6 Tips for Teacher Burnout Recovery

Introduction

Have you ever felt like all you want to do is put your head on your desk and close your eyes? Or maybe you feel like you're drowning in paperwork, and there's no way out. Or maybe you feel dread every time you think about going to work and then feel guilty that your passion for teaching is waning?

You may be experiencing burnout. Once in this teacher burnout cycle, you want to work your way through it. Avoiding it at this point will only make things worse. Follow the below tips to work your way through burnout recovery.

Plus, at the end of the article you will find additional resources to help you succeed with your stress management as a teacher.

Define Burnout.

You may be familiar with the term "burnout," but do you really know what it means? Burnout is a condition in which you feel emotionally exhausted, even when your workload isn't particularly heavy. It's not just about being tired; burnout can cause mental and physical symptoms that affect your quality of life.

To determine if you're experiencing burnout, look for these signs:

• You feel stressed out more often than not.
• You don't enjoy working anymore because it feels like a chore.
• You feel physically drained after doing something as simple as grocery shopping or running errands for others.

If any of these things sound familiar to you, take time to evaluate why this might be happening so that you can address it before it becomes a bigger problem. There is more information on What is Teacher Burnout? in an article here.

1) Give Yourself Compassion for Recovery

• Be kind to yourself. Burnout can be tricky, lots of guilt and shame cycle in our minds and spew negative words that are not true. Remind yourself as if you are talking to a younger version of you or a friend going through the same thing? You are enough, you are doing enough, and it is going to be okay.
• Be gentle with yourself. Understand that burnout recovery will take time. This is not the time for one vacation and a face mask before a magical fairy in a blue gown appears and makes it all go away. Instead, we have to start small. Do what you can in your day-to-day and make incremental steps forward on your road to recovery.
• Don't beat yourself up for being burned out. Burnout happens. At this point, feeling guilty or ashamed of being burnt out, or worse adding fuel to the fire and putting yourself down because it has happened, will only keep the cycle going. Try your hardest to reframe these thoughts and remind yourself that they are just thoughts; thoughts can come and go as they please, but they do not define who you are.
• Don't be too hard on yourself and hold yourself back from recovering by feeling guilty about needing time to rest and recover, or beating yourself up for experiencing burnout in the first place. Instead of getting stuck in a guilt loop or beating yourself up, take time to truly rest and recover so that you can make it out the other end of this difficult time. 

2) Set Boundaries.

Setting boundaries is a great way to reduce stress and can be incredibly helpful in your recovery from burnout. Although it may seem selfish, you're actually giving yourself permission to take care of yourself.

You can set boundaries with your time and also with your energy. For example, if you feel like you need to be "on" 24/7 (i.e. lesson planning, grading, engaging with students), but you find that doing so is causing you to feel overwhelmed or frustrated at home, then setting a time when you stop checking those school emails or you take your work email off your phone stop might help you relax and enjoy some downtime after contract hours.

Boundaries can come in a variety of ways. Try writing down your needs and wants out of your time at work and create more effective systems that work around your boundaries.

3) Reframe Your Burnout as an Opportunity.

Your burnout is a sign that you need to make changes. It can be a call to action, and it could even be the push you need to learn more about yourself and develop new skills. When we see our burnout as something positive, it helps us regain the confidence we lost when we were feeling overwhelmed by all of the tasks on our plate. It also allows us to remember why we chose teaching as a profession in the first place: because we want to make a difference in students' lives!

Take a moment (or several) to reflect on how you came to this moment and how could you set yourself up for success in the future. Use this article on 5 Ways to Avoid Burnout in the New Year (publishes 12/11) to help you do this once you have fully recovered.

4) Create Connection

Focus on creating connections with yourself and those around you. Teacher burnout can be isolating and make you feel like you are completely alone or that you are a burden to those around you. You are not a burden and those in your support system want to do exactly that, support you as best they can.

You can create connection in a few simple ways:

• Talk with friends and family to help you de-stress.
• Collaborate with a colleague to help make planning a little easier.
• Journal to find more connection with yourself again.
• Ask for help when you want/need it.

5) Make Time For Self-Care.

It's important to take time for yourself. When you're feeling stressed, burnt out, and exhausted, it can be difficult to see the value in self-care. But when you don't make time for yourself, your body feels it. You'll be more irritable and less able to cope with stressors in your life—and that makes it even harder than usual to do what needs doing.

You know what I'm talking about here: yoga classes or meditating on a regular basis; long walks through nature; daily meditation; spending time with close friends and family members; taking care of yourself by relaxing with a good book or listening to music that makes you feel good (or whatever else floats your boat).

Just remember that self-care does not mean big efforts like the ones you see in advertisements or possibly in your PDs at school. Self-care just means that you are taking care of yourself. You are prioritizing your own health and wellness because you deserve that care. Read that one more time: You Deserve To Be Cared For.

I mean it, you are not on this earth just to take care of students. Yes, that is something that you do, but it is not all of who you are. And if we want to reframe it, you will need to take care of yourself (especially in burnout) before you are able to care for your students, your family, or even your passion for teaching.

So when you think of self-care, think of it as a way to consistently prioritize your wellness. This may be a shower, making a meal that satisfies you, moving in a way that you enjoy, or even just stating something you are grateful for at the end of each day.

And if you would like more self-care tips, feel free to join me on Instagram @jewelsofteaching, where I discuss self-care tips each week on Wednesdays and Sundays.

6) Ask For Help

Asking for help when needed is also crucial when setting these kinds of boundaries; don't hesitate! If something isn't working well for one reason or another (perhaps due to miscommunication), talk openly about what needs changing without worrying about being "selfish" by asking others for their input on how things could improve now instead of later down the road when things have already gone awry again.

• Find a therapist to help you work through any anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues you may be experiencing.
• Find a support group. If a counselor seems too daunting, find a group of people who are also going through the same thing and share your experiences in a safe space.
• Reach out to other teachers, mentors, and coaches who can support you in your recovery journey.
• Get a coach or mentor who can help you with your stress management. A stress management coach, like myself, can help you create systems that will offer better options to avoid burnout and handle stress as it comes in a more effective way. That way, you are prepared to manage your stress before it becomes burnout. Check out my article on 5 Tips to Avoid Burnout in the New Year (publishes 12/11) for more support right now.

Burnout doesn't make you weak, but it does mean you've reached your limits - and that you can recover from them.

While burnout often gets a bad rap, it should be viewed as a warning sign to take care of yourself. It doesn’t make you weak or suggest that you need to find a new profession; it means your body and mind are telling you that they need a break from the challenges of teaching.

Burnout can be followed by what psychologists call “the refractory period,” where feelings of exhaustion continue even after rest or vacation time has passed. The key to recovery is finding ways to reduce stress in both the workplace and on your own time so that this period doesn't last long enough for someone else's refractory period kicks in.

Conclusion

If you’re feeling burned out, know that it’s not your fault. It’s a normal response to an increasingly chaotic world and demands on educators. But if you want to recover, the first step is recognizing that there is something wrong. Then you can start tackling that problem head-on with these tips for teacher burnout recovery!

I have more information on stress management, teacher life balance, and incorporating social emotional learning into your high school classroom in the Jewels of Teaching Newsletter. Plus, when you sign up, you receive a Free Burnout Resource Guide.

Want more support right away? Check out the Jewels of Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers Store for resources like the Reflection Journal for Teachers or a Positive Affirmations Sheet.