Tag Archives: Teacher Self-Care

Educators, Listen to Your Bodies

 I’m here to talk about stress and burnout and stories from people I know who were or are currently school administrators, including myself.  I was once a principal, but what I hear is alarming, and I can speak for something that I did that should have been alarming to me, too.  I’m hearing stories about how people do not listen to their bodies. 

The Job is Stressful

We know that this job is stressful. School principals, assistant principals, district administrators, and even classroom teachers are feeling the weight of stress these days, and they are walking out the door. We have to take care of ourselves, but our districts will not do it. No one’s going to do it for us. We have to save ourselves. 

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Stories from the Trenches

I will tell two stories about three principals I know who did not listen to their bodies. One person was an elementary principal at the time. He was in his office when he began to hyperventilate and get chest pains. He told the school secretary, “I’ll be back.” 

So, he gets his coat, gets in his car, and he drives to the ER because he thinks that he’s having a heart attack. He’s having every symptom of a heart attack, but he drove himself to the ER and found out it was anxiety.  Afterward, he left the hospital and drove himself back to the school. When he entered the school office,  the clerk asked what was happening. She said,  “You know you don’t look that great!”  He told the clerk, “I drove myself to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack.” Unbelievable, but true!

No Time to Heal

That’s one story, and now it’s time for another story.  The second story that I 

I heard another principal discuss something similar in nature. She was sitting at her desk, and she had just finished a meeting, and all of a sudden, she started to have chest pains. Like the first story, this principal leaves the school. However, 

she leaves and goes to the doctor, not the ER. She leaves the doctor’s office and returns to work the next day. Fortunately, she did not have a heart attack, but she didn’t take any time to heal either. Most likely, this principal had an anxiety attack. Again, another educator is not following or ignoring their body.  Your

body tells you when it is breaking down.  Your body is the receptor of the stress.  Your body keeps counting or scoring the dings from stress. 

Am I Having a Stroke

So,  I want you all to start paying attention to your body.  I am guilty of not paying attention. One day, I woke up with the worst headache of my life. I mean the worst headache of my life!   I was talking on the phone to a friend who was also a principal, and she said you really should go to the ER. I told her I would be okay,  and I went to work.  During my drive to work, she continued to call and said, “Please get your blood pressure taken.”  

 I stopped at a walk Walgreens store on the way to work.  Meanwhile, on the way to work, I’m getting blurred vision. I’m getting to the point where I can’t even think straight enough to stop in the pharmacy to have my blood pressure taken. 

The pharmacist took my blood pressure, and it was 199 over 120! I was possibly having a stroke,  but what did I do? I continued on my way to work.  Upon arriving at my school, I called my primary care physician.  Next, I drove myself to the doctor. However,  I should have driven myself to the ER.  By the grace of God I was I did not have a stroke, but I was on my to be a victim, a statistic, or a corpse. 

Listen to Your Bodies

 I did not listen to my body, but I learned some things about life and had to make important career decisions. My dear educators, please start listening to your bodies. They tell you when they’ve had enough and will sit you down. Otherwise, you will end up in the grave. You have to prioritize your health and wellness. 

 Take it from me; take it from those stories you just read. I learned to recognize the signs of too much stress and its effects on my body. Take the time to recognize what doesn’t feel right. If it persists, make an appointment to see your primary care physician or a specialist. Begin journaling your thoughts and how your body responds to certain situations or tasks. Seek counseling if the burden is too heavy.

Click on this link to purchase the Wellness Chronicles: A 15-Week Journal.

Reach out to me and let me know you know your story. Tell us a time you ignored your body. Next, let’s advocate for educator wellness and make our voices heard. Join Exhale and Educate: Educators’ Wellness, a new online community for educators to collaborate, discuss, and problem-solve how to advocate better for teachers, school administrators, and district educators to live healthier lives and improve teacher retention rates. 

Please,  let’s take care of ourselves and prioritize our Wellness. 
Click on this link for more information or to join Exhale and Educate: Educators’ Wellness


Five Tips to Recover and Rediscover Yourself

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Recover and Rediscover

How does an educator recover and rediscover oneself? As the school year comes to a close, school administrators and teachers look forward to the summer months. It is a time to unwind and try to get some personal things done. Let’s look at the summer months a little differently. Here are some tips to recover and rediscover yourself.

