10 Ways I Protect My Mental Health as a Teacher

No one prepared me for how teaching would assault my mental health. As a teacher who struggles with depression and anxiety, my first few years of teaching deteriorated my mental health in a severe way. I was physically ill every day of my first year of teaching (yay anxiety!). While there were wonderful moments those first few years, it wasn’t without its challenges. Too add to the fun, the nearest bathroom was down three flights of stairs and I shared it with preschoolers through 5th graders. See, fun!

After giving birth to my daughter, I experienced undiagnosed postpartum anxiety for nearly a year. During that year, I started working at a new school and the experience almost broke me.  Since then, I’ve taken the following steps to protect my mental health while teaching. I hope they’ll help you too.

I’ll start with the easier changes and move into the steps that took a bit more risk & commitment.

I force myself to eat and drink

When my mental health starts to weaken, I don’t eat how should. The pounds melt off of me (I know, I know, poor me. Trust me, it’s not a good thing) and I struggle to maintain a healthy weight. I remember filming myself my first year of teaching and the thing that shocked me was how skinny I was. Not, “Dang I look good” skinny, but “Oh my gosh. I look like I’m dying” skinny. Along with this, in times of stress, I cling to caffeine, don’t drink enough water, and end up being chronically dehydrated which causes a whole host of problems.

When I feel myself entering a stressful time & slipping into bad coping mechanisms I start measuring my water (65oz/ day is the goal for me) and forcing myself to drink it. I also force myself to eat breakfast, lunch, a snack, and dinner.  While I strive for healthy, vegetable-focused food, I don’t push it. As long as I eat, it’s a win for me.

I like to move it, move it! Ok, not really, but I try.

Working out is usually the bottom of my priority list AND I know that physical activity is a great way to improve mental health. I strive to get to one group class a week. The peer pressure is the only thing that keeps me going. Aside from that, I squeeze in walks on the treadmill (there are only a few months in Nebraska that I enjoy walking outside!). The isn’t gym far from my kid’s daycare so sometimes I sneak in a 15-20 minute walk, which isn’t much but it’s better than nothing!

I grew up dancing and love dance fitness classes. When I can’t make it to one live, I’ll try to find one on YouTube. Here’s one of my favorite channels! It’s better than binge watching another show! While I’ll probably never be an active worker-outer (is that a word?) Doing something, no matter how small, is better than nothing!

Sleep

“I’ll just finish this one thing. One more show and then I’ll stop. I HAVE to get these grades done tonight!” Any of those sound familiar? Sleep is important. I know you know that but what do you do with that knowledge? Do you have a set bedtime? I do! I need a lot of sleep (like 8-9 hours!) to function properly and feel physically well. Speaking of sleep…

Meditation & Sleep Stories 

Most people meditate to start their day. I end my day with it. If you think mediating is too “out there”, hear me out on this one.

I do NOT fall asleep well. My husband is asleep before his head hits the pillow. I on the other hand, lay awake thinking. Thinking about everything I did that day, didn’t do, should have done, etc etc. Meditation and sleep stories help me stop those thought cycles and fall asleep. When I first started meditating, I couldn’t stay focused for even a 3 minute meditation. Soon, I was drifting off before those 3 minutes were even up! That’s how tired I was.

Mediation not your thing? What about sleep stories? Alan Sklar is my new favorite man (after my husband and Tom Ellis of course!). I listen to him narrate sleep stories and drift off to sleep while learning about the northern lights, Easter island, or other fun things.  

Did you know that Calm.com offers free membership to educators (as I write this, they are working on the program and not taking new subscribers but hopefully that will change soon! There are a lot of great free resources in the app too.)? Yep! HeadSpace does too! Check it out and start falling asleep better.

Lay off the “compare-schläger”

Let’s talk traps. As in, looking online and seeing everybody except you doing amazing things, setting the world on fire, all in a beautiful classroom and cute clothes. It’s easy to get in a loop of thinking that everyone is doing better than you and you have no skills and nothing to offer. That’s not good for anyone’s mental health.

Marie Forleo calls this “compare-schläger” after that popular cinnamon flavored schnapps (you know the one I mean, and if not, lucky you!). Those people are not you. Some of them have been teaching years longer or have had training opportunities you haven’t and that’s OK. Jon Acuff said, “Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle” and he’s right. I have to tell myself this one, like, a lot. 

