Still Showing Up, But Running on Empty?
Workplace Anxiety and Exhaustion for Teachers in Dudley and Stourbridge
You’re still getting up.
Still going into school.
Still standing in front of a classroom, doing what needs to be done.
From the outside, it probably looks like you’re coping. But inside, you might feel anxious, overwhelmed, and deeply tired in a way that rest doesn’t quite touch.
Many teachers in Brierley Hill, Dudley, Quarry Bank and Stourbridge describe this quiet mix of workplace anxiety and exhaustion — still functioning, still caring, but feeling increasingly worn down. Not at breaking point, but not okay either.
Feeling overwhelmed at work, but still pushing through
Teaching asks a lot of you. You’re constantly managing learning, behaviour, responsibility, and other people’s needs — often with little space to pause.
Over time, this can show up as:
Feeling tense or on edge most days
Struggling to switch off in the evenings
Sunday anxiety creeping in earlier each week
A sense that your mind never really rests
It’s easy to tell yourself this is just part of the job, or that things will feel better once the pressure eases. But anxiety often builds when there’s no room to recover.
When anxiety turns into exhaustion
Anxiety uses energy.
When your nervous system stays on high alert — anticipating problems, holding responsibility, staying emotionally available — it becomes draining. Slowly, that can turn into exhaustion.
Many teachers say, “I love teaching, but I’m exhausted.”
That doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’ve been carrying a lot for a long time.
Why many teachers wait before getting support
Teachers are often very good at pushing through. You might think:
“I’ll rest properly in the holidays”
“Others cope better than me”
“I’m not bad enough for therapy”
So you keep going, even when the cost is rising. Therapy doesn’t have to be a last resort. Support can help much earlier than that.
Try this: a 2-minute pause
If work has been a lot, see if you can slow things down just a little.
For two minutes:
Put your feet on the floor and notice where you are
Acknowledge one thing today that took effort
Say quietly, as you would to a friend:
“That was a lot. I’ve done enough for today.”Take two or three slow breaths.
This isn’t about fixing anxiety. It’s about giving your system a small signal that it doesn’t have to stay on high alert.
In therapy, this kind of compassionate noticing is practised over time, so responding to pressure can start to feel steadier and less exhausting.
When pushing through starts to overload the system
Many teachers describe feeling like an overloaded plug socket — too many things drawing power at once, with no switch to turn anything off.
When that happens, anxiety and exhaustion aren’t personal weaknesses. They’re signs the system has been asked to carry too much.
Therapy can help slow things down, look at what’s draining your energy, and find ways to ease the load — not by doing more, but by helping things run more steadily.
If this feels familiar, you’re welcome to get in touch to explore whether therapy could support you. There’s no pressure — just a conversation, at a pace that feels manageable.
If you’d like to get a sense of who I am and how I work with anxiety and overwhelm, you’re welcome to visit my About page.
Sometimes support isn’t about changing everything. It’s about stopping the system from overheating. Book your free intro call to find out how therapy could help you here