I'm in my first year of unit studying primary education. Since November, I've been having fairly frequent panic attacks, some of them quite severe so that I cannot continue with whatever I was doing. There appear to be no triggers so nothing I can avoid really. My doctor prescribed me Propranolol and recently increased the dose. It really has improved, I used to have a bad attack almost everyday, now I'm down to maybe 3 small ones and 1 bad one a week, so although it's a vast improvement, its not quite sorted. I am also waiting to get CBT sessions at unit, so hopefully it will be sorted soon.
So far, I've had two panic attacks during my placements at a primary school, again with no obvious triggers. In a PDR meeting yesterday, my mentor and tutor said that if they aren't convinced that my panic attacks have stopped, then they might have to suspend me, because I shouldn't be around the children, and what if I was on my own with the class?
Obviously I completely understand that the children should not see me distressed, but it does not get to that point. If it is a mild attack, then I can disguise it if I distract myself with something (lets face it, there's always something to do in a classroom!). If it's a bad attack, then I remove myself from the room before it builds up too much. So I do understand that it may be difficult for me to complete placement tasks, for example, if I were to have one whilst being observed.
However, as far as I am aware, I should not be left alone with a class (for my course at least). So I thought this should not be an issue, really. If this was an actual teaching job then yes, I see where they are coming from, but I won't be alone with pupils while I'm still a student.
Speaking to other students, they also seemed to this this was unnecessarily harsh. Am I wrong to think suspension due to panic attacks is a little extreme? This is suspension from the university course, not just my placement. What about teachers who have asthma attacks? Or IBS? Or any other condition where they may suddenly need to leave the classroom? Obviously I understand that panic attacks aren't the same as these, but they all involve the adult leaving the classroom without much warning.
I really don't want to get suspended, has anyone been in a similar situation?