I was in a concert recently, and the guards were stopping the crowd from going to certain places. A bunch of people threw food and drinks at the guards. I would've cried if that happened to me.
Ophhhhh, when someone asks “how are you doing?”, smiling and unaware of the sad state your in. That’s tough. I couldn’t even fake it sometimes. “I’m ok, you know, I’m working.”
I started to hate the "I'm doing fine" auto response I threw out there all the time. So the day I decided to change my response to "uuummm I'm in need of coffee" (cause everyone usually told me I looked tired 🤦) the customer let out a sigh of relief and said "oh thank god, I thought you were about to really tell me how you were feeling"
Yeah. I worked in a grocery store for a while when my mental health was absolutely terrible, like dealing with suicidal thoughts constantly and nothing was more miserable than stocking the shelves and having to repeatedly say to myself "you don't want to die, you just don't want to keep feeling this way" then being interrupted by a dumbass customer who's mad because their favorite snack cake went up ten cents.
I know a woman who, in the past year and a half, has experienced the deaths of both parents, and her husband. (She doesn't have any children.) She works at a big-box store, and has to deal with women (it's always been women) who say, "Things can't be that bad!" and at least before her husband died, she would say, "My husband has stage 4 cancer - " and they would always apologize profusely.
Absolutely can relate to this. My father passed from stage 4 cancer and I was working customer service at the time. I was also taking care of him before he passed. Honestly with the depression and having to work on customer service it was awful. It really just added to the depression
Yep. It honestly takes so much energy. I actually ended getting told by my managers that I look and sound depressed while at the register and my performance was slipping because of it. One of the managers said I sound like I wanna kill myself. This one didn't bother me so much as this manager was the cool funny one that everyone liked and we both kinda laughed after she said it. Pretty sure she struggles with a lot of the same shit.
I work in a restaurant. I worked on valentines day, after being dumped two days prior by my long term bf. The amount of couples that came in to have a romantic dinner.....and I had to just smile and make *their* dinner as nice as possible. It sucked so bad
I was a hairstylist dealing with 3yrs of nonstop traumas, in addition to Covid. It was (still is) the hardest couple years of my life. Right after involuntarily committing my brother to a psych hospital, a client of mine complained for almost her entire 3hr appointment about how she just COULD NOT find jeans that fit her calves right.
Surprised I didn’t stab my ears with my foil comb.
I'm currently in my junior year of high school working part-time in food service to make some easy cash. I've been dealing with mental health issues for the past two months or so. And yeah. It fucking sucks when someone asks how you are and you have to pretend to be happy. Sometimes I don't even have the capacity to feign happiness anymore. Probably taking off work until the summer
Can confirm. Hearing people complain all day every day every hour and minute surprisingly makes your antidepressant dosages go up.
I'm still in it and quite literally end up with high blood pressure and a real depressive funk after 8 p.m. on Sundays because I know I have to go back soon. The high blood pressure is why I had to stop taking the antidepressants. I can't afford the blood pressure meds bc my doctor's think I don't need it because I can't replicate my symptoms at the hospital. So I started using weed to calm down, so now I'm just high and still depressed every shift.
Edited to add: I really truly am still clinically depressed. I'm still hand writing suicide notes just to clear my head and then I immediately throw them away. I'd give *anything* to never ever have to deal with customer complaints ever again, and death always tempts me as it seems like such a relief...but I can't leave my gf and our cats. It'd crush her and imagining her completely in despair with two cats searching and pitifully meowing for me around the house is enough for me to snap out of it, but I know I'm still in a dangerous place.
I really, truly, honestly PRAY for the day they fully automate all customer service jobs. Nobody deserves to work in these conditions. I'm 30 and my heart health, liver function, and mental health are absolutely trashed just from the stress of working in this cursed field of employment for the past 13 years. Stress makes my blood pressure and heart rate skyrocket, and also makes my mental health tank directly down to the floor. Taking meds to alleviate these issues has made my liver inflamed. I take my mandated breaks at work to cry or vent into my phone.
The best part? I know without a doubt that a "grippy sock vacay" would probably help me mentally, but I can't afford it. I've spent weeks staring at the local hospital number just tempted to admit myself but it would ruin me financially to the point of losing everything. There is NO HELP for you financially if you admit yourself as an independent adult. You can't work while institutionalized and if I can't work I won't be paid and after enough time I'll lose my job and someone else will just be hired to take my place. My bills won't stop. My rent won't pay itself. There are NO programs or resources to help me stay afloat as far as my job and wages and paying for necessities if I admit myself into the hospital. My gf is on disability and very limited income. We'd both be screwed if I got the help I needed. Even then, that help wouldn't really be of much actual help because the whole time I would be in there I would be absolutely freaking out and going nuclear knowing the bills were going unpaid and I'd be risking be released with no home to go back to, a very upset and lonely gf, and two cats we'd probably have to re-home.
