When the pandemic brought life to a screeching halt and forcefully shuttered schools across the country, few were aware that a crisis in public education was already well underway. COVID-19 may have been an unexpected and devastating shock to the system, but a virus had already taken hold, leaving Canada's public-school systems vulnerable at the worst possible moment. Years and even decades of underfunding, understaffing, and increased demands both in and outside the classroom were coupled with outdated and inadequate infrastructure and resources. The burden of keeping public education operational had been downloaded onto the backs of teachers, school staff, and administrators. So, when COVID hit, too many people were already stretched far too thin. This report provides sobering and at times heartbreaking first-hand accounts of the mental health toll the pandemic has leveled on teachers across the country. Stemming from the 2020 pan-Canadian survey on mental health, teachers shared how before and during the pandemic they continue to carry the burden, in and out of the classrooms, psychologically, emotionally, and physically, for their students, colleagues, parents, and their own close relations. The unpredictable changes and new "invisible" workload are additional responsibilities that are once again placed on the shoulders of teachers and out of their control. This report centers the stories and voices of teachers. The experiences and stories are organized around three major spheres that greatly influence teacher mental health and well-being: (1) workload; (2) pedagogy; and (3) the teaching profession. Each sphere illustrates how education workers experienced the pandemic through different aspects of their work. In the first section, workload is explored using the body as a metaphor for the ways in which various parts of the work have left a mark on teachers' bodies, including the emotional, psychological, and physical weight that teachers continue to carry as part of their workload. The second sphere explores how changes to pedagogy, or 'pedagogical pivots' created multiple issues in connecting with students and colleagues, in expectations and ability to assess and appropriately and meaningfully deliver curriculum, and in how the sense of emergency embedded itself in teachers' learning and working environments. Lastly, the third sphere explores aspects that are outside of education workers' control, in terms of professional obligations, sense of autonomy in their professional expertise, and personal perceptions of the profession, as professional circumstances orbiting around them are often out of reach and beyond their grasp.