Mental Health

Do you see yourself in this list? Have you or do you struggle with these areas? Maybe it’s time to do some research and see if you are scatter brained or affected by ADD. Therapy and medication can help those adults who suffer from ADD. At times is can seem like you just can’t get a grip, but in reality, it could be a bigger problem that has fixable solutions.

I think of PTSD as anxiety on steroids. And it’s not just shootings or school violence that creates PTSD. Abuse. Stalkers. Prolonged mistreatment. Bullying. And anything our body and mind internalize as significant, fear-based stress.               When an educator wrestles with PTSD, life could be perfectly normal in the classroom and one thing could trigger that teacher without warning. We just don’t know from day to day.

Bipolar does not disqualify us as educators, just like my ESOL teacher friend. Once she was properly medicated and received the correct treatment, she went back to the classroom as good as before. The problem arises when a bipolar person swings from one extreme to the next, possibly losing control of every emotion and strand attached to reality.

Many educators understand the hardship of anxiety. It’s a daily struggle to just show up, keep focused, and make it through the day without overanalyzing or worrying about every possible scenario that most likely would never happen but is certain happen because it could. Anxiety isn’t rational. And it’s not something people can just turn on and off. It’s like a member of the family that we wish would go away and never come back.

Depression is real. It’s real with educators and it’s real with our students. And no one is exempt. Even Christians. If any of this resonated, please do whatever is needed to get help.

Open with Prayer Opening Story :               I’m one of those people who loved school. Even if there were occasional teachers I didn’t care for, the learning kept me coming back. I read all the time and often got in trouble for staying up too late with my flashlight under the sheets. Even when there was teasing, aggression, or meanness exhibited toward me by my peers, I plowed through without deep struggles. I navigated social settings with calmness and instinctively knew h