Declaring MH issues

[Gellert]

Do you or do you keep quiet and get support privately. Covid and work related stress since September, finally admitted to myself that I need extra support and waiting for counselling but I know one of the main triggers is working during covid. Do you keep quiet because of possible judgement or inform work? Sorry vague because I can overshare and don't want to make this in any way identifiable!

It depends on your work place. They might want to support you, signpost you to something. Only you would know. From my experience my school have not been very supportive.

I would not tell my school and they are on the whole very supportive. Saying that, I know a few teachers (different schools) who have been offered therapy paid for by the school when they were going through mh issues. So it really depends on your head.

What do you do if it's certain aspects of work that are triggering the mh issue?

Yes, I'm so unsure what the response will be which is why I am dithering. Being in the classroom is causing me stress, but even perfectly normal work related emails can make me feel really on edge.
I can rationalise it all, explain why its happening, what I could do to help myself etc perfectly clearly. Actually being able to put that into practice however is another matter. Even when I am overwhelmed I can give myself the same advice I would give to others, but I just can't seem to get the advice to stick if that makes sense.
Today is a good day, I have 2 days off and so feel a bit brighter. I've a doctor appointment booked but that's not for a while.

Ah that's hard I'm sorry.

I have an issue with some new 'curriculum innovations' that are impacting workload and inappropriate for the setting.

I think I'm going to have to speak to senior management. We don't have the brain capacity to be wasting time on it at the moment.

It sounds like you have burn out if I'm honest.

Beta blockers used to help me; however they're more of a sticking plaster.

Thanks folks. If only MH issues weren't still treated with such stigma!

I told two people who I trusted, and over time some of my very closest workmates (so for example I told my TA, because she would have had to hold the class if I had a panic attack or crying episode).

There were other people, including leaders, who I specifically asked not to be told - a stance vindicated when I had to ask for reasonable adjustment and found my route barred by one of them at every turn.

Number 1 on your to do list: contact your union, and keep them fully informed. Having them ready to support me (this started pre-Covid) have me invaluable perspective on the situation.

One area that I'm going to have to tackle is that extra work load based on someone's bright idea to impress ofsted which has no real legal necessity nor is a researched proven strategy, and how that impacts my mental health. Mainly due to extra workload.

Given that work load is now inspected by ofsted, there are definitely grounds to make this a formal discussion wrt triggering mh issues.

I have a very a low threshold for this now.

Sorry to hear you are struggling

I would hope that your school would be supportive, they should be, however if you feel they won't be then perhaps seek help through your GP initially.

It's awful that staff in some schools feel they can't be open about this kind of thing. I have someone in my department who suffers from anxiety- not brought on by work but affects them generally. I would consider myself to be massively failing as a leader if I was anything other than completely supportive and understanding.

I’m sorry to hear this. What MH condition do you think you have? Do you only stress and get upset about work? If so, it could be burn out like a PP said. There’s still a lot of stigma about MH and stress, but maybe a fellow teacher at your school could help you think of alternative ways to deal with workload?

Our local authority pays for a free counselling service for staff. It is totally confidential and the school is not informed. There has been excellent feedback - one of my friends got 1 to 1 counselling in the week.
I think it is called Workplace Options

Check if your LA offers anything like that

Speak to your union rep or ring their help line number - you can ask for it to be totally confidential
You can get advice

Thanks everyone. I've got counselling booked and this week has been better. The reason work is such a trigger is due to not feeling safe there, taking covid back home is a real worry as I live with vulnerable people but have no choice other than being in school each day. Have had bereavement and other stresses going on since September so they have taken their toll as well. All the signs of depression and anxiety, NHS questionnaire confirms this. Thanks for the advice, I will see how counselling goes before I make any decisions about telling work.