If you’re a teacher who’s been feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and more than a little lost—this is for you.
Maybe you’ve been waking up already tired. Maybe you’ve cried quietly during your prep block, or snapped at someone you care about and immediately felt guilt wash over you. Maybe you’ve caught yourself wondering, “Is it just me? Am I not cut out for this anymore?”
Let us tell you something right now:
It’s not just you.
You’re not weak.
You’re not alone.
And no, you’re not failing—you’re burning out.
What Is Burnout?
Burnout isn’t just “being tired.” It’s not fixed with a weekend off or a better day planner. It’s what happens when you care deeply and give constantly—but there’s no space to recover. It’s chronic stress without relief. It’s emotional, physical, and psychological depletion.
The World Health Organization (2019) defines burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It includes:
- Emotional exhaustion – You feel drained, like there’s nothing left to give.
- Depersonalization – You start to feel detached or cynical about your work.
- Reduced personal accomplishment – You question your effectiveness and doubt your impact.
In a Canadian context, teacher burnout is alarmingly common. A recent study across three provinces (Agyapong et al., 2024) found that over 60% of teachers experienced high levels of emotional exhaustion, with many reporting they were “barely holding on.”
Why Teachers Are So Vulnerable to Burnout
Teaching isn’t just a job. It’s a calling. You don’t just teach reading and math—you nurture children, manage behaviours, calm anxieties, spot signs of trauma, fill in the parenting gaps, coach sports, and answer emails at 10:00 p.m.
You do all this in underfunded schools, with limited support, amidst a staffing shortage that seems to never end.
And it takes a toll.
Research from the University of British Columbia (Oberle & Schonert-Reichl, 2016) found that teacher burnout doesn’t just affect you—it can even affect your students, increasing their cortisol (stress) levels in classrooms with burnt-out teachers.
Caregivers—teachers included—are especially vulnerable. You’re trained to give, support, and show up no matter what. But what happens when your tank is empty?
Signs You Might Be Burnt Out
You might be experiencing burnout if you’re:
- Waking up dreading the day—even when you used to love teaching.
- Feeling emotionally flat, detached, or unusually irritable.
- Getting sick more often or feeling constantly fatigued.
- Crying more than usual or feeling numb and checked out.
- Struggling to concentrate, stay organized, or feel motivated.
- Fantasizing about quitting—not out of disloyalty, but for survival.
If you recognize yourself here, please take a moment: put your hand on your chest, breathe in slowly, and say to yourself, “This is a sign I need care. Not proof I’m failing.”
What’s Fueling the Fire?
Let’s be real. Burnout isn’t about “bad coping skills.” It’s about systems that expect too much from people with too little support.
In BC, a 2024 BCTF membership survey found that 1 in 6 teachers had seriously considered leaving the profession due to unmanageable stress (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2024). Causes cited included:
- Increased workloads due to staffing shortages
- Larger class sizes and greater complexity of student needs
- Lack of preparation time
- Political pressure and top-down policy changes
- Emotional exhaustion from caregiving roles
These aren’t personal problems. They are professional, systemic, and solvable—but not if we keep pretending burnout is a personal flaw.
Navigating the Politics (and the Powerlessness)
Politics in education are exhausting. One week it’s a new curriculum, the next it’s a funding cut or another round of “learning recovery” initiatives. The impact often falls squarely on teachers—with little room for your voice in the process.
This invisibility can lead to what’s called moral injury—the pain of knowing what your students need and being unable to provide it due to systemic constraints (Dean, 2020).
No wonder your body is waving red flags.
Counselling Can Help
Here’s some good news: you don’t have to handle this alone, and you don’t necessarily have to pay out of pocket.
The BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) offers a Health and Wellness Program that connects teachers with professional rehabilitation consultants and funded counselling (BC Teachers’ Federation, n.d.). If you’re covered by the Salary Indemnity Plan, you can access emotional and psychological support.
At Love This Therapy, we work with many teachers who are accessing these programs—and we understand what you’re up against. Our goal is simple: to help you feel like you again.
What Therapy Can Do for You
In therapy, you’re not a “teacher who’s struggling”—you’re a full person, with needs, strengths, wounds, and dreams. We can help you:
- Understand where your burnout is coming from (hint: it’s not just you).
- Rebuild self-compassion when you’re blaming yourself for feeling this way.
- Learn boundaries that protect your energy, not just your time.
- Reconnect with purpose—even if you’re not sure what it looks like anymore.
What Kinds of Therapy Help with Burnout?
Different approaches work for different people, but research shows that these modalities can be especially effective:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – Helps challenge burnout-related beliefs like “I’m not good enough” or “If I take a break, I’m lazy” (Sokal et al., 2022).
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) – Teaches you how to respond to stress with awareness and calm instead of reactivity (Shapiro et al., 2005).
- Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) – Helps you tune into, make sense of, and move through painful emotions. EFT supports you in accessing the wisdom beneath your feelings, guiding you to respond with compassion and clarity rather than shutting down or powering through. It’s especially useful when burnout has left you feeling emotionally stuck or overwhelmed.
- Narrative Therapy – Helps you step back and separate yourself from the problem. Instead of “I am burnt out,” we start to ask, “What does burnout say about me—and is it true?” This approach invites you to explore the stories you’ve been living by—like “I should always have it together” or “If I don’t do it, no one will”—and rewrite them with more self-compassion, agency, and truth. It’s especially helpful for teachers because it honours your values, makes room for complexity, and reminds you that burnout is a chapter—not the whole book.
Small Steps Toward Healing
Here are a few gentle practices that might help ease the weight:
- Set Micro-Boundaries: Leave one email unanswered until tomorrow. It’s okay.
- Reclaim Your Breaks: Eat your lunch. Sit down. Step outside. Even 5 minutes matters.
- Create a “You” Corner: A space in your home that is just for comfort, not productivity.
- Talk About It: With a colleague, counsellor, or loved one. You don’t need to hide this.
- Be Unapologetically Human: You are allowed to need rest, joy, silliness, and softness.
You Are Worth More Than Your Productivity
Burnout lies. It tells you that you should be able to “handle it,” that everyone else is doing fine, that asking for help is weak. None of that is true.
You are not your lesson plans. You are not your student’s test scores. You are a whole human being, deserving of care, support, and healing.
If you are struggling with burnout, please reach out to us today. You can contact us at 604-229-4887 or at info@lovethistherapy.com. We are here to help.
References
Agyapong, B., da Luz Dias, R., Wei, Y., & Agyapong, V. I. O. (2024). Burnout among elementary and high school teachers in three Canadian provinces: Prevalence and predictors. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1396461. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1396461
BC Teachers’ Federation. (2024). Second annual BCTF membership survey. https://www.bctf.ca
BC Teachers’ Federation. (n.d.). Health and wellness program. https://www.bctf.ca/topics/services-information/wellness
Dean, W., Talbot, S., & Dean, A. (2020). Reframing clinician distress: Moral injury not burnout. The Lancet, 393(10171), 494. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30742-7
Oberle, E., & Schonert-Reichl, K. A. (2016). Stress contagion in the classroom? The link between teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school students. Social Science & Medicine, 159, 30–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.04.031
Shapiro, S. L., Astin, J. A., Bishop, S. R., & Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomized trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(2), 164–176.
Sokal, L., Babb, J., & Eblie Trudel, L. (2022). THIS IS US: Latent profile analysis of Canadian teachers’ burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian Journal of Education, 45(2), 555–585. https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.v45i2.5057