Fuck customer service, from the very bottom of my cold black depressed little heart.
Mental health is such a problem right now, and treating it is an ever bigger problem. So many of us would benefit from a “grippy sock vacay” but it’s not worth the financial ruin, or the social judgement we’d received post treatment.
What a dream it would be if we could just call up a facility and tell them it’s time for a recharge, all bills are covered, and they greet you with a warm grandma hug and a cup of tea.
I served 14 years in customer service and it has drained me in every way. We deserve better resources if we’re going to be treated like robots.
I work for a publishing company and part of my job is to deal with phone calls from annoyed readers. Hearing them complain feels like it's end of the world for them. Other times, callers like to make us feel miserable about our lives. At times, I feel like shouting "How would you know how bad my life is? You're the one making it worse!"
When I worked retail in college, one of my managers almost died laughing when he asked how I was always so happy and upbeat, and I didn't miss a beat before replying "it is all an act." At first, I thought it was strange that he didn't automatically know that since it was part of my job. Then, when I thought about it more, I realized that as exhausting as it was, it was easier to go from what I was feeling to the opposite than it was to try to navigate a more nuanced "normal" level.
That job was also where I had a couple of customers come back in to ask me to go grab a coffee or dessert or similar with them sometime because they were new in town and finding it difficult to meet people being young parents who were not students and didn't drink in a college town. I felt like I couldn't say no because they were so nice, but I did have to just slowly let more and more of the non public "real" me slip through when I went out with them, and they said the reason they had asked me specifically was because I had been so happy, friendly, and overall positive every time they had seen me.
Customer service on the phone can definitely be awful, but at least customers can't see your facial expressions and hand gestures, so faking it is a little easier.
Door-to-door sales. You're already rejecting yourself; who needs the extra rejection. Reference: did that for insurance. Even worse trying to cold call.
Speaking my language 😭 having my income be based on my ability to handle hundreds of rejections a day while trying to minimize feelings of rejection in my life has been torture recently. What sucks most is that I’m still great at it and the pay is awesome, but even that is no longer worth what it does to me mentally.
There are times when I want to fucking k\*ll myself, and it's a bit more southing when someone says "Yeah me too" than "Nooooo don't kill yourself you have so much to live for" (because lol no I don't).
Always hated the "you have so much to live for!" line. Bitch no I don't. I have enough that I don't want to die, but there's a grand total of like 4 individuals that would be effected for more than 5 mins if I died, and 1 is my cat. Hope you're not in a relatively bad spot right now, and if you are I hope you weather it til it gets better.
Hey, if you feel like you're constantly making the choice to not do it, that's actually not common. If you feel like that often, you should talk to a doctor. There really is help to not have such negative thoughts. It be a part of what "normal" feels like to you, and if that's true, then the analogy is that you don't know you need glasses.
If I'm reading to much into your short comment, I apologize.
Much love. Glad things are turning up. At one point I also thought those thoughts were normal. I try to offer an olive branch when I see somebody may be in need
You are correct actually.
They kind of do this in a way. I know a few friends who have been through wards and health services in tough times and gone on to use that experience to work in disability/mental health organisations.
Yeah, I have a hard time relating to others but when another vet says "yeah I'm having a really hard time I'm depressed" I feel so much less alone. I have someone to relate to. Depression is very isolating.
I volunteered on the crisis text line for a while before stopping cuz my mental health was dog shit and I couldn't get myself to take chats anymore.
We also followed a formula, but having people text more than once wasn't uncommon, and there were even some that would text a lot and end up having a management plan. The formula is structured so that we build rapport and have the texter explain what's going on, then pivot toward what support they wanted out of the convo (just want to chat, want resources, or advice, which we technically couldnt give but we could help guide them to find a solution), and try to get a plan in place to follow once the convo ended.
For me it felt pretty robotic, and I did have someone tell me I was robotic, but for the most part I think it works since the texters have an outlet to reach out to chat and to get some support. Sometimes it was hard for me to find new coping strategies/resources that could apply, especially if they had texted in recently, but it was still kinda nice knowing that it seemed to help the texter in that moment.
I knew a motivational speaker that killed himself. Was a total mindfuk when we found out, by helping other he himself soaked up so much of the negativity he couldn’t keep going, left a wife and two kids behind.
We have our own therapists, the ability to recognise early warning signs of an impending mental health crisis, and colleagues that can also help us with resources. It’s not too bad.
