According to the saying of Wadsworth Longfellow “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”

Teaching is a demanding profession, even under the best of situations. You must be active, receptive and sociable in dealing with the students. Your work day frequently stretches well past midnight and work errands and worries spill over into your free time. You’re evaluated on measures such as student test scores over which you have little control. These issues are stimulating for all educators. They’re factors for teachers who have despair and worry illnesses. Both depression and anxiety are far more common in women than in men, and with the majority of women in teaching, it’s extremely expected that the rate of teacher depression and anxiety will increase.

What are those factors that contributed for the teachers to be depressed? Or to form anxiety on their mind? We know that the problem with teacher workload is nothing new since for the past years, it has been a hot issue. It is the regular complaint on teachers across the country, and yet the elevation of paperwork never appears to lessen. The load of teachers is too often unnoticed. One of the solutions which the Department of Education offers is to reduce the workload of teachers by simplifying and cutting down the number of school forms and streamlining processes. After reviewing the tasks and duties of public-school teachers, the Education department reduced 36 common school forms to 10, including forms for Senior High School. It also streamlined processes to minimize duplication and redundancy of data, thereby cutting down the time and effort spent by teachers on work preparations. Teaching is a special task. It requires physical, mental, intellectual and emotional preparedness. A teacher must always have passion in her work but with stressful clerical tasks that that would cause negativity, anxiety, stress and even depression, what will happen to our teachers.

How can we avoid depression or anxiety attacks? These are some of the guidelines, from the teachers who’ve been experienced depression that can help you cope; 1.) Find a companion. Look for a friend who can pace in and take over for you. 2.) Seek help. It can be really tough to acknowledge you need help and even harder to get yourself. “When we experience physical symptoms, we go to a specialist, tell them our signs, and let them help us overcome depression through therapy or medication. 3.) Get moving. Workout lifts the quantity of feel-good chemicals in the brain and can help ease the symptoms of both depression and anxiety. 4.) Invest in other sides of yourself. Sometimes teaching is so all-consuming that we forget that there are many, many characteristics to who we are as individuals. Revive your interest in activities and pursuits outside of school.5.) Be Sociable. It’s normal to want to dump and hide when you’re feeling miserable. Avoid feeling isolated by maintaining social dealings. 6.) Establish routines. A teacher must be focus and should set limitations. 7.) Prioritize mental health. There’s nothing wrong with taking a rare intellectual health day, especially during periods of intense stress.

New testing standards have put so much pressure on these professionals, and their financial incentive is minute compared to the workload. Even public support for teachers has weakened. Educators work extended periods, deal with student misbehavior, and go to countless efforts to complete managerial paperwork. Through so much going against them, it’s no wonder that teaching has the highest stress rate of any sector job. Lastly, prayer is the most powerful weapon to fight depression and anxiety attacks.

Don’t let despair and worry instill your love of teaching and the ability to enjoy life. Teachers depression is an option if we enjoy being a teacher and accompany it with prayers. There is no such thing as easy work even in other sectors, we must learn how to enjoy and love what we are doing.