Background:
Work can serve as a significant source of self-realization and positive emotional experience, especially when it aligns with an individual's interests, values, and competencies. There is a close, reciprocal relationship between one's work and psychological state. Professional success often brings feelings of satisfaction and well-being, while failure may result in frustration, a sense of defeat, or even depressive symptoms. The impact of employment on psychological well-being is determined not only by the nature of the work itself but also by the working environment and interpersonal relationships within it. In the teaching profession, these aspects are particularly pronounced. Teaching is characterized by a high degree of personal involvement and continuous interaction with various groups (students, parents, colleagues, school leadership and others). These demands make the teaching profession especially sensitive to mental health factors. Effective mental hygiene plays a crucial role in preventing burnout and ensuring sustained professional effectiveness.

Methods:
The principal objective of this paper is to examine and assess educators' attitudes and experiences related to the implementation of mental hygiene principles within their professional practice based on data obtained from a questionnaire-based survey conducted at a selected secondary school in the Slovak Republic. The article will empirically verify the assumption that there is a statistically significant relationship between the occurrence of psychosomatic symptoms among teachers and their willingness to participate in a therapeutic program designed to strengthen professional motivation. To verify the formulated assumption, the chi-square test of independence will be applied, which will allow assessing the degree of statistical dependence between the analyzed categorical variables. The subject of the survey is the issue of psychohygiene of pedagogical employees at a selected secondary school.

Results:
The occurrence of psychosomatic symptoms was reported by up to 22.41% of respondents, while another 13.79% of teachers reported occasional occurrences. The most frequently identified difficulties included headaches, digestive problems, sleep disorders (insomnia), loss of appetite, backache and deterioration of visual acuity. A significantly adverse finding is that work demands have an impact on private life for up to 63.79% of respondents. In their responses, teachers reported increased emotional lability, stress, irritability, reduced patience, and chronic fatigue, which ultimately result in disruptions to the quality of their family and personal lives.

Conclusion:
It is crucial for every educator to be able to identify and recognize symptoms of a reduced level of psychohygiene promptly, which can manifest in the form of excessive stress, depressive states, chronic fatigue, overload, hostile social environment, disrupted personal relationships, time pressure, unhealthy lifestyle, or conflicting interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Understanding and correctly interpreting the impact of the above negative factors represents a starting point for forming appropriate attitudes towards managing them, as well as for adopting effective strategies and techniques for their effective solution and elimination of their negative impact on the professional and personal life of the educator.

Keywords: Mental health of teachers, Professional load, Psychological well-being (PWB), Teaching profession, Well-being of educators, Slovakia.