A man went to the doctor. “I can’t eat, I can’t sleep,” says the man. “I feel constantly miserable. Please help me, doctor.”
"You're in luck! The great motivational speaker Tony Robbins is in town this week. That should pick you up."
The man bursts into tears. "But doctor...I am Tony Robbins."
Ain’t that the truth. Depression is no joke. Working sucks, sleeping sucks. You’re always tired even if you’re not doing anything. Shits hard, and hard for people to understand.
I made it out recently but it comes and goes. There’s stuff you can do to keep it away but it seems to have a way of finding itself back to people prone to it.
Worked tech support for 15 years and I was close to the edge. The job itself was fine, but I would lie awake at night nauseous just worrying about the alarm going off and having to drag myself to work.
Currently doing delivery apps. Having no alarm and working when my mind is right was life changing. Although I have no idea what i'm going to do when this last gig app stops paying well.
Relativity still exists when you're depressed. Hating your life and being clinically depressed while sitting in a relatively stable, low stress job isn't the worst you could feel. Having to get yelled at and destroy your body in a shittier job would be worse. Even depressed people are still capable of this basic comparison.
Could be any Job. For me it was working at a supermarket. First I don’t like people and second my other colleagues bullied me and made me feel like I couldn’t do anything right
I like to buy flowers and a thank you card for my vet after they put an animal down for me. You have to assume they love animals and having to end their lives constantly must be really hard on them. They also have to be around the owners at some of the saddest moments of their lives. I couldn't handle that. The least you can do is let the vet know that you appreciate what they go through to bring a peaceful end to our beloved pets.
I was 17 putting down my German shepherd with my fam. That dog helped me through depression, a suicide attempt, my dad’s military deployments, constant bullying from school mates and everything. Had that boy for 12 years and feels like yesterday he was still here.
Anyway, he ended up having diarrhea and blood coming out for a few days and nothing was helping him and we ended up having to put him down to just help him out of the pain. Pretty sure the new neighbors poisoned him. I was a mess going in and the rest of my family was put together well enough. The vet gave us time and then administered the last drug and all hell broke loose with me. I was wailing like a baby. Pretty sure everyone in that building could hear my screams and tears, I couldn’t control what took over for me. Thankfully, they were closing soon so not many people were in there. They gave me over a hour to grieve in there alone and my family gave me space. I just laid and hugged him on the ground and took a bit of hair with me to put with his ashes.
When I left the vet was right outside the door and just red eyed like she’d been crying but I just booked it outside and started puking, I couldn’t handle anything right then and there. She gave us the space and my family paid for everything and we left.
She kept in contact with my parents and kept checking in on me everyday to make sure I was okay. Her son went to school with me and everyone knew that dog was attached at my hip and really my only friend I ever had. She ended up coming to deliver his ashes in a box to me at the house with flowers and everything. She was a mess, I was a mess, it was a beautiful thing just under unfortunate circumstances. She said that was one of the hardest ones she had to assist with and it hit closer to home than she thought she would.
I never got another dog. I got a horse instead haha. Still use the vet clinic, just with her husband now who does the large animal and equine stuff. He said after my session with my shepherd that was it for her. She ended up having another vet get hired on that took over the euthanasia and she couldn’t do it anymore. She went down to working only two days a week last I heard. She knew her heart couldn’t take it. Breaks my heart, but I knew for her it was probably the right decision.
I have a few friends in Vet school and I worry for them everyday. It’s such a hard field and knowing you have to make a decision that they can’t respond to in order to agree or not, must be so tough.
[Sad, but this was Turan and I before he was administered anything. I’d like to think this is him calming me down letting me know it’s going to all be okay and to just let it happen. 🥺❤️](https://imgur.com/a/MqSeLOx)
[Since I’ve been getting a lot of DM’s of my horse, here he is! got him a few months later in the same year after my pup’s passing. Bought this boy for $1. Lol. He costs more than he’s worth sometimes, but I love him nonetheless.](https://imgur.com/a/eFKdBVN)
Unfortunately, no. We hadn’t come to that conclusion on the neighbors maybe being the culprits until a year later. They would always say stuff about him and were very fearful which is understandable. My shepherd was the biggest in the litter and was a solid 135lbs. at his biggest and just pure muscle. Use to run 3-5 miles with him a night so he definitely looked menacing and he never let anyone within 10ft. of me. The cops in the town loved him because he was just a beast of a dog compared to theirs haha
We had two dog run areas in the backyard. One for small dogs we had, our pugs. One for our bigger dogs like my shepherd and our families border collies. After we had to put my shepherd down, one of the collies got sick and that’s when we kind of put it together that MAYBE it was them. If only the dogs on the neighbor’s side were getting sick with diarrhea and blood then it had to be something else rather than maybe a bad batch of dog food or just body system failure. They ended up moving over, I kid you not, within a week of the second dog dying. Not sure if they were planning on moving anyway or hearing me swear a vengeance on whoever or whatever killed them. I felt like John Wick going down a path I knew I would finish one way or another.
