Going to Therapy for Workplace Trauma
Confession… I needed therapy to get through my last year as a teacher. In fact, I had a whole mental health team at my disposal consisting of a psychiatrist, a therapist, and my primary care physician.
(Note to self: if you need that much support to get through your workday, it’s probably time to go, lol).
My last year in education was toxic like many others who taught during the pandemic, but I was so wrapped up in my teacher identity that it was hard to admit I needed to leave. The Sunday Scaries began to bleed into other weekdays until I felt anxiety around the clock.
It took my psychiatrist gently stating that my emotional anguish seemed to be situational due to a hostile work environment for me to realize that leaving education was the best move for my health. My therapist pointed out that my administration was textbook abusive, and helped me come to terms with leaving.**
Fortunately I had health insurance that helped fund this care, because I needed an objective professional opinion to help me work through the complex and tangled feelings I was experiencing. It’s not easy to walk away from a decade long career when you are that invested.
Within a couples months of leaving, I was able to go off the anti-depressants that were keeping me afloat and I ‘graduated’ from therapy. Not once have I regretted transitioning out of the classroom.
This might be the millennial in me speaking, but therapy is normal and healthy and fine! I feel no shame in having used this resource to gain clarity in how to move forward.
If you are nodding along to this post, do yourself a favor and follow Michelle Goodloe for all the self care goodies.
Cheers to a peaceful and restorative rest of winter break, y’all!
**A note: Some of the signs of an abusive employer include coercive tactics such as intimidation, threats, using children against faculty, isolation, physical endangerment, invoking duty to sacrifice, economic abuse, exploiting fears and vulnerabilities, violating boundaries, emotional manipulation, etc. If you are experiencing any of this in the workplace, gather your support network and start making an exit plan.
