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Month: July 2020

Minding mental health for teachers during Covid-19

Posted on by eve

Few teachers could have anticipated that they would have to work from home. This worldwide pandemic has made us change the way we live, interact and work.

Online limitations

For obvious reasons, teaching young people does not easily transition to the ‘working from home’ model. It’s impossible to recreate the conditions of the classroom online. Naturally, teaching is most effective when we can pick up an atmosphere, or notice the body language of a disinterested student.

While we expect young people to be comfortable with technology, online learning is new for many. We also cannot assume that students have the physical space and tech available for online learning all day long.

Recognise the limitations of online teaching and know that it’s not on you.

Ask Jigsaw: How do you recognise emotional abuse?

Posted on by eve

How can you tell when your being emotionally abused?

– Idkhelpmepls:)

Hi Idkhelpmepls:),

Recognising emotional abuse can be complicated. It can have lots of different names, like verbal or mental abuse, and it might have different meanings for different people. It’s really important to explore if we are being abused by someone so that we can protect ourselves, and get the necessary support.

Emotional abuse is systematic emotional or psychological ill-treatment by someone in our lives. It can be perpetrated by a parent, partner, carer or someone else that we have a relationship with. It can include manipulation, humiliation, aggression and intimidation that occurs over a period of time. We might notice warning signs in a relationship that could indicate it is becoming abusive.

Ask Jigsaw: No one to talk to

Posted on by eve

I’m sick of pretending that everything’s ok when I’m hurting so bad and I have no one to talk to I’m just so alone and wish I had someone to turn to what should I do since I have no one to talk to.

– Mary

Hi Mary,

I’m sorry to hear that things are so hard for you right now and you feel so alone. It is great that you want to talk about what is going on, and recognise the importance of this. It is not always easy to know who the best person is to talk to however. While some people might have a really obvious ‘one good adult’ in their life, for some of us it might take a bit more figuring out.

Ask Jigsaw: Moving away for college

Posted on by eve

I’m moving away to go to college in September, I know and have my course already.

It will be my first time living away from home and I have a been offered a space in a house with a cousin and some friends of theirs who are already in college.

The thing is I don’t really know my cousin that well. We’re not going to be in the same college. This has been organised by our parents and I don’t know the other people. I haven’t even seen the house yet but I’m getting really anxious about living with some strangers but also someone I am meant to know but don’t really and haven’t since we were young.

Hi there,

It sounds like you have lots of change ahead of you, which can be exciting, but also overwhelming. At Jigsaw, we know that it would not be unusual for people who are preparing for college to talk about some of the worries that you have mentioned.

Ask Jigsaw: Supporting my friends

Posted on by eve

All of my close friend have been through bad mental health. Some just took time off school to reboot, some to therapists , and some to cahms/st.pats. I’ve been there for all of them throughout the years. First one was age 9 to now. Some are doing good and some are going down the wrong path into drugs. One in particular who I’ve known for my whole life is now known as the ‘popular pretty girl who was in a mental hospital’. She’s now heavy on drugs and can’t go a few days without going out and taking more. I don’t know what to do it’s starting to eat me up inside and now I can see myself going down the same path as the others in terms of mental health.

I was the strong happy funny kind girl who everyone counted on and vented to but now it’s all getting too much and I can’t separate myself because they all need my help but I also can’t continue doing this because I’m slowly losing my mind. I’m going into 6th year now so I want school to be my number one concern but my friends are all good in a bad place and I need to be there for them so I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I’m making sense there’s so much more to it and my minds going crazy.

I just need advice on how to balance helping my friends , school , social life and my own mental health and prepare myself for 6th year.

-Butterfly

Hi Butterfly,

It’s sounds like you are a really compassionate person and have been there for a lot of your friends over the years. While it is a nice to be able to support others, without a doubt it can take a toll on us. You may have heard the flight attendant on an airplane telling you to ‘look after your own mask first’. This is because, unless we prioritise looking after ourselves, we won’t have the capacity to be there for someone else. Looking after your own mental health is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Webinar: Supporting during lockdown

Posted on by eve

This is a recording of a webinar for parents about how to support young people while in lockdown for the prevention of Covid-19.

Jen and Vanessa presented a piece about compassion-focused support and took questions live from parents and responded.

Webinars to support youth mental health

Check out the webinar recording  for parents on supporting young people with anxiety .

Ask Jigsaw: Fearful about Coronavirus

Posted on by eve

Will the coronavirus (COVID-19) affect schools in the east of Ireland near Dublin. I’m fearful that somebody my school can be infected.


I think I’m infected but I don’t know what to do.

Hi there,

There has been a lot of information in the news and on social media about coronavirus. Some of this is true and helpful. However, some of it is exaggerated or just false. Given the amount of coverage, it is understandable that you might feel worried or fearful about coronavirus and its effect on you or those around you.

Ask Jigsaw: Panicking that I’ve failed my course

Posted on by eve

I’m in final year of my teaching degree, and really afraid that I’ve failed my last placement. It really knocked my confidence because the inspectors were really harsh after lessons that actually went really well. I had the worst panic attacks I’ve ever experienced after those inspections.

On top of the fear of failing and having the repeat another placement next year and not graduating with my friends in September, I’m not even sure that I want to be a teacher anymore because of how terrible the inspectors made me feel about myself.

One of my assignments involves reflecting on that placement, and it brought back up all those feelings of fear and failure. How do I deal with this fear of the possibility that I’ve failed while waiting for results in June, and if I have failed, how do I get over this anxiety around teaching? 

-Rewind  

Dear Rewind,

Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge all of the hard work and dedication that went into getting to your final year in teaching and doing placements. Regardless of the outcome, your effort and impact on your students is something to recognise.