My "Mental Health Helped Career" Success Story

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. This blog post is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please see your primary care provider if you are struggling with your own mental health.

I grew up with anxiety. Now, as many would say, ”everyone has some anxiety sometime, and it’s perfectly natural.“ While this is true, my anxiety was more like constant worrying and overanalyzing to points that sometimes I would fall short of goals. The anxiety I had pushed me to be too much of an overachiever and I just barely handled many challenges thrown at me. My anxiety came to a breaking point not too long before the pandemic began. In February 2020, after 28 years of living in a world of overthinking my days away and keeping myself up at night, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I am not going to get into the details of what led me to see my doctor, but it was not pretty. It was the most brutal five months ever for my mental health that led me to that point. Ever since, I have seen a therapist monthly and been prescribed Lexapro.

As a teacher, you have so many things thrown at you (maybe literally, but definitely metaphorically) and it can be very easy to get bogged down in it all. Therapy has been a game-changing outlet for me. Before, I would rant and rave (and cry) everyday to family and friends. Most of them were not teachers, so they did not have a clear understanding of the struggles. Some would also try to give me advice or even try to ”one-up” me with a problem they faced in their own job. As supportive and loving as my family friends are of me and my life goals, confiding in them was not always helpful, and often, turned my anxiety to anger and loneliness. Talking to a therapist changed this. I was able to receive a non-judgemental, outsiders perspective of my thoughts and feelings. For once, I did not feel like a burden and I truly felt I was being heard. My emotions and thoughts were validated and I was provided with useful strategies to cope. I’ve also figured out what relationships, both professional and personal, needed to be embraced or cut out for me to grow as an individual.

Teaching is also a job where you put all of yourself into from the moment you walk into building to the moment you leave. It’s not the typical desk job where you can mail it in if you‘re not having a good day. You are always ON, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Now, some medical providers advise against medication, while others encourage it. I am thankful that my medical team suggested medication as another tool to keep me on track. There’s something about medication that helps to untangle your thoughts and your emotions. They aid in not feeling like your brain is a browser with 50 different tabs open (and you can’t tell which the screaming goat sound is coming from!). I finally feel like I have control of what goes on inside my brain. I can CHOOSE whether or not to think about something, and you‘d never know how powerful this is if you were born with this ability. I can remember saying to my husband on the first few days on my meds, “Is this what it feels like to not think 24/7?!” To which he responded, ”Yes. Welcome to being normal.”

My confidence in myself and the choices I make are heightened. I have never been THAT terrible of a teacher, but I’ve found that by taking care of my mental health, my pedagogy and strategies have been given a level-up. I am not afraid to try new strategies in my classroom in fear of utter failure. I take so much more with a grain of salt and don’t sweat the “trouble” students as often. I also put up with so much less from colleagues who embrace the idea of misery loving company. I have a much easier time “shaking things off“ and picking my battles because I do a lot less over analyzing of every little thing I do. It’s no secret that happy and high performing teachers always equate to better educational outcomes in students.

While I still have off-days, I have never felt better in my life. All of these things combined have made me a better professional, and in turn, a better person. I am a better wife, daughter, sister, friend, and educator because I prioritized getting my mental health and anxiety on track. I hope this post reached the right audience in need of some love and help.