Self Care Ideas for Teachers
Teaching comes with it own set of occupational hazards a mile long. One of these hazards is compassion fatigue. We see and witness too much pain in the world.
In order for teachers to be the support that students, parents, and colleagues need, we need to practice self care regularly and often. It is of vital importance that we have the emotional capacity and strength to work with people who are suffering. Taking care of ourselves is not selfish.
Self-care is consciously taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional well being. Here are some different types of self-care to consider:
Physical Self-Care - The things you do to take care of your body’s health, such as exercise, sleep, nutrition, and annual doctor check-ups. Be sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night and put your devices away 1 hour before bedtime. Try lots of different types of movement like walking, running, hiking, stretching, yoga, barre, biking, elliptical, boxing, weight training, and HIIT workouts. Eat clean foods like protein, healthy fats, greens, and fiber. Have you heard of Earthing? That is another great way to help restore your body and mind, and it is free! Also, be sure to get a little bit of sun each day and drink plenty of water. You’re basically like a plant.
Intellectual Self-Care - Try learning something new that is not for work. Pursue and develop your interests and passions. Try reading for fun, baking, hobbies, art, or watching a great classic movie. This type of self care helps to balance your life.
Emotional Self-Care - check in with how you are feeling and honor that. Express your feelings when you have them. Lately, I have been screaming into a pillow. That is new for me. Never really had a need to do that before. 2020 is a lot to process and handle between the pandemic, politics, distance learning, systemic racism… Another fun, but wasteful, option is to break something. Feels great! Journaling is another simple, but effective, way to take care of your emotional well being. Mediating is yet another great mood enhancer. Also, breathing helps to put your body in the para sympathetic state.
Social Self-Care - Stay close to your loved ones. Make time for them, celebrate milestones and successes. Everyone needs to feel part of the group and community. Humans are social creatures, and we need to be around others. Keep your social media feed positive and follow people that inspire you and make you feel great. Network with inspiring people to uplift yourself. We are the sum of the five people we spend the most time with.
Occupational Self-Care - Your attitude about teaching is important. If you hate your job, it will carry over into other aspects of your life. Working takes up most of your day, so make it worth your time and energy. Work on time management, work boundaries, hang out with the positive people at work and drop the negative ones. Take breaks at work when you need to. I know, easier said that done as a teacher. At least take your lunch at school.
Financial Self-Care - Take care of your finances. Be sure to save, budget, treat yourself every now and then, improve your credit score, think long term, invest in retirement accounts, learn how to use the stock market effectively. Here is a great book on managing your wealth: I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
It is not selfish to put yourself first. We have to be strong in all aspects of our lives to do our job as educators effectively. Take care of you!
