Male teachers are at risk of “suicidal exhaustion” because they cannot talk about the excessive pressures of their job, they have been warned.
Men are particularly vulnerable because they suffer the same stress as women but do not find it as easy to talk about their feelings, delegates at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers union in Liverpool heard.
Helen Porter, a teacher from Newbury, Berkshire, tabled a motion, which was carried, calling for more to be done to promote good mental health among men to encourage them to talk about difficult thoughts and feelings.
Ms Porter told the Standard men were three times as likely to die of suicide than women. She said: “We are very worried about mental health problems in men generally and suicide.”
She said some male teachers might feel overwhelmed by increasing workloads or financial pressures. Major changes such as schools becoming academies, revamped GCSEs and budget cuts could also add to stress.
She said: “It can lead to people feeling anxious and stressed with constant demands on their energy. It can lead to complete exhaustion where they may… take their own life.”@_AnnaDavis