Supporting Educators Through Stress and Burnout

Teaching is more than a job – it’s a calling. It requires a deep passion and sense of purpose to meet our kids where they are every day and push them towards learning and growth. But today, that calling often comes with a heavy cost. Across the country, educators are facing historic levels of stress, and many are quietly burning out. Rightfully so! Teaching is such an incredibly important and demanding job. 

Signs of burnout can include:

• Emotional exhaustion
• Increased irritability or cynicism
• Loss of motivation or sense of purpose
• Difficulty sleeping or relaxing
• Withdrawal from coworkers or students

Recent numbers and studies show the need for mental health awareness in the teaching field.. Nearly 77% of public school teachers describe their job as “frequently stressful,” and over 68% say it feels overwhelming. Almost 60% report feeling burned out often or always, and more than half say they’re considering leaving the profession altogether.

These numbers indicate that you probably know a teacher who is navigating significant stress in their job! And yet, many educators feel they can’t speak up. In fact, 42% worry that sharing mental health concerns could hurt their career, and nearly half fear being judged. Teachers spend the majority of their time lesson planning and preparing for others growth, but struggle to navigate planning and prepping for their own mental load each school year.

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At New Pathways Counseling, we see you. We hear from teachers who love their students deeply but are losing touch with their sense of peace, purpose, and well-being. Some are emotionally exhausted. Others feel isolated or quietly ashamed of needing support. Others have avoided the “paper cut” of workplace burnout for so long that it has evolved into a chronic workplace burnout “infection.”

But burnout isn’t a sign of weakness — it’s a signal that you’ve been carrying too much, for too long, without enough care for yourself. As teachers, we celebrate the growth we see in our students—but what if this year, teachers focused on their growth: learning when to set down the workload, reach out to a coworker, or speak with a professional?

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But burnout isn’t a sign of weakness — it’s a signal that you’ve been carrying too much, for too long, without enough care for yourself. As teachers, we celebrate the growth we see in our students—but what if this year, we also focused on our growth: learning when to set down the workload, reach out to a coworker, or speak with a professional?

Small steps to help prevent burnout:

• Asking for help
• Setting gentle boundaries
• Allowing yourself to rest
• Communicating with a trusted friend or family member
• Seeking professional help to reduce stress and burnout from impacting daily living

Go into this school year prepared for the mentally taxing work ahead- not just for you, but for your family, kids, and students! Have questions about speaking to a professional? Let’s chat!

-Addison