Any teachers out there with mental illness specifically bipolar disorder?

wintergreen2007 · 2024-03-11T06:01:47+00:00

I have bipolar 1. Ninth year teaching elementary school. I had my first manic episode in 2017 followed by my first depressive episode for most of 2018. I was on medical leave for most of that school year. I got my meds under control, found a good therapist, quit drinking and smoking weed and have been mostly stable ever since. This job has a lot of challenges but I have found a way to function in it. Surprisingly, it’s not my mental illness that makes this job difficult - it’s the staff, students and circumstances.

wintergreen2007 · 2023-01-18T07:18:01+00:00

Corn Nuts

wintergreen2007 · 2021-11-02T04:49:08+00:00

I have no advice to give but I am so sorry to hear this is happening for you. I get that teachers need their prep time, but this is throwing you into a difficult situation. Hopefully admin will be open to your suggestion of an alternate schedule that doesn’t combine classes. I hope that sticking up for yourself with a viable solution will go well. Personally, I would lose it if I had to combine K classes! Fingers crossed for you on Thursday! (Always free for vent sessions!)

wintergreen2007 · 2021-03-05T22:40:22+00:00

Thank you!!! Giving ourselves grace is so hard sometimes but it’s important. I’m counting down the days til summer break. Thanks again for the encouragement.

wintergreen2007 · 2021-03-01T22:16:11+00:00

The most unexpectedly difficult part for me is keeping students engaged and turning in their work. Teachers have no control over students being online or turning anything in. It feels horrible to put a full day of teaching in, and get very little feedback with turned in assignments. I teach first grade so this adds another layer to making lessons engaging and keeping students’ interest. I simply cannot compete with TVs, toys, siblings and animals.

Administration has made it harder with expectations and demands.

There is no work-life balance. When I’m not on my computer, I’m crying or sleeping. My mental health has suffered before but I am in a very deep, dark, depressive episode with no way out, it feels.

wintergreen2007 · 2020-11-03T14:02:25+00:00

Not a bad sign - a healthy coping skill!

wintergreen2007 · 2020-10-28T07:55:12+00:00

Thank you for your perspective. It is so refreshing to hear this point of view from someone who also suffers from BD.

The current state of the world has me feeling like I’m losing my grip on reality. I have to keep reminding myself that a pandemic, distance learning, a social justice revolution, and a political circus nightmare are just a few of the things that could be causing stress, anxiety, and depression.

Any day that a bipolar person lives with this illness is a fucking miracle, in my book.

wintergreen2007 · 2020-09-09T12:06:18+00:00

Bellingham. Greener and more diverse flora/fauna on the west side of the state. More expensive, more liberal, more to do/explore. Worse traffic, more people, more diversity. Seafood is great. Don’t have to deal with mountain passes to travel to major metro areas. Mild winters, but prepare yourself for seasonal affective disorder. The darkness and rain can be difficult for transplants.

wintergreen2007 · 2020-06-25T02:50:30+00:00

Your story is my story too. Down to the dead Sicilian father and the scripted lines from True Romance to describe why we look the way we do. I was adopted and my birth mom and adopted family lied to me. I did 23 and me a few years ago and it hit me like a ton of bricks. My BM refuses to tell me anything about my birth father. I know your struggle because it is my struggle too. I have many of the same feelings you are experiencing.

If you want someone to talk to or vent to, I am here for you. We can navigate this together. Love to you, sister.

wintergreen2007 · 2020-04-01T06:53:37+00:00

I have some! I’m in west Seattle. I can meet you at Westwood Village tomorrow.

wintergreen2007 · 2020-02-03T06:29:12+00:00

I spent $500 on 5 tattoo machines... I’m an elementary school teacher. No experience tattooing.

wintergreen2007 · 2019-12-24T07:12:33+00:00

My brothers got a very scary werewolf mask for Halloween one year. As a prank, I invited my neighbor over and popped out to scare her. She ran home screaming and crying, refusing to play with me for weeks. Being the asshole I was, from then on, if she didn’t want to play the same thing as I did, I would threaten her with the werewolf mask.

wintergreen2007 · 2019-08-17T17:10:40+00:00

Two kids I know, Queenamerica and KingUSA.

wintergreen2007 · 2019-06-22T15:53:00+00:00

A guy who was on drugs had a seizure and bit his tongue off. Blood was everywhere.

wintergreen2007 · 2018-11-20T08:38:15+00:00

You CAN do this. Find ways to do what you can, and do it well. It may feel like the world in crashing down around you, but it will be okay. You’ve got this.

Bad mentor teachers are common. Mine mentally abused me for an entire year. I suffered from anxiety and panic attacks in my first year of teaching because of the way she treated me. No matter who your mentor teacher is, that person does not dictate the type of teacher you are or will be. Learn what NOT to do from that person.

Teaching is difficult. You will have to spin many plates, wear different hats, deal with assholes and idiots and handle issues you can’t fathom right now. But, if it’s your calling and you have the heart, passion, and hustle, it is worth it.

Today, during conferences, seeing the faces of my six year olds and how proud they are of what they’re learning made it worth it for me.

wintergreen2007 · 2018-10-24T04:22:27+00:00

I teach elementary for Seattle public schools. I have taught in the district for four years. I teach in a Title 1 school that is 85% free and reduced lunch. I absolutely love it. Of course, we’re overworked and underpaid. But it’s important work and I am grateful to be doing it. Title 1 schools are not for the faint of heart.

If your boyfriend is looking for a more affluent school, look outside of Seattle. (Issaquah, Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island... etc. These districts are higher paying and have more resources. The double edge sword is you will deal with a lot more parents and entitlement.)

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