My job has taken a massive toll on my mental and physical health. I've spent the last decade teaching in very low income schools. My first school had its issues, but the main thing was pay. I was not making enough to live off of. I moved to another district several years ago for substantially better pay. When I interviewed at my current school I was sold a story that did sound very promising.
In short, it has been a disaster. The behavior issues are extreme. The worst I have ever seen. I have been verbally abused, received death threats, had to get restraining orders against parents for harassing me outside of school, etc. Literally just today I had a student go nuts on me, threaten me, and she had to be escorted out of the classroom. We have significant issues with drugs and violence, both physical and gun related. Its very bad. When I was initially hired I was told there was low turnover because of the higher pay. This was a massive lie. We have insane churn and already had five teachers quit before mid year. There has been double digit turnover every year I have worked here.
On top of that, you have the basic insanity that is being a public educator. I could go on for days about that. Even if you're dealing with a good school, this is still a horrible career. Compound that with a bad school and it's just daily torture.
Over the past several years I have developed severe panic attacks, cervigocenic headaches that leave me in intense chronic pain and with light sensitivity that makes ambient lighting feel like staring into the sun. I've ended up on blood pressure meds, numerous neurological meds, etc.
I've let myself go healthwise because at the end of every day I'm so exhausted and depressed that things like exercise or meal planning go out the window. More often than not, I'm so anxiety ridden at the end of the day that I just go home and do nothing.
I've made a decision this year that I want myself, my health, and my life back. It is going to require some short term sacrifice for long term gain, but I have settled on a path out of education. Just having that light at the end of the tunnel has given me new life.