It doesn’t have to be a ‘workout’ though, it can be a tough hike or a dance party!! Exercise – Research correlates a good, heart-pumping, challenging sweat with completing the stress “cycle” in our bodies.Sleep! – Intentional bed times, wake times and naps!.Which means, even after the stressors/root causes are eliminated (either because of summer break or with a targeted plan to address them), you’ll still need to physically recover from burnout. So – now that the light of summer is at the end of this tunnel of a school year, you may be starting to feel some relief and hope that your recovery from burnout is ahead! Here are some ways to recover from teacher burnout: Physical Recovery I know that there may be different stressors that enter the picture (more on that later in this post), but there is an end to this school year, and thus an opportunity to hit the reset button. Thankfully, as teachers, we do get some cyclical relief from many of the stressors that ail us – SUMMER BREAK! However, summer break is not always a “break” for many of us who may take on summer school, childcare duties, extra jobs, catching up on life etc. Your symptoms may be a little different, but you know it when you see/feel it. These are some common symptoms but are by no means an exhaustive list. Brain fog: Lack of focus or clear thoughts.Resentment and anger: Cynicism and resentment over the demands of your job, how you are treated, other people’s behaviors and choices etc. Increased anxiety or rumination: Can’t let things go as quickly, worrying about things that normally wouldn’t bother you, etc.Any unusual physical symptoms may be worth a double look for whether they might be caused by the stress you are experiencing. Physical symptoms: Sick more often, sick longer, headaches, changes in appetite, hair loss, stomach or bowel problems etc.No motivation: The stress is keeping you going, but you have no real motivation to keep moving at all.Any unusual sleep patterns could be signs of stress and burnout. Once you are up, your mind is racing about all there is to do. Trouble sleeping even when exhausted: You may find yourself falling asleep quickly, but not able to sleep through the night.A short fuse: Are strong emotions floating just below the surface? Or are you easily “triggered” or “set off”? Are you more irritable with colleagues and/or students?.While the symptoms listed below is not a complete list of symptoms of burnout, here are the things I see the most from my teacher clients: Let’s first define burnout: Burnout is a state of chronic stress that will eventually lead to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. If you are feeling like you have just clung for dear life to the very thread-bare ends of your rope, you are actually in good company. Double-whammy! This has prompted some to wisely encourage education and community leaders to worry about teacher loss as much (if not more) than learning loss from the pandemic. A review of education research shows that teacher burnout is a worldwide pandemic and has been for some time! Stress is the most common reason that teachers leave the profession, and this year, over 50% of the teachers that left teaching named their concerns about how the COVID-19 pandemic was being handled and going back to in-person learning as the main reason for their leaving. I actually had a new client ask me last week, “Is it just me? Or are others out there feeling this way?” Let me reassure you… you are not alone. After coping with the increased demands that the COVID-19 pandemic brought, teachers are breathing a collective sigh of relief and thinking “how in the world am I going to recover from this year so that I can eventually comprehend the idea of going back for another year?!” How will you recover from your teacher burnout? You aren’t alone – Teacher Burnout is a second pandemic But no summer is more welcome than this summer – the summer of 2021. It’s a glorious and much-anticipated time for any teacher in any year. As you finish up the school year and begin your summer break, I have some tips for you on how to recover from teacher burnout.Īh summer. It’s been a really stressful school year, and a record number of teachers are reporting feeling the effects of teacher burnout.
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