“We also agree that school MHL must be expanded to include the development of teacher resiliency in the profession. Burnt-out teachers lack the resources to care for themselves and others” (Chang, 2009; Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001 as cited in Weston, 2018)

Self care is a term we hear all the time, but most of us probably do not take it as seriously as we should. In general, many of us may think we just have to keep “going going going, because ‘X’ person was able to achieve ‘X’ thing, so why shouldn’t I be able to do the same if not more?” (or something along those lines) and it’s insane. Needless to say- it’s no ones fault, we’ve all been there and have been in a similar mindset but why are we as a society still undermining and remain apprehended to the idea that mental health is a restricted, ‘let’s not go there’ type territory?
We have to take the theory and discussions surrounding self care and practice it. Teachers, students, and everyone for that matter deserves a chance to learn about mental health in efforts for to decrease self deprecating behavior, avoid “burning out”, and prosper. The importance of mental health literacy is on the rise, and not everyone has the opportunity to receive- let alone know about mental health and how one can take the right steps in seeking help when needed (at some point we ALL need it). MHL (Mental Health Literacy) should be implemented in our pedagogy and can bring the stigmatization that the topic is still associated with, to a halt. Our curriculum should and absolutely needs to support students, while we also make sure we are supporting ourselves.