From Burnout to Breakthrough: Lessons Learned from a Year of Reflection
During the last school year, I faced several challenges that led me to take the year off from teaching. If you had asked me during that time what those challenges were, I would have said it was a lack of support from administration and being a dumping ground for difficult special education situations.
Last school year, I started the year in my 11th year as a special education teacher, taking on a new role in my school as the social skills teacher. My job was to teach social skills and executive functioning to students in grades 5 through 8, as outlined in their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). I serviced over 90 students across four grade levels, each with different minutes, strengths, and needs. I was excited about this new role and loved the idea of creating something from scratch.
I actually loved the role itself. I enjoyed grouping students across grade levels who needed to work on similar skills. In previous years, each grade-level case manager taught social skills to their own caseload, but now I had the opportunity to create more targeted groups. I was thrilled to lead an anxiety group for students struggling with high anxiety and a big emotions group for students working on identifying emotions and developing coping skills. Creating the various groups and setting up the scope was among my favorite things from last year. I loved creating lesson plans, building relationships with my students, and making an impact in their lives.
At the start of the year, I also proposed using my classroom as a break room for students who needed to step away from their regular classroom. As a former inclusive special education teacher co-teaching math and ELA classes in the school, I knew the value of having a break space. While it seemed like a great idea at first—and at times, it was—overall, it ended up interfering with other areas of my work.
One particularly challenging situation involved a self-contained student who needed a place to complete his work due to a staffing shortage. I agreed to let him use my room as his classroom, but this added yet another responsibility to my already full plate. I felt like I was juggling three separate special education roles, and instead of excelling in one, I felt like I was failing at all of them.
The first month wasn’t too bad as I got everything organized and set up. I had expected to put in extra time during that first month to ensure the rest of the year would run smoothly. However, that intense workload continued into the second month and beyond.
By mid-year, I still wasn’t getting prep time or lunch breaks. I sought support from administration multiple times, but the help I needed wasn’t provided. I reflected on my main role of teaching social skills and made adjustments to improve it. I reevaluated the expectations for students taking breaks in my room and established clearer boundaries with staff. I also adjusted the schedule and routine for the self-contained student.
Despite my efforts, it all became unmanageable. I thought I was doing everything I needed to by asking for help, but when that support didn’t come, I hit my breaking point. Multiple breakdowns, frequent illnesses, and an inability to recover fully ultimately led me to leave my position. This wasn’t a decision I made lightly. Leaving a career I had loved and dedicated myself to for so many years was heartbreaking.
After leaving, I thought it would take me a long time to recover, but after three days in bed, I began to feel better. I focused on my health, my family, and my self-care. And, of course, I did a lot of reflecting.
What could I have done differently? At the time, I felt I had jumped through all the necessary hoops to get support from program support staff and administrators. Even now, I believe I did what I needed to in that area, but I also had to face the role I played in getting to that point.
How did I get here? What can I do differently to avoid getting here again? The answers came down to boundaries—or my lack of them. I hadn’t upheld the boundaries I set, didn’t recognize my limits, and fell into the trap of being a “yes ma’am” people-pleaser.
I used to think being a good teacher meant taking on everything asked of me, but I’ve learned that saying yes to everything doesn’t make you a good teacher. In fact, it can have the opposite effect. Taking on too much can prevent you from excelling at what truly matters.
You can’t please everyone, so who should you focus on pleasing? If you try to adjust for one person, it will likely upset someone else, creating an endless cycle. The only person you should focus on pleasing is yourself. You know what is best for you, and you have to stand firm in your decisions.
It’s also crucial to be able to shut off work and focus on yourself and the things that matter outside of work. For me, that’s my family, my children, my hobbies, and simply being able to relax. Because I was constantly trying to catch up with work, my nights and weekends were consumed, leaving no time to recover.
This imbalance affected my home life and my ability to be the mother, friend, sister, daughter, and teacher I always prided myself on being. These were struggles I had always dealt with, but this year they pushed me to my limits. I had to become fully aware of how my own habits contributed to the life I was living.
I then had to decide: would I continue living with these struggles and allow the cycle of stress and burnout to continue, or would I stop it in its tracks? I chose to take the rest of the year to work on the areas holding me back—not just professionally but personally too.
Leaving my career and salary behind wasn’t all smooth sailing, sunshine, or picture-perfect moments. My life felt like it was moving from one chaotic situation to the next. I didn’t have a solid plan or financial security, but I did have time—time to heal, reflect, and work on myself.
Through reading, coaching, prayer, and self-care, I improved many areas of my life. One of my biggest areas of growth was learning to set and maintain boundaries.
Another major takeaway was learning to take accountability. When facing challenges, I now ask myself, “What role did I play in getting here?” If you don’t take the time to understand your own contributions to a problem, you can’t change anything. Self-awareness is the first step to improvement.
In the past, I had dabbled in self-care, mindfulness, and gratitude, but my efforts were inconsistent. I realized that to see meaningful growth, I needed to make these practices daily habits. Just like physical fitness, growth requires consistent effort.
Now, every morning, I spend time stretching, journaling, meditating, expressing gratitude, and setting intentions. By committing to this routine, I’ve seen my personal growth accelerate in ways I never expected.
Though burnout and leaving my job weren’t the challenges I had dreamed of, they were the ones I needed to grow. While I’m no longer using my skills in a school, I’m applying them in my personal life and my new role as a counselor and coach.
Reflection Questions
As I reflect on this past year, I’m reminded of the importance of pausing to consider the lessons we’ve learned, the challenges we’ve overcome, and the growth we’ve experienced. Reflection is a powerful tool for moving forward with purpose and clarity. To help you in your own reflection, here are some questions to guide your thoughts as you look back on the past year and prepare for what lies ahead:
What challenges did you face this past year, and how did they shape you?
What role did you play in the challenges you encountered, and what can you learn from that?
Were there any boundaries you struggled to set or maintain? How could you handle those situations differently moving forward?
How did you take care of yourself this year, and what changes could you make to prioritize your well-being?
How will you use what you’ve learned to make the upcoming year even more fulfilling?
What is one habit or practice you can commit to daily to continue your personal growth?
Taking the time to reflect on where you’ve been and what you’ve learned can help you step into the new year with clarity, intention, and hope. Remember, growth doesn’t happen all at once—it’s the small, consistent steps that make the biggest difference. Here’s to learning from the past, embracing the present, and creating a fulfilling future. Wishing you a year filled with purpose, balance, and joy!
