Why am I so tired and burnt out teaching?

“Don’t get me wrong I love teaching. But everyone I work with (me included) is waiting for the shoe to drop.”source ↗

“I am done watching educators be told how “important” we are while being treated as though our education, time, safety, and sacrifices have little value.”source ↗

“All of them commenting on my post earlier basically are saying “i put up with bullshit so you must to”. Yeah you have been teaching for 10-30 years. And our education system is in fucking shambles compared to when you started.”source ↗

“I get overwhelmed by the noise, the constant demands, and being pulled in five directions. I spend Sundays anxious about Monday. I worry about losing my job. A difficult conversation can follow me home and live in my head for days.”source ↗

“When someone takes a complaint to my supervisor without talking to me, I feel blindsided. Then I replay everything I’ve said, question every interaction, and wonder who else has a problem with me.”source ↗

“Tired of coming home with nothing left because I spent the entire day trying to hold myself together.”source ↗

“The hardest part is wondering what happens to a dream when living it starts hurting this much.”source ↗

“They're mad because they posted about throwing in the towel after year 1, quarter 1.”source ↗

“Almost everyone seems to be overwhelmed and burning out already this year.”source ↗

“I am sending solidarity to each and every colleague out there who is struggling, btw. It shouldn’t be this hard to do good work.”source ↗

“I'm tired of the insults. I'm tired of threats. I'm tired of feeling like I'm bad at my job because I can't respond to all of these damn emails and grade this massive amount of papers and smile and teach and tell kids to put their phones away”source ↗

“this year so far is kicking my butt. My data looks like crap, my recent walks I’ve felt were awful, and I just feel like I’m failing miserably.”source ↗

“I also have 4 kids who are on the spectrum and need a lot of social support to the point where every second of the day it feels like I’m just calling for help or trying to put out fires myself.”source ↗

“I took a mental health day recently and it’s not enough.”source ↗

“Like why else would any of us willingly sign up to be in a workspace where personal and professional boundaries are constantly crossed? Where you’re routinely overstimulated, physically and mentally exhausted, and dodging school politics, teacher drama, administrative pressures, low pay, and daily classroom management battles?”source ↗

“We are only 3 weeks into the school year and I'm already thinking of calling it.”source ↗

“Teachers that have successfully avoided burnout how do you keep yourself from calling in sick?”source ↗

“I'm angry at the parents, politicians, and admin constantly circling around us and making our jobs miserable.”source ↗

“It's so exhausting to see the state of education as a new teacher. I feel less and less hope by the day, and I don't know how to cope with it.”source ↗

“I feel powerless! I don't know what to do. I'm screaming into the void and no one is listening...”source ↗

“Some mornings I don’t know how to make myself go to work.”source ↗

“I think maybe the work is getting to me more than it used to.”source ↗

“Ive decided I simply cannot keep up with the work load and I am going to quit.”source ↗

“I haven’t been there long enough to know how they handle people quitting, so I am tempted to give them two weeks notice so they can prepare for my absence, but I’m worried about my pay being docked/held and selfishly worried about dealing with the drama of leaving/answering questions from everyone for weeks”source ↗

“I feel so much guilt about quitting but I really feel I am not capable of this workload.”source ↗

“I guess I’m just worried I’ll be one of the many teachers who quits in their first 5 years.”source ↗

“I just worry I’ll hate it.”source ↗

“1st year I knew it would be tough but 2nd year I still feel like I’m prepping all the time & dealing with behavior management”source ↗

“Am I the only one already fatigued, sleeping poorly, and it’s only October as of tomorrow?”source ↗

“Felt this exact same way and left last year!”source ↗

“It’s getting to the point where I end every day feeling like my soul was sucked out of my body, ran through the wringer, and then chucked back in my face, ripped and sopping wet.”source ↗

“I’m tired of playing the political admin game. I’m tired of dealing with kids who behave like it is their first time in a public space. I’m tired of being expected to do so much and put so many hours in for so little.”source ↗

“left me feeling frustrated, burned out, and unsure about my future in teaching.”source ↗

“If you’re feeling burned out, frustrated, or disrespected, just know there is a better job out there for you.”source ↗

“Besides the student behavior she’s talked about how much clerical work they seem to have to do, and how little support they receive from administration.”source ↗

“BUT because she keeps being expected to do jobs that aren’t what she signed up for she’s getting burnt out.”source ↗

“Here I am 6 weeks in to the new school year and I have decided I will not be renewing my contract for next year. I’m just so exhausted by this job.”source ↗

“The afternoon after-lunch slump is kicking my sorry behind.”source ↗

“My head gets achy and foggy, my body feels like I’m walking through mud, and it’s increasingly exhausting to keep myself patient, gentle, and calm.”source ↗

