Why School Wellness Isn’t Just for Kids: Many Teachers are Stressed and Depressed
The stress and anxiety that often accompanies teachers' jobs has a hugely negative effect on teacher performance and personal life. In fact, about one in 20 teachers has a long-lasting mental health issue.
- By Amanda Smiley
- Feb 07, 2020
Teaching is not a nine to five job. Responsibilities are not confined to the work space, and teachers are not often able to distance themselves from work or student involvement when at home. Teaching, really, is an emotionally taxing profession.
Many teachers feel defeated at the end of the day. They didn’t get to the lesson plan that day. One of their students is acting out, but the teacher doesn’t have the means to help them. Parents can be difficult to work with. But teachers do what they do because of one thing: they love their students, and they believe in the power of education.
It’s no surprise many teachers struggle with some form of mental health problem. In fact, a recent study from the UCL Institute of Education reports that one in every 20 teachers (or about five percent) suffer with a mental illness that has lasted, or is likely to last, more than a year. More on this study below.
Yes, awareness about teacher mental health is growing. However, there is not nearly enough being done to mitigate the issue, and many might not realize how common it is—or what is contributing to the problem. The following studies outline the mental health risks trends researchers are finding among teachers and school professionals. The results are not necessarily uplifting.
American Teachers Are Struggling
2015 Survey by the American Federation of Teachers
One survey from five years ago suggests a concerning reality for the nation’s educators.
After the Badass Teachers Association received a number of reports of high teacher stress, a group of teachers who are members of the American Federation of Teachers designed a survey that was filled out by over 30,000 educators.
The survey circulated via email and social media. It had 80 questions and was only online between April 21 and May. The survey was the first of its kind.
Of the thousands of respondents, 80 percent were teachers/special education teachers; eight percent were counselors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and librarians; and 12 percent held other positions in schools. Over two thirds of respondents had been in education for over 10 years, and nearly 98 percent of respondents worked in a public school.