First step in caring for students’ mental health: Care for your own.

I googled “mental health support for instructors so they can support students” and all the hits provided information on how instructors can support their students’ mental health. Many articles I read mentioned supporting the mental health of any student, not just their own. Of course, few will argue this point and it is what all instructors strive to do. But what no article in the search mentions is that this can not be done if an instructor is having mental health issues of their own. How can you reach out to students when students become objects and not people? This is a symptom of burnout that the WHO identifies that must be the first step when outlining how instructors can support their students’ mental health.