Educator Well-Being: Why It Can’t Be an Afterthought Anymore
- Crystal Tomlinson
- Jul 9, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 30, 2024
The Stark Reality: Stress and Burnout Among Educators Doesn't Need Another Initiative.
My first reason starts simply with the impact of stress. My career experience in school-based mental health has taught me many things, most importantly that there never seems to be a focus or culture around staff mental health. In proactive ways at least. This post isn't even going to touch on what to do about it, it's just going to start at what it is. I blew right by this throughout my career and come to find out, it's a big step.
Not so friendly reminder here...burnout and trauma-related symptoms love to CREEP up and then BAM! You can't even get yourself to walk into the building each day, feeling hopeless in fighting the system again and again. That was me, a portion of my colleagues, and a daily reality for way too many of us still if not more post-pandemic. (yes friends, it affected us)
Educator well-being directly impacts all students, yet it often feels like our concerns are just being entertained. They survey us to death but never seem to do anything meaningful with the data. Or worse, they take the smallest, most irrelevant findings and misinterpret them. We have to do better which means we have to finally start thinking differently. I've been a broken record over this forever!
Them:
Brain Science and Stress Impact 🧠
If you take a gander at the latest research, it shows how stress in education is multi-faceted. Affecting areas of our lives like cognition, emotions, relationships, and physical health.
Our brains are wired to handle short bursts of stress, not the chronic and relentless stuff. Prolonged exposure means consistent release of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. This is bad folks. We don't want this if we want to stay physically healthy!
Pre-Frontal Cortex: chronic stress impairs this area making it difficult to manage emotions, make sound judgments, and organize and manage anything
Hippocampus: chronic stress shrinks this area making it difficult to retain and recall. Duh...
Amygdala: chronic stress makes this area go into overdrive welcoming anxiety, irritability, and overwhelm.
Breaking the cycle requires intentional strategies and support. I learned this the hard way. Don't be me, take action today! I'm here to help for real 🙂
The Data that Demands Attention
To set the stage, here's some data that should make you stop and think.
Burnout Rates: Nearly 60% of teachers report feeling this. Yep, you read that right. Nearly half of our profession is running on empty.
Teacher Turnover: We're losing talented educators at an alarming rate. Approximately, 8% leave the profession each year and half leave before cashing in their pension.
Mental Health: Around 1 in 5 teachers experience symptoms of severe mental health issues, yet many districts or schools still lack adequate and realistic support systems or flat-out refuse to give a shit.
Burnout Out Comes in Many Forms. Damn!
Ok...it's worth mentioning that there are different types of burnout and stress that educators face. I was oblivious to this for way too long and went on thinking this was just how it was all supposed to be and feel. WTF?!
Take a Look ⬇️
Share with Someone
I'm not going to run my mouth on and on about another initiative - it's a call to action. For educators to say "Enough! My wellness matters!" Trigger warning...they are not coming to save us or even support us, so we must persist in the fight to destigmatize educator wellness. For me, I spent too long attending to everyone else's wellness that I neglected my own. It starts with being proactive, recognizing the warning signs, and having exposure to practical strategies that help foster a culture of wellness.
I challenge you to start with a self-assessment. It helps in the planning of your wellness routine and exploring what's in your best interest. My self-reflection led more to the frenetic type because it was the system adding to most of my symptoms. So each day felt like a battle I was never winning. I have a good friend who was more the exhaustion type and struggled with attendance and erratic sleep patterns. Self-awareness and refelction are crucial here so ....⬇️
Download this Quck Check FREE assessment tool and be sure to follow and stay tuned to the next part in this series and ongoing wellness support and solutions. Let's stay well together.
Want to talk, share, or vent? Hit me up!
Resources Cited:
That's enough for now. Seriously 😉
Remember...The Little Things Do Matter
Mindfully Yours,
Crystal @ Ms. T Talks
This great blog is full of valuable information as we approach another school year. I too have felt the stress and its impact. Keeping a check on my educator wellness will help make the stress this school year more manageable, which will benefit my well-being and that of my students. THANK YOU!