In this episode, Elena shares with us her own story of burnout as a teacher and then shares ways that we can foster resilience and fulfillment in our lives after experiencing trauma and/or burnout in our career.
Elena teaches us:
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Pushback is someone expressing emotions. So if you’re coaching or leading or feeling pushback, you need to get curious about what is truly going on.
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Stay aware of what’s coming up for you so you don’t become depleted and burned out.
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Are you crying easily? Are you able to experience joy? Are you short-tempered? Are you lying around and watching mindless TV?
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Elena finally recognized that these symptoms were burnout, and although she was at first scared to admit it, she knew that she had to create changes in her life, and she did.
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Burnout is clinical depression - it needs to be treated with the care and seriousness that it deserves.
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Making shifts in your career can have extremely positive effects on your happiness and outlook on life. Don’t be afraid to make small or large changes in your life in order to create more joy in it.
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Find your supporters, from multiple places in your life. Find people who can help you reframe things because it’s hard to listen to your inner self when it tells you that you need a change or you DESERVE to be happier and more fulfilled. Listening to your own voice is the hardest thing, but you HAVE TO DO IT!
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Resilience is the ability to thrive through struggle and challenge, so it’s different than survival. It’s the ability to get stronger through the adversity. Any educator needs to cultivate that in order to teach. There will be pain and suffering in life and in teaching.
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Pay attention to your disposition - an attitude or way of being -you can be optimistic purposeful… when we can embrace our emotions and we don’t have to suppress them, we’re going to have a different world.
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It is so important to be able to identify the signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Although these are situational, it’s important to know the signs and talk to experts if they are identifying themselves as having anxiety or depression.
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Ask yourself: How much are you sleeping? How well are you eating? How often do you see the sun? How often do you walk for at least 15-20 minutes?
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Also, address your community. Who are you connecting with and having honest conversations with? Do you have experts who you look to for support in your physical and/or mental health?
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There are things that we can’t control, like the weather, climate, and seasons, but we can control who we hang out with and who we surround ourselves with.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
BRING ME TO YOUR SCHOOL
BIT Keynote Speaker Information
JOIN THE BURNED-IN TEACHER COMMUNITY
The Burned-In Teacher Facebook Community
