8 Realistic ways to prevent and recover from teacher burnout

Teacher burnout is more than just a bad day every once in a while. It’s ongoing anxiety that can have serious negative effects on your work and life. Cynicism, Feelings of ineffectiveness and Physical and emotional exhaustion are the symptoms of burnout.

Here are some proactive strategies to prevent teacher burnout and treat symptoms sooner than later.

• Talk about teacher burnout: The key is to simply start talking – get it all out! Rant, laugh, cry, and don’t hold anything back.
• Practice self-care: Set some time aside on the weekend or in the evening to do something that benefits you physically or mentally. 
• Know when to take a break: When you start feeling teacher burnout, step away from it. Leave your work at work.
• Plan for community: Co-regulation can help reduce burnout symptoms like cynicism and dissociation. Grow your social network!
• Find out what actually went wrong: Once you're able to pinpoint the event that unfortunately ruined your day, you may come to find nothing (or very little) about your day was actually that bad. 
• Put things in perspective: Build a community, show yourself some compassion and practice healthy work habits. This is when “outside-the-job” thinking is important.
• Try something new: Choose what that feels exciting but not overwhelming -- maybe something that fits in nicely with your existing routine.
• Ask for help when you need it: If you’re struggling, use the resources you have around you.

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