Understanding and Managing the January Blues for Teachers
As the new year begins, many of us feel the weight of the January blues—a time marked by low mood, anxiety, and a noticeable dip in energy. For teachers, this period can be particularly challenging. The return to the classroom after the festive break often brings a mix of demands: the pressures of a new term, the post-holiday slump, and the need to recalibrate after a season of celebration and rest.
External factors, like financial stress from festive spending, colder weather, and reduced sunlight, can exacerbate these feelings. For some, this may even lead to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), adding another layer of difficulty to an already demanding time.
While the January blues can feel overwhelming, understanding its causes and recognising the signs is a vital step in overcoming it. In this blog, we’ll explore how teachers can take practical steps to support their mental health and wellbeing, helping to create a more balanced and positive start to the year.
Blue Monday - New Year, New Anxiety
The third Monday of January, often called “Blue Monday,” is said to be the year’s most depressing day. While the science behind this is debatable, the long, dark nights and post-holiday slump make January a mentally challenging month, particularly for teachers.
A new term brings fresh demands—new classes, updated curricula, and endless forms—all adding to the pressures already faced by school staff. The strain of maintaining New Year’s resolutions can further heighten stress and anxiety.
Limited sunlight exposure can worsen seasonal affective disorder symptoms, leading to low mood and motivation. As teachers, our mental health directly affects both ourselves and our students, underscoring the importance of prioritising self-care.
Supporting Staff Wellbeing Post-Holidays
The post-holiday slump leaves teachers and school staff emotionally drained and unfocused. Alongside seasonal challenges like long nights, cold weather, and illness, the demands of a new term make it hard to stay fully present with students.
Students rely on us as role models, but when energy and creativity wane, low moods can spread, creating a cycle of stress and apathy. Teachers cannot effectively support students without prioritising their own wellbeing. By embracing self-care, balancing personal and professional demands, and addressing systemic burnout risks, schools can foster a healthier, more positive environment for everyone during winter.
Teacher Wellbeing and School Culture
So how can schools support and improve staff wellbeing and motivate the school workforce during January?
Balancing personal life and professional commitments is crucial for enhancing overall well-being. There are small, achievable steps senior leaders and teachers can take to boost their staff wellbeing, manage stress and their own mental health, even on the dreariest of January days:
1. Prioritise Self-Care:
Teachers
Set a daily 10-minute alarm for enjoying a warm drink while chatting with a colleague or doing gentle stretches. Taking this short break helps teachers mentally and physically recharge, and it’s important for teachers to take their own advice by engaging in these self-care activities.
Schools
One way to promote practical support in schools for both teachers’ and pupil wellbeing is to convert unused rooms or building areas into staff-only/ student-only spaces for relaxation, offering comfortable seating, mood lighting, relaxation tools, healthy snacks and beverages.
2. Embrace Comfort
Teachers
Combat stark school environments by bringing comforting touches like cozy blankets, herbal teas, essential oils and soothing music into staff spaces. Creating a refuge-like staffroom promotes teacher wellness. This can be an excellent way to relax.
Schools
It goes without saying that the teaching profession requires a level of professionalism in terms of personal conduct and dress, but encouraging staff to have a relaxed uniform day once a week or a month is one way to boost job satisfaction amongst staff members.
3. Get some sunlight
Teachers
Despite the shorter darker days, you must get outside into the fresh air and get some natural light to lift your mood. We all know that natural daylight does a great job of raising your serotonin (our body’s feel-good chemical) levels, which are particularly low in winter. “Going outside can increase positive mood and alleviate depression,” says Kathryn A. Roecklein, Ph. Even on cold days, getting outside during lunch or free periods can lift your mood. Wrap up warm and go for a brief walk to clear your head.
