I just can’t do this anymore…

[Namethatbauble]

I just can’t do this anymore. I am a TA with ten plus years experience and I am already suffering with major anxiety and overwhelm when we’ve only been back for less than two weeks. The workload is insane, the pressure is immense and I’m on the verge of tears all the time. What can I do instead? I feel like I just want a job where I have no responsibility for humans and the never ending worry.

Sorry you are feeling like that. Visit your GP for some help with the anxiety and start planning your exit strategy. What do you like doing? What is available locally? Can you take a break while you look for something else. Planning might give you some focus that is not on your current job. Good luck!

If you actually enjoyed the job but not the stress, try applying for FE jobs. LSA positions or study support mentor type of roles. The pay is lower than at secondary but the pace is less frantic and the students older so often more calm and grateful for help.

In a way, it’s much easier to move jobs when you’re a TA than a teacher, because the pay is unfortunately so low :(

What are your skills? What do you enjoy?

What would the help from the gp be? Because if the job is that horrific that it’s causing anxiety then it’s kinda weird to medicate the OP for having a normal response to the excessive demands of the job and what’s the point in talking therapy if the problem is the actual job.