A Year Packed Into A Month #SemiColonEdu #MentalHealth

The constant message I have been getting from my peers is how burnt they are and they have only been back to school for a month! My heart breaks because there are so many great teachers out there who are struggling with the weight of their educational world on their shoulders. The "Grin and Bear It" crowd that wants teachers to just do their job is already wearing thin on educators. 

There are teachers that are leaving the profession and not looking back. I do not begrudge those teachers. Mental Health has to be number one for people. If you can't take care of yourself, how can you take care of others. 

One of the things I want to remind everyone of is to find your people. Find those close people that can listen to you vent. Those people that understand what is like to go through the ringer the first couple of weeks of school. Teachers are not encouraged to share their mental health feelings publicly like many professions. If we want to normalize mental health conversations in the education community we have to start having these conversations publicly. 

There is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to mental health. I am treated for anxiety and depression. I'm no longer embarrassed of that fact. By being open about this, I have helped other educators and some students. They felt comfortable to reach out for support because they knew I was someone who would understand. Before we can truly support the mental health of students, we need to build a network that supports teachers and their mental health. It will look a little different for everyone, but we have to start working on connecting and supporting. It could be teachers jumping on the Peloton for a 30 minute rock ride to get the stress out of our system, or it might be virtual Yoga or Meditation as a group. 

There tons of ways to support one another we need to think of how we can do it because nobody is just going to do it for us. 

Sending all of you big virtual hugs and high fives, 

NP

Share Your #semicolonEDU Story July 14

July 14th is #semicolonEDU day. It is a day for teachers to talk about Mental Health issues in education. My post from a couple of years ago details the start of #semicolonEDU and my post from three years ago details my battle with mental health issues.

Mental Health issues should not be ignored in education. An estimated 3 million adolescents had a major depressive episode in 2015. That's 12.5% of all children aged 12-17. Almost 10 million adults have dealt with it as well. That's 4% of all over 18 people. Those numbers are simply scary. However, they can be less scary if we embrace these issues and talk about them. The more that people are open about mental health issues, the easier it is to erase the stigma associated with mental health. We need educators and students to know that it is ok to talk about it and share those experiences. Without talking openly, people will hide and think they are alone. As an educator, I can't let that happen.

I'm asking for everyone to do one of the following:

a. Share a picture of a semicolon drawn on you in support of #semicolonEDU and share it on social media using the hash tag.

OR

b. Share a picture and a story if you feel comfortable. The more stories out there, the more people will talk about and feel comfortable sharing their mental health battles.

I hope all of you will share this story and offer support for those willing to share their battle.

Hugs and High Fives,

NP

#semicolonEDU Reflections

I wanted to share some thoughts on #semicolonEDU as the day draws to a close.

I'm so moved at how many people from all over the world took the time to share their semicolon and their story. Countless people tweeted support for those that had the courage to share their stories. Some shared their story for the firs time because they finally felt there was a safe place to do it. I tried to stay away from the feed because I knew I could not handle it emotionally. All of these people in support of something I posted about a few days ago. All of these people, strangers to many, were ready to stand side by side with other strangers and support them as they came into the sunlight after hiding in the darkness. The Internet can be a dark place and the media loves to write about that aspect of it time and time again. However, on this day, people showed the true power of being connected and using the Internet to bring people closer together.

Many people have expressed their thanks to me and to Joe for helping start this conversation, but in all honesty, this conversation was led by all of you. You were ready to have this conversation and we just provided a tiny spark in sharing our stories. I hope that this little spark turns into a bright flame that can guide people out of their self-imposed exile where they hide their battle. I want this to be the start of a conversation, not the end. By taking #semicolonEDU and spreading it around the globe today, you have made that possible.

My last thought to all of you out there is remember this,  for as many people out there shared there story, there are thousands that have not. Remember this and strive to create an environment that everyone feels welcome to share their story. Help erase the stigma.

Here is a Storify I created to capture what has been tweeted and shared on Instagram over the last 14 hours or so. I know there will be more, but I wanted to grab a snapshot of this amazing hashtag.

Hugs and High Fives,

-N

The Semicolon and The Nerdy Teacher #semicolonEDU #ProjectSemicolon

It's been a little over a year since I publicly talked about my battle with depression. There have been many positives about writing that post. Besides making me feel better about what I was going through, the post gave courage to others to share their stories with me and for some to even share them publicly on their own blogs. The outpouring of support from friends all over the Internet really made a difference to me. I made it through this past ISTE without a single panic attack or bout of depression. I would not have been able to do that without my friends. I never would have received the support I did if I did not let people know that I needed support. 

A few weeks ago, I came across Project Semicolon. According to their website, "Project Semicolon (The Semicolon Project) is a faith-based non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction and self-injury. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love and inspire." This really caught my attention, but this quote really struck the Nerdy English Teacher in me. "A semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life."

I've never had thoughts of self harm or suicide, but I have had friends take their life. I've known students who have taken their life. It has always been painful to see these special people make these decisions. I will always feel like I could have done something. What if I shared my story earlier? What if they knew I battled the same demons they did? Ever since I came out about my battle with depression, I've committed myself to being more vocal in support of mental health issues. I've connected with so many people who have reached out to share their story it has helped me in my battle. 

I've been so happy to see people start to speak up regarding Mental Health. Joe Mazza shared his battle with depression during a great a TEDx talk at TEDxYouth@BHS and has written a beautiful post on it as well. An amazing young lady named Bryn also shared her story. Sharing the story is important. More people need to hear these stories to help spread a better understanding of what dealing with depression and anxiety is like.

Joe and I have talked over the past few weeks about doing something to support all of the educators out there that are battling depression on their own because they fear the stigma that comes along with depression and anxiety. Joe and I wanted to show that there is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to mental health. So we went out and had a tattoo of a semicolon placed on our wrists. 

Me

Joe

I want people to ask us about this punctuation mark on our wrists so we can share our story. The more people know about mental health issues, the more we can get rid of the stigma. The more we get rid of that stigma, the more people will feel comfortable sharing their stories. We need students to feel comfortable sharing these feelings with their teachers and we need teachers to better understand mental health so they can support these students and their colleagues.  It is not a fun conversation, but it is one we need to have if we want to help people and possibly save lives. There is something all of you can do to show your support.

I would love to see pictures across the Internet from all of my PLN on Tuesday July 14th with a Semicolon drawn (or tattooed if you are up to it) on your body to show support for all of the educators dealing with mental health issues. Use the tag #semicolonEDU to show your support on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let's show the world that we can come together and fight mental health stigmas by showing our support for one another. I know we can do it. 

Thanks for all of the love and support. 

Hugs and High Fives,  

-N