A younger colleague was removed from campus by police for being under the influence. I am feeling conflicted.

I teach in a large, urban district with a high rate of teacher turnover. <br><br>Today a more junior colleague (2nd year teacher) was involved in a situation where she lost it in the middle of class and started screaming and cussing out her students. She broke down sobbing and was unable to teach. <br><br>Our school counselor and dean went up to help her and she was extremely combative. She smelled of alcohol and she admitted that she had a bottle of wine in her bag. <br><br>She was removed from campus by the police, and her principal and vice principals all spoke to her students about her being "sick" and they are talking about finding a long term sub while she is potentially placed on leave. <br><br>I know she was in the process of breaking up with her long-term boyfriend and her mom is sick with cancer. I also personally saw her drinking with a few of us at a teacher happy hour a few weeks ago, but she said she was not a big drinker and was basically a teetotaler. <br><br>I am feeling conflicted because I am sad that she is in this situation, but I’m also grateful it isn’t me. I am a drinker and have also been known to throw a temper, and I have a hard time not seeing myself in her situation. <br><br>I do think I have better boundaries than her, since she is 24 and single and I am 35 and have a partner and kids, but I still have this underlying dread that one day I’m going to lose it and ruin my career.<br><br>I am not ready to leave teaching, and I know I am better than the average teacher in our district, but I’m feeling pretty low tonight. I’m going to call my sponsor and talk to my therapist in the morning. I need to stop fixating on this.