What is true self-care? What do you do for self-care?

We're talking all about true self-care in today's episode. Self-care is an important part of a teacher’s mental health, but there are misconceptions about what it is. Some teachers dismiss self-care as “selfish”. But for teachers, self-care is a lot more than taking a bath or treating yourself to a spa day and that's what we're talking about today.

True self-care is about taking care of your mental health so that you’re prepared to be the best teacher you can be for yourself and your students. True self-care is about doing things to make you more healthy so you can show up better for the people that need you.

For this episode, I asked REAL members of our Wife Teacher Mommy community for their thoughts and advice on what true self-care looks like to them. We get to hear real responses and tips from real teachers just like you! Some teachers like to get their nails done. Others like to just be at home around their family and dog. True self-care doesn't look the same for everybody.

Not only do we hear from real teachers about true self-care, we also talking about what you can do to reframe how you think about self-care, so that we can view it as not being selfish, but as being self-FULL. The more we fill our cup, the more we have to offer to others. So how do we fill our cup? We talk all about it in this episode.

The most important thing when it comes to helping others, is to take care of yourself first. While taking a bubble bath, reading a book for enjoyment, or meeting friends for coffee might work immediately, sometimes more work needs to be done. Through using the tools necessary to take care of yourself, you’re ultimately making yourself a more effective teacher for you and your students. 

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/true-self-care

In this episode on practicing true self-care as a teacher and/or parent, we discuss:

• What true self-care is and why it is important
• How self-care is actually self full not selfish
• Tips and advice from real teachers about what true self-care is to them
• Why you should treat yourself with the same amount of care that you treat your students with
• How true self-care decreases stress in the classroom and increases longevity in your career

Resources mentioned:

• January Jumpstart
• Homeschool Mom Summit
• Join the Wife Teacher Mommy Club!
• Wife Teacher Mommy: Mentioned on Podcast Amazon List 

Related episodes and blog posts:

• Episode 42, Why My Panic Attack Was the BEST Thing That Ever Happened to Me
• Stress Management for Teachers: Understanding the Stress Cycle with Brittany Blackwell [episode 54]
• How to OWN Your Wins & Set Intentional Teacher Goals [episode 52]
• How to Achieve Work Life Balance as a Wife Teacher Mommy with Sarah Snider [episode 47]
• Teacher Mindset: The 5 Step Framework That Will Change the Way You Think About Teaching and Life [Episode 39]
• How To Be An Effective Teacher By Taking Care of Yourself with Lizzie Langston [episode 43]
• Episode 35, 10 Absolute Kid-Favorite Halloween Teaching Ideas & Resources