I loved teaching... but it broke me

KAREN WHYBRO, 38, resigned from her primary school teaching position in 2012 after suffering stress-related illhealth. She lives in Chelmsford with husband Chris, 39, and their two-year-old daughter Nancy.

Karen, who started teaching in 2005, says: ‘For the first few years I loved my job. Like every teacher, I was working stupid hours, but I loved the challenge.

‘The turning point was when a new head started in 2010, who made everyone feel insecure about their abilities and wanted to bring in loads of changes.

‘There was endless, pointless paperwork thrown at us, which tipped me over the edge. I’d cry before work and found it hard to sleep. In the spring of 2012, I went to my GP with symptoms it was hard to describe – like I was getting a migraine, I was foggy-headed and spaced out. He diagnosed labyrinthitis, an ear condition that can make you feel dizzy, and prescribed me medication, but that didn’t help at all. I Googled my symptoms and came across derealisation and depersonalisation, conditions that often happen with shock or trauma. It’s commonly seen in soldiers returning from war.

‘I went back to my GP with my research who said I should try to speak to the head – but it didn’t feel like an option.

I knew I had to quit so handed in my notice, and almost overnight I felt better.’

Karen now runs a bridalwear firm Rock The Frock and says: ‘Being self-employed is liberating. I have a work-life balance a teacher could never have. I’m sad to have left teaching, but without the right management it broke me.’