Schools
Encourage school teachers to create lessons and activities that require gathering natural objects or making observations outdoors so learning incorporates movement. By creating a school culture that encourages small outdoor excursions into staff and students’ regular routines. It not only boosts mood-regulating sunlight exposure but can provide health benefits from exercising eyes, changing position, breathing fresh air, and enjoying an aesthetically pleasing environment.
4. Seek support
Teachers
Teachers can confide struggles in trusted colleagues who understand the realities they face or turn to designated mentors, counsellors, employee assistance programmes, or mental health first aiders to discuss job stressors confidentially. Schools could also survey staff on desired support services and policies that foster wellness.
With self-care and social support, teachers can overcome January blues and continue nurturing student growth. The winter won’t last forever – soon the mornings will brighten and signs of spring will lift our spirits.
Schools
Schools should hold open conversations with school staff and the deputy headteacher to support and promote wellbeing in the classroom. One way to do this to survey teachers on work factors and how they negatively impact their wellbeing and if staff feel supported or have access to practical support.
From this, the schools can make policy changes accordingly, fostering positive relationships between leadership and staff through open communication, providing access to confidential counsellors familiar with teacher stresses, offering opportunities for peer collaboration, building time for self-care into teacher schedules, incentivising the use of school wellness resources, and proactively supply classroom tools and training to prevent burnout.
Burnout in school staff
Teacher burnout sneaks up slowly, as the initial spark of enthusiasm for the job gets gradually diluted by mounting paperwork, new initiatives, disciplinary issues, and meeting everyone’s needs except our own. It’s easy to ignore the subtle clues of impending burnout from our always-busy colleagues. Yet paying attention can allow for early intervention before toxic stress impacts health.
Symptoms of Burnout:
- Difficulty managing workload
- Relying on coffee as a constant companion
- Difficulty sleeping in the evening and getting up in the morning
- Having high levels of stress and anxiety
- Feeling and looking drained even after time off
- Forgetting tasks that used to be second nature
- Becoming impatient with student questions
- Withdrawing from social interactions can indicate rising exhaustion.
Reading between the lines and checking in on each other’s workload capacity with empathy allows us as education staff to restore balance through mentorship, dividing duties, or additional resources before teacher stress becomes a problem in the first place. Spotting the early warning signs helps sustain educators’ passion so they can continue nurturing young minds without running on empty.
Here are some tips for teachers to avoid stress and burnout:
1. Set Boundaries:
Be protective of your time by setting clear limits on your availability outside of contract hours. Say no to non-essential extra responsibilities.
2. Take Breaks:
Make sure to take your full lunch break plus short breaks to walk away from your desk, get a drink, or do some deep breathing exercises.
3. Connect With Colleagues:
Build positive relationships with coworkers for support and collaboration. Vent frustrations together or brainstorm solutions rather than isolating.
4. Practise Self-Care:
Eat nutritious meals, exercise, get enough sleep, partake in relaxing hobbies, and do things unrelated to teaching to boost your mood.
5. Set Realistic Expectations:
Be honest with yourself and leadership about what is achievable given available resources and don’t take ownership over systemic issues.
6. Ask For Help
Seek assistance from mentors or the administration rather than struggling alone. Delegate, collaborate with colleagues, or get professional support services if needed.
Promoting a Positive Mental Health in the Classroom
The challenges teachers face come part and parcel with rich rewards in the classroom that make the profession so meaningful. As we weather the seasonal slump in January, supporting and focusing on supporting each other is everything.
While January brings struggles, utilising available support systems when high levels of stress and anxiety start to affect our mental health, taking care of ourselves and colleagues allows teachers to continue making an invaluable difference. Though this month may feel long and dreary, the days are already growing longer as we move closer to spring and renewed sunshine in the months ahead!
References:
Teacher Wellbeing Index
Education Support is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff in schools, colleges and universities. Their annual Teacher Wellbeing Index provides an insight into the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff working in the UK. For any headteacher, assistant headteacher or senior leaders it is worthwhile reading the report and its findings to support staff wellbeing in the school community and wider education workforce.
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