What is Mental Health for Teachers and TPT Sellers?

Why is it necessary to prioritize our own needs first as teacher business owners? Can’t we just keep doing what we have been doing and see what happens? Increase productivity by working more and all that?

Maybe, we should take a moment to dive into mental health. In this article, you will learn what it is, how it affects teachers and Teachers Pay Teachers sellers, and why that prioritization is key to helping your business grow.

What is mental health?

Understanding mental health is multifaceted: emotional, psychological, and social wellness are all included under the umbrella of mental health. Plus, all sorts of contextual factors can affect it. The CDC notes that our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions can all impact our overall mental health, not to mention the external factors that may be playing a part. 

Your mental health can also manifest itself in your physical health. We can see signs of deteriorating mental health within our bodies. So if we want to take care of our physical health, we need to incorporate positive mental health behaviors and habits as well. 

By taking care of our own mental health through a variety of different ways, we then can manage our stress better, make more concrete connections with others, and make more healthy choices overall.

How does mental health affect teachers?

We all hear the stories about education and how deteriorating conditions and support on top of extended workload and expectations are driving teachers out of the classroom in droves. Even if you are at the most wonderfully supportive school, you still have to consider your own wellness. Having the responsibility of educating the next generation is a stressor in and of itself. 

As such, we need to make sure that we are doing what we can to support ourselves as teachers and teacher entrepreneurs (more below). By taking care of our own mental health and putting in systems to prioritize ourselves, we can better meet our students’ needs as well. There is no giving from an empty cup. 

Teachers have a difficult job. I still remember having to leave my high school classroom to teach college and tutor online because of the chronic stress I was experiencing while there. And unfortunately, I hear far too many stories like my own from teacher friends and teacher business owners. 

As our mental health depletes, those #SundayScaries become all too common. Teachers may feel dread, anxiety, or even depression when thinking about going to school. And without proper support, teachers can only do so much reactive self-care (i.e. face masks) before it becomes too much to handle. Check out this article to learn more about what you can do today.

For those of you still in the classroom, I hear you and I see you. You are doing enough with what you have right now and I hope these articles can help you move from reactive care to proactive care with boundaries and habits that can prioritize your own mental health and wellness. 

How does mental health affect teacher sellers (especially those still in the classroom)?

Now for those of you who have added onto that #teacherlife and started a business too? Let’s take a minute to honor you. You are adding onto your plates to help other teachers and their students as well as build something for yourself/your household. I am so proud of you!

Starting a business is not easy, no matter what Instagram and TikTok try to tell you about instantaneous $10k months. We work hard, just like we did (or still do) in the classroom. Plus, stress and poor mental health affect us just the same as it did in the classroom, sometimes even more because this is something we have started from scratch. 

So, take all those emotions and responsibilities and contextual factors that influence your mental health and double it.

Teacher sellers are balancing two different spheres (plus any they may have outside of work). 

But, just like when teaching, those stressors and habits transfer. Being intentional about what you are doing, when you are doing it, and when you are going to stop is essential in your own business. It is so easy to keep working when you don’t have a stop time and you were never really one to stop at the last bell anyway. 

Anyone like me take stacks of papers home to grade? I see you.

We can create practices that lead to increased mental wellness, we just have to understand what those factors are and how they impact our overall mental health. My recent article, What is Stress, can help you understand this a little better.

Why is it necessary to prioritize yourself first?

First things first, let’s talk about prioritization. As a teacher, I always put my students first. I am sure many of you reading this feel the same. But, what I had to learn was that my own mental health was just as important and that I couldn’t truly put my students first if I wasn’t taking care of myself.

My students needed a model and when their model (ie me) was stressed out and overworked and used that overworking as a badge, they emulated that. I could see their stress and it made me take a harder look at what I was teaching them behind the scenes just by being their teacher.

Now, I know as a business owner, that the same lesson applies. If I want to help not only the clients I treasure, but also those that work with me and support Jewels of Teaching, then I need to prioritize myself and my own mental wellness. I need to add in proactive self care as a daily habit…not just when I actually clue into the fatigue and emotional exhaustion of the week. 

From this, I created the 5-Step Teacher Life Balance System: a way to curate a stress management system that is unique to your needs. Learn more about it here. 

Need More Support?

Access more information on stress-management in our Free Stress Relief Toolkit here. 

And if you want to learn more about business efficiency and business tips, check out the Spring Fling Teacher Business Conference: it's free to watch at the end of March and you can also sign up to receive bonus items from all presenters! Check it out through this link.

_{Note: the link is an affiliate and I will be offered a small compensation from purchases through this link for promoting the conference as well as my participation in the conference.}