to feel quite shocked that DH has PTSD from teaching?

[FunnysInLaJardin]

Its feels pretty awful tbh. He has just today received this diagnosis and has been referred for priority EMDR.

He has taught for 25 years in a secondary school, and got out last year due to clinically diagnosed burn out.

I knew it was bad, but I never realised it was this bad.

How can this be allowed to happen?

I’m not at all surprised

It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been teaching since 1993. If you’re in a tough school it’s awful.

If you don't work in a school, you may struggle to believe how bad it is and it is only getting worse at the moment.
Something needs to change, for sure!

I'm not at all surprised.

I am deeply saddened, but I am not surprised in the slightest.
Not sure which way to vote really, as it should be really shocking.
Sadly, if you know about life in so many schools these days, it is not surprising at all.

I work in a high school, not even a really bad one. I'm totally not surprised at all.

I wish your DH all the best and a speedy recovery.

Not surprised at all. It is a very hard job whilst in school, but does not leave your head when at home either.

sorry, probably shouldn't have enabled voting judging by the responses, and also sorry that the consensus is that you are not surprised.

Not quite sure how a caring profession has managed to get to this stage

Not quite sure how a caring profession has managed to get to this stage

Not to be flip, but the caring, i.e the direction of schooling is all about the children, none of it is about the staff.

It's why you have unions.

Poor man. I hope stopping teaching enables him to gradually convalesce and recover.

It doesn’t surprise me sadly. A lot of schools are awful places to work these days.

Hi OP

Apologies for derailing the thread but I'm worried about a relative who I think may be going through something similar. Can I ask please how he got diagnosed (eg I'm assuming it wasn't in a 10 minute gp appointment) and how he got referred for that specific treatment. My relative keeps being given anti depressants which I don't think help that specific issue. Thank you.

Thank you, that's is what he is focussing on.

he now has a new job as mental health and wellbeing co-ordinator at a local FE college which is is very well equipped to do!

Sorry@FunnysInLaJardin, I forgot to say I wish your husband all the best in his recovery.

No not at all surprised sadly. There's a Facebook group for teachers wanting to leave teaching and in amongst all the career stuff there's so many sad stories of traumatised teachers and burnt out teachers.

I read one comment that compared it to leaving a dysfunctional relationship.

I am currently exhausted and I dropped down to adult Ed. I need to leave and find something else but it's knocked my confidence too.

Hope he is recovering over the summer.

On the other side - don't beat yourself up for not noticing/being surprised. I think when it's people very close to us we don't always see it.

Hope you're okay yourself.

Like others I'm not a bit surprised, you just have to watch the news and see the way that some kids behave when they're out and about, to have an idea of the sort of torture teachers have to endure everyday. All power has been taken away from them, as it's always about the welfare of the kids. What a sad reflection on our society.

I do hope your DH gets all the support that he needs, and makes a good recovery OP. What a shame to have to end a career due to the stress of dealing with the people he set out to help.

It’s got so bad. How can we change it?

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-68674568

1 in 5 teachers hit by a pupil in the last year. What is going on??

Discipline no longer exists it seems.

Ah so sorry to hear this. I bet he’s a wonderful teacher and hope he can leave, rest & recuperate 🌼

Hi @DrinkFeckArseBrick , sounds like you are a Father Ted fan?!

It was a long road for DH, honestly this all started I think about 18 years ago. He has been on AD's for years and now medicinal cannabis to help him sleep.

He finally had a further breakdown earlier this year in his new role and applied for our gov's Talking Therapies who have now referred him for his EMDR therapy. He should start this in a couple of months.

We are not in the UK though - Jersey - and so the health service is different here, although the schools are run on the same basis as the UK

He only got diagnosed with burn out after the school referred him to Axa as a threat really and in the end AXA were totally on his side, despite being paid by the employer.

It is not an easy road I'm sorry to say

Not surprised. Took me about a decade to get over my first teaching job, and to be honest it might not have happened yet. I still have nightmares related to that place. Not the kids - although they were very challenging - the horrendous managers

I own a nursery school and even at that age the kids will kick the staff if they don’t get their own way. I imagine it’s a million times worse at secondary school. Especially as they all have phones to use as weapons.

Teacher as well and unfortunately not surprised. My old school was very very tough and poor management and there were always staff signed off with mental health issues. I'm not surprised it can happen especially as I've heard it happening in other professions eg office-based roles but so horrendous for your poor DH and wish him well on his recovery. I'm sure it's a sign he was a great teacher who cared and gave a lot. A real shame.

That's the thing, the kids were ver challenging, but the worst thing was the appalling management, lack of support and blaming the teachers for everything including their inability to cope

Not surprised and have actively deterred my own AC following in my footsteps though I worked in some top-notch secondary schools for 30+ years. I was lucky to have strong parental support and exceptionally keen pupils, which many cannot count on. The workload and pressure are immense.
I hope your DH has a speedy recovery.

I burnt out and left teaching after over 30 years. I wonder about PTSD myself. Schools can be vile places.

It's really terrible and the situation in schools is getting worse. I did teacher training in 2021 (as a mature student) and left before I got my QTS because the stress and workload was unbelievable, and not fair on my DC. I hope the new role goes well and wish him the best in his recovery.