“I’ve been trying an after lunch walk and upping my protein at lunch but I’m still a total zombie!”source ↗

“I’ve been teaching for twelve years. Last school year ended terribly, and those seven weeks of vacation weren't nearly enough for me to recover. I started this year feeling completely disheartened and anxious.”source ↗

“At work, I’m constantly irritable and on edge. The slightest thing throws me off, and I hate how I sometimes react to the kids.”source ↗

“Then I spend two days in a state of total anxiety over my reaction, obsessively replaying the situation, wondering what I could have done differently and what the consequences might be.”source ↗

“There are still struggles for me and I’m in year 8.”source ↗

“every morning I’m extremely anxious and have stomach problems. I feel like I can barely eat.”source ↗

“It’s just such a new adjustment and the curriculum is heavy.”source ↗

“I have to travel back and forth between buildings every day. And to meet everyone's minimum time, I have not been able to make a planning or lunch in my schedule.”source ↗

“I come home and have nothing left to give for my family. I am mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. I have cried myself to sleep every night since this school year started.”source ↗

“I’ve had to go to the doctor to get medication for anxiety. I can’t sleep. When I do sleep I’m exhausted.”source ↗

“ms pe is 90% crowd control and 10% actual teaching. you'll still be tired but it's a different kind of tired, more physical than mental”source ↗

“Managing a wide range of student needs and behaviors while keeping up with administrative demands has left me feeling overwhelmed and under-supported.”source ↗

“Everything you listed plus micromanaging admin and loss of autonomy.”source ↗

“Meanwhile this school has consecutively failed state assessments for the 4th year in a row, I think? But if you look at the gradebook they’re all passing. You can thank admin.”source ↗

“I miss my first five years when I had more patient and thought I was way better than I actually was. Looking back, of course, I wasn’t very good and am fifty times a better teacher now. But I’m tired and jaded, lol.”source ↗

“I’m in my 5th year and in some ways it’s my hardest yet.”source ↗

“I currently teach middle school music in CA, and while I love it and it’s what I studied for, it’s a lot and I find both my physical and mental health suffering because of it.”source ↗

“You lost me at “teachers that have successfully avoided burnout.””source ↗

“In the past, when the job was very difficult for me, Id try to tough it out for the first few months without taking any days off.”source ↗

“It’s somewhat helpful because I don’t feel heavy or anything, but I’m still slogging!”source ↗

“It’s a performance for sure. And it’s exhausting. And after 32 years I’m worn pretty thin.”source ↗

“I definitely won’t be in the game that long.”source ↗

“3rd year teacher here. I feel the same way. I don’t know why everyone else seems content. Maybe they’re better at hiding it. This is probably going to be my last year.”source ↗

“I feel you. It’s exhausting to work so hard and get what feels like not many wins.”source ↗

“I feel this. It definitely becomes draining. My issue is I’m afraid of what’s waiting if I jump to the other side.”source ↗

“I find the typical pattern at these schools is that if the kids do well at something, it’s because they worked really hard; if they fail at something, it’s the teacher’s fault.”source ↗

“This is my 19th year. I’m 61. Only here for the benefits.”source ↗

“the hardest part of the job for me was all the gaslighting where all these little shits were actually "perfect angels at home" and it is my fault for bringing out something bad in them.”source ↗

“I am in year 7, and I find I never begin to settle in until the end of the 1st quarter.”source ↗

“Def struggled in yr 2. 3rd year with same curriculum I found just a tiny bit of wiggle room and from that point on it got a little easier each year.”source ↗

“MS PE can either be a lot of fun or so frustrating just depending on the day and how the kids are feeling. There’s days where I never want to come back and days that fly by”source ↗

“I sometimes find myself trapped in an all-or-nothing way of thinking, and it’s hard for me to imagine a middle ground.”source ↗

“How possible will it be for me to find schools that are able to accommodate for this, if at all?”source ↗

“I ended up having to leave the program early because my body was like physically rejecting the hours.”source ↗

“Anything more than that, though, and I’m fairly certain I won’t be able to keep that up long-term.”source ↗

“I'm so tired. I just graduated May of 2026 and I was in the accelerated masters program so Im taking 4 classes this semester and 3 next and Ill be done but I am just so tired.”source ↗

“I work full time as well and I feel so close but it also feels so far away and then after that I want to focus on my CPA but geez it feels never ending.”source ↗

“I want to quit so bad I have no motivation I stopped reading the textbooks and powerpoints and just answer the questions based off my prior knowledge, common sense, and work experience but its so stupid because I'm so close I just need a push please say anything to make me act right.”source ↗