There is no denying that there is an epidemic of mental illness among us all, and it's particularly prevalent in teenagers and young adults. We live in a society where teenagers are spending roughly thirty three hours in an education facility each week. Teachers inevitably become a daily influence. It seems logical that teachers would have some knowledge in how to cope with the hundreds of students they look after.
But they don't.
And, quite frankly, I find that appalling, especially living in a country with one of the highest mental illness rates in the world (Read more about that here).
I was known among my teachers for being mentally ill in secondary school. It was never a secret, and I couldn't hide it, even if I wanted to. There was often nowhere for me to go, so I was usually in the canteen, where everyone would walk through to go from class to class, having panic attacks. My panic attacks were never discreet. I would hyperventilate, sob, shake and curl up, and it must have been rather scary for other students walking past. I was told I could go to the prayer room, but I was always too afraid of disrupting people's prayers or mournings, or being too far away from the classroom I had left. I also didn't want to be alone. I wanted someone I knew to see me, and to come sit with me. As scary as the situation may have been, I don't think that it's a lot to ask.
Sitting in the canteen, teachers saw me. Ten teachers could pass me by and not say anything. Yet they all knew who I was and they all knew what was wrong with me. I remember having a particularly bad panic attack, and I saw my Irish teacher. She had known me since first year (I was in fifth year at the time), and I looked directly at her, in the hopes she'd come over.
She very blatantly looked away and kept walking.
Even now I have tears in my eyes writing about this. It made me feel like a complete burden. These teachers who knew me well made me feel unfixable.
Another panic attack I had in sixth year still makes me uncomfortable to this day. It was the worst panic attack I've ever had, and frustratingly, was caused by a teacher. To provide context, I was late to a class because I was talking to my year head about anxiety and exams - I was lucky as she was always very supportive and understanding; more teachers need to be like her. I went to my class and no one was there. The protocol in my school was that if a teacher didn't show up after .5 seconds, everyone would go to the canteen, so I started to head that way. On the way I met two girls from that class in a similar situation to myself, so we went together to the canteen.
And that's when shit went down.
On the way, we met a teacher whom no one liked. He was loud, he was creepy, he was annoying, so we didn't say anything to him. It is also worth noting I had him as a roll call teacher in second year, so I saw him every day, and about six times a week for a year. He knew me, and I was told that all teachers were made aware of my illnesses. But then this six foot plus, large man started verbally attacking us, three young women, the tallest of us being five foot seven.
"Why are you here? Why aren't you in class? Can't you read your timetable?"
He refused to listen to when we were trying to tell him that yes, we could obviously read the timetable, but that the class weren't there, and we had come to check if they had gone to the canteen. He continued to literally scream at us, and proceeded to tell us that we would fail the Leaving Cert (huge exams in Ireland). He didn't stop until I saw the teacher.
And so the panic attack commenced. My teacher, who meant well, didn't deal with the situation very well. She cared about mental health, but it was obvious that she didn't really know what to do. I can't blame her for this if she isn't offered adequate training.
This situation only proceeded to get worse, as I went home, still having a panic attack - it must have lasted for almost an hour. My mother rang the next morning, because this behavior, especially unprovoked, is obviously unacceptable. The teacher in question quite frankly said I was lying and said, and I quote, "her little panic attack" (I assure you my mum let it rip then).
So not only was there a lack of knowledge on how to treat the mentally ill, there was evident stigma and complete disregard.
My point is that there needs to be mental health training for teachers. The stress and environment of school is never easy for someone dealing with mental health issues, and these students do not need aggressive, disrespectful, and unhelpful teachers. I could continue with my experiences of this in school, but then this post would be far too long.
It's not fair on any student to feel that they can rely on only five teachers out of fifty. Many teachers have their hearts in the right places, but don't know how to act, and can unintentionally make the situation worse.
I'm not asking for all teachers to be trained psychologists. I'm asking them to be taught compassion, how to deal with depression and anxiety, how to listen, how to not make students feel like shit. It doesn't take much. There was a time I was having a panic attack about maths, as I often did, and a teacher who didn't know me saw me. He asked me if I was ok, I said yes, and he continued. He then came back a few minutes later and said,
"You're not ok. Come with me. Do you want some tea?"
He took me to his empty room, offered me tea, and just chatted with me until my parents came to bring me home. He still would ask how I was whenever I saw him after. He gave me respect and treated me like a human rather than a scary mess.
And I understand that some teachers will be busy and have classes, but a couple of teachers would sit with me for a minute or two, ask if I was ok, if I wanted tea, if I wanted someone.
And that is all it takes. That is all I'm asking for. It may not seem like a big deal, but it will help in ginormous ways you cannot imagine. The teachers who ignore or mistreat sick pupils will give unimaginable negative impacts to them. This post has been difficult for me to write. Some teachers had negative impacts on me. Some helped me survive school (shoutout to Mr Keeshan, Ms Tynan, Ms Kelly and Ms McGuiness - I couldn't have done it without you).
I think it is necessary to bring in these trainings, before students are leaving teacher's names for negative reasons in suicide notes, instead of praising them for nurturing them and bringing them on in life.
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Experiences? Suggestions? All (respectful) comments are welcome!
