Ontario English Catholic Teachers

We often hear the term resilience when it comes to our mental wellness. It can have a negative connotation if it is used incorrectly. Being resilient starts with self-care. It starts with the small things we do on a regular basis to take care of our mental wellbeing. It also requires that we are purposeful in what we do for ourselves. It requires an understanding that our mental wellness exists on a continuum that recognizes that we have good days and bad days. Creating a self-care routine may be able to help us when we are having a bad day. A good self-care plan gives us some strategies we can use when we start to slip on the wellness continuum.

There is a lot of extra stress around the holidays both in our classrooms and in our personal lives. It is easy to feel overwhelmed. Often, this stress is temporary and eases after the holidays. In this Community of Care session, we can talk about some of the stresses we face. We can explore different ways to handle the stress, and share different strategies we have.

At this time of year, many teachers are concerned about their workload. It can feel overbearing at times, and it can be difficult to find time to even consider a good balance in your life. Self-care can often be forgotten when we feel overwhelmed with workload.

Many people can feel more depressed over the winter months. The shorter daylight hours and colder weather can wear on all of us. Having a good self-care plan that includes strategies to help you recognize early signs of depression may help you throughout the winter. Join us to talk about things we can do during the winter to help our wellbeing.

What is burnout and how is it related to some of the stresses we face on a regular basis? A good self-care plan should be reviewed on a regular basis and tweaked if you notice areas of need. That feeling of burnout may be an indication that it may be time to reevaluate your self-care plan, make some tweaks, and focus more on some of your needs.

Violence in the classroom can be extremely disruptive. It can also have a lasting impact on your wellbeing. Even the best self-care plan can feel stretched to the limit. There are procedural things that should happen, but these do not always help you with your own trauma or stress. What are some things you do to help you manage your stress? How can you prioritize your wellbeing when you are faced with violence at work?

There are a number of resources that are available to you, but it is not always easy to know where to turn. Here you learn what’s available and where to get the support you need.

We are almost at the end of another school year. Your self-care plan should be reviewed and updated for the summer. This can be an opportunity to assess what has worked well for you and what additional strategies or resources you would like to consider. How can you recharge your batteries over the summer and find that important time to relax?