Become a Healthier Educator

 Tips to recover and rediscover are another part of becoming a healthier educator and human being. As teachers or administrators, you know that time is a luxury. There is never enough of it! For example, you have probably made statements like these. “ I can’t get anything done!.” Or you have said, “I’m so busy that I don’t have time for myself!.” Then there is the statement, “ I wish there were more hours in the day..” Before you know it, you are unhappy, overwhelmed, and stressed by everyday life and work issues. 

Self-care and Wellness

One tip for recovering and rediscovering yourself is to encourage educators to focus on self-care, healing, and wellness. Self-care requires personal reflection, too. It can lead to physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Once healing occurs, you can reboot your life in a new and healthier direction.

Next, it is time for you to recover what’s left of you. Then, there is room to rediscover self. Please note that self-care is not the only way to heal or recover. Sometimes, you may need additional support or assistance by seeking professional counseling.

Both recovery and rediscovery take time. A new and healthier you will not happen in a few days or months. It is a process, not an event. Please think of how much time it took to become unhealthy. So, becoming healthy again takes time and requires having a plan. Here are some tips to get you started on recovering and rediscovering yourself.

Here are tips to recover and rediscover: You must work on yourself, by yourself, and for yourself.

Recognize Your Struggles

Tips to rediscover and recover yourself include remembering you’re human. Many of us want to be strong and invincible. We are afraid to admit our weaknesses or failures. This is especially true in the workplace. Neither teachers nor school administrators want to admit to a supervisor that they do not have the physical or emotional bandwidth to complete a task or handle a specific situation.

You are Human

It is also difficult to admit that it’s challenging to be all things to everyone in our personal lives. Always remember that you are human! You have strengths and weaknesses. Guess what? It’s normal, and you should not beat yourself for being ordinary. Recognize your areas of struggle and feel comfortable informing others. 

Do What You Want

Do what you want to do. Step back for a minute. Maybe step back for a few more minutes. Think about what would make you happy. Yes, you’re an adult with plenty of responsibilities. Perhaps you have children, a spouse, or aging parents. But where do you fit in this equation? When do you matter?

Moreover, how do all of the responsibilities make you feel? You’ve lost sight of yourself. You can’t be everything to everyone. Learn to say “NO!” It’s time to do you! 

Limit Distractions

Limit distractions in your life. Yes, there are always distractions that take up your time, too. For example, how often are you reading emails, sending text messages, or checking your social media accounts? As an experiment, make a note each time you check emails or social media. You will be amazed how the minutes add up. Responding to text messages can wait unless it’s an emergency.

Set aside a specific time in the day to respond to emails or indulge in social media. Also, look at your daily schedule for tasks you can delegate to others. Hand it over! Just tell the person it’s a part of your recovery and rediscovery. Move the distractions out of your way.

Set Goals

Set goals for yourself. Write a wishlist of things you would like to do. Then, prioritize the list. What is most important to you? Furthermore, what will make you happiest? Create a schedule of free time. Then, stick to the plan! Fill your free time with a hobby, such as watching movies, exercising, etc. Most of all, don’t let others hijack your free time. It’s your road to recovery and rediscovery. Remember, it’s time to do you! Spend time with yourself.

Learn to Rest

Lastly, learn to rest. Your mind and body cannot be on ten all of the time. Eventually, a part of you will break down. Then, the time it takes to recover and rediscover yourself will take longer. If you step back to assess your life, you’ll discover things you didn’t know. Also, you may find some things that you don’t like about yourself.

Conclusion

Make a list of things you want to do or accomplish. Accomplish your goals by giving up distractions and delegating what you can. Schedule your free time and have fun. Learn to say no to people who usurp your time. Afterward, you will be on your way to a full recovery and rediscovery of yourself.

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Are You Married to the Job?

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I Said, I Do

Becoming a school principal was a big goal of mine. In 2009 I was handed the keys to the building. Finally, I said I do! Excited and full of ideas, I accepted the job and said my wedding vows to my new spouse. My job became my new husband. What no one told me was that the vows meant sickness and health and possibly close to death! Becoming a principal means being married to a job that doesn’t come with much reciprocity. Are you married to the job?

