Nearly 5,000 public school teachers took a leave of absence in the 2007 academic year because of depression or other mental disorders. If these teachers are constantly stressed out and don’t have anyone to take it out on, the Sakebi no Tsufu could come in handy. This “shouting vase” from Japan is able to reduce stress if a person holds it up to the mouth and clearly articulates (a.k.a. yell as loud as you can) his/her troubles. The pot, which is made of thermoplastic, is able to turn yells into whispers through its special inner structure. The manufacturer claims it will magically suck up everything you say and keep it inside. I guess that this is similar to a teacher sucking it up and keeping his/her feelings inside.

 
Nearly 5,000 public school teachers took a leave of absence in the 2007 academic year because of depression or other mental disorders, marking a year-on-year increase for the 15th consecutive year, according to an Education, Science and Technology Ministry survey.

The number increased by 320 from the previous year to a record high of 4,995 in 2007 academic year, the ministry said Thursday.

Concern is rising in the ministry as the number of school teachers suffering from depression and other mental disorders has continued to increase each year, observers said.

The ministry surveyed about 916,000 public primary, middle and high school teachers. It found 8,069 teachers, or about 0.88 percent, took a leave of absence because of depression or other mental disorders in the last academic year. Among them, 4,995 teachers, or 60 percent of those who took leave, suffered from mental disorders, it said. When the ministry added mental disorders to the survey in the 1979 academic year, 664 respondents indicated they suffered such disorders. The growth rate has slowed over the past two years, but the number of respondents indicating they suffer from disorders has increased by several hundred each year since the 1994 academic year.

The ministry said the increase could be partly attributed to teachers' heavy workloads, including club activities, making reports and their teaching responsibilities. The ministry also pointed out the teaching profession has changed and that fewer teachers have close ties with their colleagues.

According to an October report the ministry commissioned to an outside organization, the rate of teachers who are depressed was about 2.5 times higher than that of employees at ordinary companies.

The number of teachers that were subject to disciplinary actions for misconduct such as drunk driving and committing indecent acts was 12,887.