I post a new blog every week, so check back for more :3
Come say hi!
Twitter; @justaoifethings
Facebook: Justaoifethings
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But they don't.
And, quite frankly, I find that appalling, especially living in a country with one of the highest mental illness rates in the world (Read more about that here).
I was known among my teachers for being mentally ill in secondary school. It was never a secret, and I couldn't hide it, even if I wanted to. There was often nowhere for me to go, so I was usually in the canteen, where everyone would walk through to go from class to class, having panic attacks. My panic attacks were never discreet. I would hyperventilate, sob, shake and curl up, and it must have been rather scary for other students walking past. I was told I could go to the prayer room, but I was always too afraid of disrupting people's prayers or mournings, or being too far away from the classroom I had left. I also didn't want to be alone. I wanted someone I knew to see me, and to come sit with me. As scary as the situation may have been, I don't think that it's a lot to ask.
Sitting in the canteen, teachers saw me. Ten teachers could pass me by and not say anything. Yet they all knew who I was and they all knew what was wrong with me. I remember having a particularly bad panic attack, and I saw my Irish teacher. She had known me since first year (I was in fifth year at the time), and I looked directly at her, in the hopes she'd come over.
She very blatantly looked away and kept walking.
Even now I have tears in my eyes writing about this. It made me feel like a complete burden. These teachers who knew me well made me feel unfixable.
Another panic attack I had in sixth year still makes me uncomfortable to this day. It was the worst panic attack I've ever had, and frustratingly, was caused by a teacher. To provide context, I was late to a class because I was talking to my year head about anxiety and exams - I was lucky as she was always very supportive and understanding; more teachers need to be like her. I went to my class and no one was there. The protocol in my school was that if a teacher didn't show up after .5 seconds, everyone would go to the canteen, so I started to head that way. On the way I met two girls from that class in a similar situation to myself, so we went together to the canteen.
And that's when shit went down.
On the way, we met a teacher whom no one liked. He was loud, he was creepy, he was annoying, so we didn't say anything to him. It is also worth noting I had him as a roll call teacher in second year, so I saw him every day, and about six times a week for a year. He knew me, and I was told that all teachers were made aware of my illnesses. But then this six foot plus, large man started verbally attacking us, three young women, the tallest of us being five foot seven.
"Why are you here? Why aren't you in class? Can't you read your timetable?"
He refused to listen to when we were trying to tell him that yes, we could obviously read the timetable, but that the class weren't there, and we had come to check if they had gone to the canteen. He continued to literally scream at us, and proceeded to tell us that we would fail the Leaving Cert (huge exams in Ireland). He didn't stop until I saw the teacher.
And so the panic attack commenced. My teacher, who meant well, didn't deal with the situation very well. She cared about mental health, but it was obvious that she didn't really know what to do. I can't blame her for this if she isn't offered adequate training.
This situation only proceeded to get worse, as I went home, still having a panic attack - it must have lasted for almost an hour. My mother rang the next morning, because this behavior, especially unprovoked, is obviously unacceptable. The teacher in question quite frankly said I was lying and said, and I quote, "her little panic attack" (I assure you my mum let it rip then).
So not only was there a lack of knowledge on how to treat the mentally ill, there was evident stigma and complete disregard.
My point is that there needs to be mental health training for teachers. The stress and environment of school is never easy for someone dealing with mental health issues, and these students do not need aggressive, disrespectful, and unhelpful teachers. I could continue with my experiences of this in school, but then this post would be far too long.
It's not fair on any student to feel that they can rely on only five teachers out of fifty. Many teachers have their hearts in the right places, but don't know how to act, and can unintentionally make the situation worse.
I'm not asking for all teachers to be trained psychologists. I'm asking them to be taught compassion, how to deal with depression and anxiety, how to listen, how to not make students feel like shit. It doesn't take much. There was a time I was having a panic attack about maths, as I often did, and a teacher who didn't know me saw me. He asked me if I was ok, I said yes, and he continued. He then came back a few minutes later and said,
"You're not ok. Come with me. Do you want some tea?"
He took me to his empty room, offered me tea, and just chatted with me until my parents came to bring me home. He still would ask how I was whenever I saw him after. He gave me respect and treated me like a human rather than a scary mess.
And I understand that some teachers will be busy and have classes, but a couple of teachers would sit with me for a minute or two, ask if I was ok, if I wanted tea, if I wanted someone.
And that is all it takes. That is all I'm asking for. It may not seem like a big deal, but it will help in ginormous ways you cannot imagine. The teachers who ignore or mistreat sick pupils will give unimaginable negative impacts to them. This post has been difficult for me to write. Some teachers had negative impacts on me. Some helped me survive school (shoutout to Mr Keeshan, Ms Tynan, Ms Kelly and Ms McGuiness - I couldn't have done it without you).
I think it is necessary to bring in these trainings, before students are leaving teacher's names for negative reasons in suicide notes, instead of praising them for nurturing them and bringing them on in life.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Experiences? Suggestions? All (respectful) comments are welcome!
I post a new blog every week, so check back for more :3
Come say hi!
Twitter; @justaoifethings
Facebook: Justaoifethings
Instagram: Justaoifethings
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