That time I had too much compare-schläger…

Last year I went to a big, regional conference. By the end of day one I felt like a horrible teacher. Everyone was doing amazing things, none of which I was doing. I showed up to breakfast on day 2 in a pretty low state of mind. As I was trying to convince myself I surely wasn’t a terrible teacher, a woman approached me, called me by name, and offered me a job. Yep. As I was feeling like I had nothing to offer and should probably quit the profession, a stranger who had been in a session with me the day before and seen me participate, offered me a job at her district. So lay off the compare-schläger and tell yourself you’re doing a good job, even if it doesn’t feel like you are.

Do one new thing

Instead of trying to do all the new things and grow in all areas, choose one thing to focus on. I have big dreams for my classroom and my program. I can’t do them all in a year, or two, or even three. To try to do everything I want, all at once, would surely destroy my mental health.  No one can juggle all the things at once. Pick one goal and be OK with limits. Limits don’t mean you’re weak, they mean you’re strong enough to protect your well-being.

I have one area I’m working to improve in and change in my teaching. This is the second year I’ve been working on this one thing and I’m OK with that.

Say no

Are there school activities every night where you teach because I swear there are events every day of the week at my school. You know what? I don’t go to most of them. I make it to one sporting event each season (maybe) and I help with as few things as possible.  It’s not that I don’t want to support my students or be a part of my school community but when I was spending 9-10 hours at work Monday-Friday (not healthy by the way), to spend another 3 at other activities just wasn’t a good choice for my mental well-being. I have no idea how high school teachers who also coach and have families do it! I bow down to you and the passion you have for students.  

I’m not going to lie. There are people who will think you’re a “bad teacher” for not going to all the things or being more involved. I’m OK with that. I give my students all I have while I’m teaching them and outside of that I need to give to my family, other community commitments, and I’d like to have something left for myself.  That doesn’t make me a bad teacher or selfish person, it means I have boundaries. Boundaries aren’t bad. Boundaries keep you healthy. Meredith White has a fabulous post of her “To don’t list”.

Therapy

I firmly believe that everybody, regardless of the state of their mental health, should be going to therapy. Everyone deserves somebody to listen to them for an hour completely dedicated to listening to their concerns and helping them process life. 

Therapy saved me. It took me three or four tries before I found the right therapist. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I am extremely open about the fact that I have attended therapy with anyone who will listen. I’ve attended therapy weekly, other times it’s been monthly and sometimes I go months without a session. I’ve gotten to the point where I know when to seek help. 

Medication 

About a year ago, I hit a new low. I was teaching, stretched thin at work, battling chronic physical illness. My kiddo came home sick from daycare and that was the last straw. To say it was a low point would be an understatement. I called my doctor the next day to set up an appointment about getting medication for depression and anxiety. 

I had tried medication in the past and it didn’t go well so I was extremely hesitant (even scared) to try again. That’s how bad things had gotten. I was desperate, even willing to go back on medication that made me extremely ill. My doctor and I discussed my concerns and we tried a different type of medication that worked better for me. I took medication for 6 months during which time I worked on all the items listed above, attended therapy and finally got myself mentally and physically well enough to maintain my mental health without the medication.

Will I ever go back on medication? Maybe. I don’t know what life has in store. I do know that I was terrified of it, of what being on medication meant about me and who I was. You know what it means? I means I respect and value myself enough to take care of myself.  

Teach Part-Time

I know this last option isn’t a possibility for many. However, after that first painstaking year back after having my child, I knew I couldn’t handle a full-teaching load. Furthermore, the school I was at couldn’t give me a full-time schedule of Spanish either so I approached my administration about teaching part-time. They looked at the schedule, found it would be possible, and that’s the schedule I’ve been on ever since.  It has been a game changer. I know that not all can make this switch and I’m fortunate and grateful that I could.

There you have it.  those are the steps I take to safeguard my mental health during the school year, signs of high stress, and honestly, year-round. I hope that this post will be helpful to you and help you protect your mental health to live a happier more peaceful life.

If you still need convincing to take steps to protect your mental health, check out what Jenna Kutcher had to say on her Goal Digger podcast.

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