I am a 22yo teacher with a significant mental health diagnosis and I am wondering how I should go about managing my time with this very demanding career. I literally don't have enough time to do anything else and I am feeling miserable.

I was a 2024 student teacher in the spring and I was so exhausted. I had to drop one of the two classes I needed to graduate because I couldn't handle the workload of two classes, student teaching, and working 20 hours a week. I had no time for friends or family and when I was on break, I didn't want to do anything but sleep. <br><br>Last week, I got a job offer in my desired field (ESL) at a school that I had hoped that I would be able to work at in the future. I am unable to accept the job offer because I'm not done with my program yet. I don't graduate until May 2025. Thankfully, they said that I could reapply in the fall, but I don't want to wait that long. I don't know if I want to be a teacher anymore. I am going to school for this because I love kids and I want to make a difference in people's lives. I don't want to feel like I just have a job for money. I just don't know. I don't know what else I would do with a teaching degree. I don't know if I could teach in a private school, or if I would have better luck working in a charter school. I want to work in a public school. I just don't know. What should I do?<br><br>UPDATE: Thank you all for your kind words. I appreciate the help that you all have given me. I already feel much better. I am going to update you now because I want to thank you for your help.<br><br>Some things that I changed this week: I am taking a break from social media. I don't have a large following, I can't remember the last time I posted, but I read people's updates. I read news and keep up on current events. Knowing what's going on in the world (whether it's good or bad) stresses me out. I am taking a break from news for a while. I have started reading a book instead of scrolling on my phone when I have free time. I have been reading news articles on my phone (I know it's not the best for you but it's something that I just kinda do). This week, I started reading a book on my phone instead. (I got my phone out and started reading instead of getting my phone out and scrolling social media. This has probably helped the most. I have been practicing deep breathing. I don't do enough deep breathing exercises. I have been trying to do at least one exercise a day. I have been doing my best to avoid screens after dark. This has been much harder for me than it should be. I know that I need to sleep earlier and I know that I should not be on my phone after dark, but this is the one that I'm still working on. I am getting off of my phone earlier before bed and going on it earlier in the morning. It is a process. I have been practicing yoga. I haven't been doing this as much as I want to, but I am making progress in this.<br><br>I still have a lot on my plate this semester. We have 7 teacher in training students and we only get 2 mentors. I was assigned 3 students and I don't really know how to mentor someone. I feel like I am so unprepared. I am also taking classes this semester. My classes seem much easier (I got the class that I wanted and I'm only taking two classes so that's probably why it's easier.) I only work 10 hours a week and I am so much less stressed. I only work Monday and Wednesday and I don't have to be there until 3. I was so stressed out because I didn't have enough time for school or personal things when I was working. I have so much more time now. My program is pretty much a full time job in and of itself, it is very demanding, but when I had the extra 10 hours a week of work, I was just getting so much work done and I was so stressed out. I am feeling better now.<br><br>I also realized that I just have to suck it up if I want to be a teacher. There is so much paperwork and time on the clock and meetings. I have to suck it up if I want to be a teacher and I do. If I didn't want to be a teacher, no one would make me do it. But I do want to be a teacher. I just need to suck it up and be okay with the demands. I am going to get a teaching job next year and I need to be okay with it.<br><br>There are still some things that I need to work on and I am working to fix those. I have been feeling much better this week and I am very happy. <br><br>Again, thank you all. Your words of wisdom have helped me so much. I just need to suck it up. I am sucking it up and I'm feeling better because of it. I am ready to be a teacher.<br><br>UPDATE NUMBER 2: Thanks for the awards! I'm excited to get a real teaching job and start this next chapter of my life. I am excited to be a teacher and I am just trying to get through these next 10 months so that I can start. I am very grateful for your help. I feel empowered because of the advice that you have given me. I am just going to suck it up for the next 10 months so that I can do something that I love for the rest of my life. I am so excited to be a teacher.