‘Sunday night blues’ as I headed towards the end of my weekend.
For most of us this sluggishness at starting the work week is fleeting and generally balanced out by the achievements, sense of meaning or stimulation our jobs provide.
For some however, this is not the case and that feeling of being a hamster on the work wheel starts to dominate. Days may become monotonous and unfulfilling, as we drift into the zone of languishing. What is languishing and why does it matter?
Dr Anthony Grant, a pioneer of evidence-based coaching described people languishing as ‘individuals who have low levels of psychological or subjective well-being but do not have elevated levels of depression, anxiety, or stress.’ In other words, the individual isn’t depressed but isn’t happy either. Left unchecked these feelings can be a predictor for later mental illness.
Languishing can be considered near the middle of the mental health spectrum with one end being mental illness and the other flourishing. Flourishing is feeling a sense of meaning, fulfillment and engagement in our lives, as well as having authentic connections with others.
A 2020 study found students who were languishing were 4 times more likely to experience anxiety and depression later in the year compared than those who were flourishing.
Can we prevent languishing? The good news- languishing and flourishing are not fixed personality traits. Much like physical health, flourishing can be developed with consistent and intentional effort to maintain.
Coaching can benefit those who feel they are languishing. The purpose of coaching can be for both personal and/or professional development and can support individuals in pursuing goals, improving well-being, motivation, self-awareness and increasing positive emotions including hope.
Coaching focuses on the strengths and resources of the individual to make lasting changes. This can also be enhanced by using self- help techniques such as mindfulness, yoga, and time in nature.
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