Teaching Through a Personal or Medical Crisis: How to Protect Your Peace and Stay Afloat

Teaching Through a Personal or Medical Crisis: How to Protect Your Peace and Stay Afloat

When you’re a teacher, life doesn’t hit pause just because the school year’s in full swing. Some seasons bring more than lesson plans and data meetings — they bring you face-to-face with personal challenges, medical scares, or emotional upheaval.

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And here’s the truth: teachers are people too. It's a recurring theme in my new book, Teachaholic: The 7-Day MindSET Shift to Conquer Burnout, Build Life-Changing Boundaries, and Reignite Your Love for Teaching — available now on Amazon. We carry invisible loads while managing classrooms full of kids who depend on our consistency and care. I’ve been there — through personal crises, through health scares — and I know how disorienting it feels when your world spins faster than you can manage.

Revitalize your teaching passion with "Teachaholic"—a 7-day mindset journey to overcome burnout, establish lasting boundaries, and rediscover the joy of teaching. For more information, visit erinsponaugle.com/book.

If that’s where you are right now, take a breath. You are not failing. You are simply human. Here are some gentle ways to keep teaching through a personal or medical crisis — and protect your own well-being along the way.

The things we will be going over that will help you get through teaching during a personal or medical crisis are:

• What to Share and When

• Letting Things Go

• Giving Yourself Permission Not to Care

• Keeping Things Predictable

• Asking for Help

• A Resource for a Time of Support

Want to listen to this message instead of read? You can hear the audio version in my podcast or click the Mp3 below.

Episode 31 of the Next Chapter for Teachers Podcast dives into "Teaching When Your Life Is In Crisis: What To Do" with insights and guidance from Erin Sponaugle.

When You Are Teaching Through a Personal Crisis, You Decide What to Share — and When

When personal or medical challenges arise, remember that you’re in the driver’s seat of your own story. You don’t owe anyone full disclosure.

It’s appropriate to let your administrator know if your situation might affect your attendance or energy level, but beyond that, share what feels right to you. Colleagues and students don’t need all the details — and sometimes, protecting your privacy is part of protecting your peace.

If your emotions spill into the classroom, it’s okay to acknowledge to your students that you’re having a tough time — just as they do. It becomes a quiet lesson in empathy. But never feel pressured to overshare. Boundaries are not barriers; they’re a form of self-respect.

Navigating Challenges: Teaching Resilience Amid Personal Struggles

Let Things Go When You're Going Through a Personal or Medical Crisis — You’re in Emotional (and Physical) Triage

When life falls apart, your energy becomes a finite resource. You can’t do it all, and that’s okay. This is your emotional and physical triage moment.

If you’re serving on committees, running clubs, or volunteering for extra duties, it’s time to step back. The classroom will be enough for now. You might not get to be the teacher you’ve always been this year — but that doesn’t make you a bad teacher. It makes you a human one.

Finding Wellness in Teaching: Navigating the Classroom During Personal Crisis

Run in “Safe Mode”

When your computer glitches, you restart it in safe mode — just the basics, nothing extra. The same principle applies here. Teaching through a personal crisis requires you to conserve your energy so you can focus on your own needs and prioritize your health.

Run your classroom (and your life) in teacher safe mode. Focus on essential operations: your students’ safety, learning flow, and your own basic well-being. Everything else can wait.

This won’t last forever, but during the storm, you need permission to do less.

Guidance for Teachers Facing Life Crises: Self-Care Strategies for Navigating Difficult Times.

Give Yourself Permission Not to Care (As Much) As a Teacher Going Through a Life Crisis

Let’s be real: test scores, data walls, and performance goals can feel meaningless when your personal life is unraveling. To be honest, I doubt how meaningful they are when life isn't in crisis either, but when your life is falling a apart, those teacher things we are primed to obsess over become even less important. It's okay not to are as much when you are doing your best to keep your own head (and possibly your family as well) above water.

You’re not neglecting your job by emotionally detaching a bit — you’re protecting your mental health. Not everything deserves your energy right now. You are allowed to stop chasing perfection and start chasing peace.

The classroom work will be there, and time will march on. But if you are going to get through this rough patch, you need to allow yourself to direct your energy elsewhere.

Guidance for Educators: Navigating the Challenges of Teaching During Personal or Medical Struggles

During a Personal or Medical Crisis, Keep One Thing Predictable in Your Routines as a Teacher

When everything else feels unpredictable, routine becomes an anchor. Keep at least one classroom routine that grounds you — morning meetings, music during work time, even a small ritual like a daily affirmation with your students.

That sense of stability helps you and your class feel tethered in a season that otherwise feels chaotic. When there are things going on in your body or your personal life that are out of your control, those little things that bring routine and order to your life can be a grounding force.

Guide for Teachers: Strategies to Leave School on Time and Protect Your Schedule During Life's Challenges (Free Download Available)

When Teaching Thorugh a Personal or Medical Crisis, Ask for (and Accept) Help

Teachers are professional givers. Asking for help? Not our default setting. But when you’re in crisis, that mindset can become your undoing.

If you’ve opened up to your administrator or team, accept support when it’s offered. Whether it’s coverage for a meeting, a day off for medical appointments, or a colleague sharing lesson materials — take it. Those small mercies can lift more weight than you realize.

Help is not a weakness. It’s a bridge back to balance.

Discover how to prevent burnout and nurture your well-being with the Teachaholic book—essential reading for every overwhelmed teacher. Download now to reclaim your balance.

The Only Way Out Is Through

As Robert Frost said, “The only way out is through.”This isn’t the season to prove how strong you are — it’s the season to heal while holding on to what truly matters.

And when you make it to the other side (because you will), you’ll carry more empathy, perspective, and compassion into your teaching than ever before.

If you’re navigating a season of burnout, boundary battles, or personal crisis, you’ll find even more support inside my new book Teachaholic: The 7-Day MindSET Shift to Conquer Burnout, Build Life-Changing Boundaries, and Reignite Your Love for Teaching — available now on Amazon.

🎁 Grab your free Teacher Boundary Action Guide to start creating space for yourself — even in the hardest seasons. It's the perfect complement to Teachaholic, featuring reflection questions, graphic organizers, and guidance to help you prepare for a better life, both in and out of the classroom. Get your FREE copy below!