{"id":11737,"date":"2017-05-29T14:24:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T19:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mentalhe180dev.wpenginepowered.com\/news\/hidden-anxieties-teaching\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T08:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:22:09","slug":"hidden-anxieties-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.grafik.mentalhealthfirstaid.org\/es\/news\/hidden-anxieties-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden Anxieties of Teaching"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arduous and challenging are the two words Nicola Louise uses to describe the teaching profession. But when she returned to the obstacles of this profession after having a child, she entered an entirely new realm of anxiety.<\/p>\n

Teaching \u2013 the job she had loved \u2013 took her to a very dark and lonely place (\u201cWhat No One Knew About \u2018the Anxious Teacher\u2019<\/a>,\u201d The Mighty, <\/em>April 24, 2017).<\/p>\n

In the first few weeks after returning to the classroom, she could feel herself slipping. When she had a day off, precious moments spent with her daughter were lack-luster. She didn\u2019t feel present. She worried incessantly. Her thoughts would spiral and escalate out of control. Coping with the demons inside her was next to impossible.<\/p>\n

But she didn\u2019t show it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo everybody around me: family, friends, colleagues \u2026 I was in control. Inside, I was falling apart. I felt completely lost. I was broken,\u201d she said upon reaching her breaking point.<\/p>\n

Deciding to go on sick leave should have been the best decision because it provided her the opportunity to seek help, manage her anxiety and begin recovering. Instead, it made everything worse \u2013 it brought new worries and fears she couldn\u2019t control.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this time, I craved some reassurance \u2026 A simple text message, phone call or even a comforting email to say everything was okay, to wish me well and to offer support. But it never came,\u201d Louise recalled. \u201cThe alarming silence made my worries and fears cultivate and left me feeling incredibly isolated and alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anxiety often reaches a point when it turns into numbness. And without a support system, those feelings can become exacerbated. That\u2019s why Mental Health First Aid is sometimes about just starting the conversation. While the benefits of the program have been touted at schools nationwide, it is also an important part of self-care \u2013 something Louise knows all too well.<\/p>\n

In Mental Health First Aid, people are taught to identify when someone is experiencing a mental health problem and how to connect them with appropriate resources and self-help strategies. Initiating the conversation and bringing awareness to mental health issues experienced by so many is the first step in making an impact in someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

As Louise puts it, \u201cThere is always light at the end of the tunnel, but to make our way through the dark, we need those around us to guide us through.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arduous and challenging are the two words Nicola Louise uses to describe the teaching profession. But when she returned to the obstacles of this profession after having a child, she …