The Crash Before the Break: Why End-of-Term Exhaustion Isn’t Fixed by Summer

The countdown is over. The lanyard’s off. The classroom is locked.You made it!

So why don’t you feel better?

The end of term should feel like a victory. But for many teachers, it feels more like a crash, the kind where your body finally stops running on adrenaline and suddenly you are faced with the full weight of how much you have been holding.

And then comes the guilt,

“I should be happy. I should be relaxed. Why do I still feel broken?”

Let’s talk about it.

Burnout Doesn’t Care About the Calendar

Teacher burnout doesn’t neatly clock out on the last day of school.In fact, it often peaks after term ends, when your system finally drops its guard.

For weeks (or months), you have been running on fumes:

• Mentally calculating who still hasn’t completed coursework.

• Emotionally supporting students through personal chaos.

• Navigating endless admin, meetings, data, reports.

When the bell rings on the last day, your nervous system doesn’t magically reset. The break arrives, but you are too depleted to enjoy it.

The Summer Shame Spiral

Here’s what shouldn’t happen:

• You crash.

• You feel guilty for being tired.

• You pressure yourself to “make the most” of your time off.

• You plan everything, holidays, decorating, “catching up on life.”

• You end the summer still exhausted.

The truth is, teachers are rarely given permission to fully rest. Not without guilt. Not without being told how lucky they are. Not without someone asking, 

“What are you going to do with all that time off?”

But healing isn’t a productivity contest.

This Isn’t Just Tiredness

Let’s name it for what it is. This isn’t just end-of-term tired. This is deep, cellular, emotional depletion. It’s what happens when you’ve been “on” for too long. When you've given too much of yourself away. Teachers aren’t just educators.  You are counsellors, mediators, carers, planners, crisis-managers and parental stand-ins. No amount of scented candles or time off changes the fact that you’ve been running a marathon with no water station.

What If Rest Looked Different This Summer?

Forget the hustle of “doing summer right.”Forget the expectation to bounce back overnight. Forget the need to justify how you use your break.

This summer isn’t about becoming a better teacher.  It is about becoming yourself again.

And maybe that means:

• Saying no to plans you don’t have energy for.

• Letting the to-do list gather dust.

• Not fixing anything, including yourself.

You Deserve More Than Survival

At Stone in My Boot, we hear from teachers all the time who arrive at the end of term hollowed out. They don’t want a workshop. They don’t want a motivational quote. They just want somewhere safe to be human again.

That’s what we are here for. Whether it’s through therapy, walking therapy retreats or simply knowing someone sees you this space exists to remind you, you don’t have to earn your rest. You’ve already done more than enough.

So if you are feeling numb, flat or like a balloon that’s been let go, you are not broken. You are just finally safe enough to stop pretending you are okay.

Rest isn’t the reward. It’s the repair. Take it. You don’t need permission. But here it is anyway.