I guess that I shouldn’t say the job doesn’t come with much reciprocity. The majority of educators don’t do the job for the money. We do it for the students, families, or communities. Many of us enjoy working with our colleagues and collaborating with our peers. These are all reciprocal relationships. However, sometimes it feels as if it is a thankless job.

Burnout in the Educational Field

You all know that burnout is at an all-time high in the educational field. The statistics are everywhere, so I won’t display any data in this post. The information is accessible to Google if you want to dig deeper. You also know that teaching and leading during a pandemic is extremely difficult and has presented many deficiencies and inequities in our educational systems. Many educators press onward and don’t think of their physical and mental health despite all of these things. You take your marriage vows to your job seriously and forget to think about your health.

Stroke Mode

I am going to be vulnerable and tell you a story about my health. During my final year as a principal, I nearly had a stroke. The stress of the job was literally killing me. First, let me say that God watched over me with His grace. One morning I awoke with the worst headache of my life. I popped a couple of ibuprofen while talking to a friend and colleague. I told her about my headache, and she encouraged me to go to the emergency room. Despite her encouragement, I decided to drive to work. During my drive, I felt horrible and my vision blurred, and my thoughts were jumbled. Determined to not miss work and all of the things on my to-do list, I continued driving. 

Walking in the pharmacy, I was very nervous. My friend called me about five or six times on my cell phone. She pleaded with me to at least stop and got my blood pressure taken at the nearest Walgreens. I kept saying and in my mind that I was okay; however, I did stop in the pharmacy for a blood pressure check. What I didn’t know yet was that I was in stroke mode.

A Wake-Up Call

The pharmacist took my blood pressure, and it was 199/120. She said, “Oh my God! Let me take your pressure on the left arm!” The blood pressure reading was 195/118. The pharmacist asked me if I wanted to go to the ER. I said no, I would go to work, close my office door, and relax for a few minutes. Maybe, the numbers will go down.  I was married to the job, and it was about to kill me. Looking back on the event, I was not being very smart. How many times have you chosen your career over your health?

Needless to say, I was not using my common sense and nearly paid for it with my health and life. I did go to work that day, but my assistant principal and building engineer made sure that I saw a doctor. Also, that day my physician told me to choose to keep living or let the job kill me. It was a wake-up call. Being married to the job was not a great option anymore. It was time for a legal separation or divorce.

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Warning Signs

Educators, we think we are invincible even when the body and mind say something differently. Frequently, our bodies give us warning signs like headaches, stomach issues, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, eye twitches, and more. Many educators go to work when ill or mentally drained because the kids need us. Your body needs you to slow down and get healthy. Every teacher, principal, and all school personnel is replaceable with another warm body. You don’t want to be a cold body that is six feet under. Are you married to the job instead of your health and wellness?

When you feel ill or stressed, it’s okay to take a day off.

Thinking back to the warning signs I received during my tenure as principal, I have a list of things. The first year of marriage to the job, I broke out in hives all over my body. This happened the day before standardized test scores were to be announced. I was so nervous and anxious about whether or not scores and the school ranking dropped. When I reflect on the district’s pressure on school administrators about test scores, I still want to throw up! 

Ignoring the Symptoms

Next, I gained over 20 pounds because I did not eat healthy meals. The stress was so intense that sipping a glass of red wine was a way to self-medicate. At one point, my significant other asked if I had a drinking problem. I said no, but it made me pause. My blood pressure and cholesterol increased to the point where medication was prescribed. 

Sleepless nights became a regular thing because I could not turn off my mind about what the students and schools needed. There were many threats of losing the job because the test scores weren’t increasing fast enough, or I wasn’t disciplining or pushing out enough seasoned teachers. Lastly, the emotional abuse from the politics and district administrators was overwhelming. It was relentless and caused lasting damage to my health. 

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Take Care of Yourself

Can you resonate with any of my examples? Count the times you have experienced signs of illness, and you ignored it. How often have you gone to work sick with the flu, a cold, or pneumonia? You are probably married to the job in sickness and health. Can you deny that you are married to the job? 

Look, I am not telling you to divorce your job. However, if the weight of the job is slowly destroying your health, it is time to find balance. Every year educators contemplate leaving the profession. That’s okay because you have to do what is best for you. Whether you are a teacher or school administrator, the most critical priority is to take care of yourself.

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