Relief teaching anxiety

[Mojo76]

I am really struggling with anxiety while working relief in schools. I find that every day I work I make at least one really, really stupid mistake that makes me look incompetent. These are always mistakes that I would never make if I was calm but because I am in a constant state of anxiety, I'm not thinking straight. I'm worried that I am going to end up never been called back to these schools and I have no other source of income. Does anybody else struggle with this?

[MarkJT]

Mojo, feeling like there are a 1,000 internet browsers open in your mind? Yep been there done that.

What is triggering you at work?

To control my anxiety, I use mindfulness. I would love for you to start doing this.

My daily routine is to get to work early and go for a run or a ride. Get at least 25-30 mins exercise in. I then sit for five mins to get my breath back and then listen to my fave songs whilst stretching.

I then jump on the app, "Smiling Mind" where I have a guided episode of mindfulness.

Result = very calm and ready to hit work.

If I start to get anxious at work, I stop and tell myself that there is nothing to be anxious about. I will stare out the window at the tall buildings and wonder how they are built as in try to reconstruct it in my mind or i stare at the clouds for a little bit. This is mindfulness.

Give it a go, but you need to persist with it.

Regards

Mark.

[Zeal]

Hi Mojo76,

Welcome to the forum!

I don't have any personal advice to give, as I have never done any form of teaching, unless you count mentoring, which is one-on-one and less pressure.

Have you been diagnosed with anxiety, and if so, how long have you had anxiety for?
This online resource for anxiety is great: http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/infopax.cfm?Info_ID=46

Here are two previous forum threads you may relate to:

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/employment-and-workplaces/casual-teaching-and-anxiety#qkpR8nHzvGGEbv8AAOnT_A

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/employment-and-workplaces/intern-teacher-anxiety#qihxeXHzvGGEbv8AAOnT_A

I hope you can find ways to cope with the anxiety.

Best wishes,

Zeal

[Mojo76]

Thanks Zeal,

I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 about 7 years ago and have gone through many periods where my anxiety is terrible. I used to suffer anxiety attacks, but am pretty good at not letting things get to that point now. However, since starting relief teaching in September after a big break away from the classroom, the anxiety has been overwhelming. The antianxiety meds work but I stopped taking them because they make me so drowsy and that doesn't help in the classroom either. I will check out those links... thankyou for your reply.

[Mojo76]

Thankyou Mark,

I think mindfulness and taking the time to calm down is probably the answer. I guess I'm upset because yesterday I went in after meditating, exercising and giving myself positive talk ready to approach the day with a different attitude. But within about half an hour I hit a hurdle, my anxiety spiked, I had about 25 hyper children watching me and all asking questions and I just kept spiralling and made a stupid mistake that ended up with the class teacher having to get admin to change her computer password. Then for the rest of the day I couldn't shake the anxiety, made more mistakes and came home feeling worthless and crying all night.

I guess I need a lot more practise 😕

[plodalong]

hi, sorry to hear you are suffering with anxiety. Deep breathing is another suggestion. I really like the mindfulness suggestions. Anxiety is horrible 😞 Is there any one at the schools that would support you? Maybe breaking the time up into 5 minute lots would help? or thinking about it that way. Less overwhelming. baby steps. Just get through the next 5 minutes. Congratulate yourself. Then the next 5 minutes. Good luck, I hope it improves for you. take care.

[Mojo76]

Thank you, Plodalong. I have another day of relief tomorrow. Am feeling anxious already but will try to slow my breathing and not get too overwhelmed. Fingers crossed 🙂

[MarkJT]

Mojo, not so long ago i was in the USA and even though i have a really good control over my anxiety, I got triggered huge and was on the verge of a massive anxiety attack until i dove for some meds to calm me down, which worked.

That was the first time i had taken any anxiety meds for about two years. I am on PTSD medication but not the quick fix for anxiety attacks.

Lesson is that even though I have a good control over it, sometimes I get bitten by the anxiety bug. Nothing is fool proof. There will be times that you control it and other times you won't.

I also have to work harder on controlling mechanisms.

It is okay that this happened, it is a lesson that your (and mine) coping strategies still require work.

As you say keep working on it and there will come a time where you will realise after you have done something that, that would have usually triggered an attack but it didn't. Your coping mechanisms are growing!

Mark.

[Mojo76]

Thankyou, Mark. I just hope that I can work on my strategies fast enough before I ruin my chances at getting more work. Thanks for your replies

[MarkJT]

Mojo, remember that you are trying to learn strategies that you will carry along with you for the rest of your life so don't rush trying to learn them. Take each step as it comes and make sure you understand what you are doing.

When you are doing mindfulness, your mind will dance off to elsewhere, that is okay, acknowledge that you are not concentrating and bring your thoughts back onto your breathing and what you are listening to or watching, whatever you are undertaking.

Mark.