Instructor anxiety / burn out? Can anyone relate / give advice? Thanks 🩵
I have been teaching Pilates and Barre now for about a year and a half, it's a part time job (I have another job, and am also pursuing a masters degree). Currently, I am 6 weeks out from submitting my thesis for my MA program, my desk job is ramping up, and I am still teaching pilates. As it's been summer, the summer heat has been wiping me out, and I just feel totally burnt out. On top of that, I live across the globe from my family, and have been feeling incredibly homesick for the last month+.. Emotionally I feel more fragile than I have in a while, and physically I just feel spent. I don't even teach that many classes a week because teaching isn't my only form of income (I teach anywhere between 4-7 classes a week) but as someone who also struggles with waves of anxiety, I feel like recently I have just been so much more anxious about teaching. I feel like my morning classes are usually fine, because I just wake up and go, there isn't time to really get anxious. But my evening classes recently have been a real struggle for me. I feel like all day I'm counting down the time til I teach, and I am so nervous I'm going to be an anxious wreck as I teach.
I have experienced this now a LOT, and am usually always better off after the class, but I still seem to struggle beforehand with the anticipation of teaching. My studio is super down to earth, and the regulars I have are so kind and patient, that in the WORST CASE SCENARIO (i.e. I have a full blown anxiety attack teaching, or emotional outburst) they would likely be totally understanding... But I really dread that.
Does anyone have advice? Or experience with this? I am a dancer as well, so usually movement helps me get out of my head and into my body, but there's such a difference between just moving and giving a class...
Any and all suggestions, tips, etc. would be appreciate 🩵