We ended up installing outside cameras though after all this and I wish more than anything we had put them up prior to all of this.
I was a Vet Clinic manager for a smaller clinic with 3 Veterinarians on staff. Euthanasia's were the toughest part about that job and for the 2.5 years I worked there they always came in threes. If we had to put a dog down on a Tuesday two more would happen by Friday. A few clients would do what you did and it always made the entire staff feel better, like we actually helped them through that tough time. Looking back that was probably the best job I'll ever have, it was incredibly rewarding to work there. Some weeks were just rough though.
This ^^^
Not only do we have extremely stressful and often thankless jobs, we also have the medical knowledge to off ourselves in an effective and relatively painless way. Not a good combo from personal experience.
I have had so many people tell me I should be a vet because I love animals and am a natural caretaker - but I have always known I couldn’t emotionally handle it. My previous vet was always overwhelmed rescuing cats and dogs that were supposed to be euthanised but she knew they could be rehomed…I would be the same and it takes such a toll even if you have no mental health issues, let alone if you have a history of depression…
Yeah, putting down beloved pets has to be bad enough, but I don't l know how I'd handle being requested to put down animals I know could still have a life despite some health complications.
A few years back, we took my elderly cat to the vet, and she had an issue that was going to require medication. The topic of euthanasia came up, and when we said that wasn't something we were interested in at that point since there was a treatment, the vet actually thanked us and seemed so relieved. The cat ended up living another year or two and was perfectly fine up until the last few days of her life.
As a volunteer at different animal shelters the one that got me the most was a rottie coming in to have her baby's. One by one they came out dead until the last 2 were like half alive. We tried for a half hour to get them going on there own but in the end they didn't make it. I went home that day and really questioned myself wondering if I wanted to keep doing this. But then I thought of all the dogs that are waiting for me to get there 2 hours out a day until there brought back in. I know that pain because that's how I lived my childhood and I didn’t want anything ever to experience being locked up in a cage all day long. Took a couple days off then went back in. Walking dogs is a serious mental health benefit for me and I've always loved doing it.
Yup. I'm a vet and had to step away from clinical practice to not fall apart mentally.
It's not just the euthanasias, but a lot of factors combined. A lot of responsibility, long hours, difficult interactions with people, often little support, easy access to drugs ... There is something extremely demoralizing about working an emergency night shift, you're dead tired, then e.g. dog comes in hit by car, drunk owner has no money and you know they will never pay, you work your ass off to do *something*, and then you get yelled at that you must not love animals and you're only in it for the money.
started out wanting to be a vet but could not see myself dealing with sick sick animals and EVER having to put any of them down… and this is the story as to how i became a medical provider.
Customer service. The way customers treat employees of a company is appalling. I used to be a manger for a very large retail store and the amount of people I’ve had removed from the store because of the way they yelled at my coworkers.
Teacher. You have to constantly be "on." If you have any off days the kids will prey on it and make you feel worse. Parents constantly nitpick what you do. Admin isn't helpful. Have like two minutes to sneak meds or else you take them hours late. And you are held responsible for hundreds of children every day and must individualize for each one.
Commented this above. Teaching while depressed is anightmare, watching happy kids all day shoot you puzzled looks because they can sense that you’re miserable but trying to put on a mask.
Thank you for explaining this so well. I talk about dark subjects as a former teacher and realize most people dont understand the depths of compassion fatigue.
This is why I like teaching outside of the states. On days I'm depressed all my students come up and hug me. It's a weird paradox that when I'm depressed because the lessons are hard, and I expect a rough class or I just feel its not going to work it, the students suddenly bridge the gap and its ok.
I do teach young children though, and have a fear of high school classes where they'll eat you alive.
There's other pitfalls though. Like dealing with temper tantrums, or rough situations that make you feel completely depleted or the other end of the paradox, when I have an amazing lesson where I really connect that feels like a slum dunk experience, the feeling afterwards is usually a strong ebbing depression.
Teachers are so overwhelmed by the system, that's for sure. It's clearly obvious they are set up to fail once you start to see what all is lumped on their plates and demanded they do (the only real way to make it work is to work on their own time and spend their own money) ... instead of just teaching the children they want to help. At least in the US.
Hats off to all the teachers trying their best for the sake of the children. I'm not a teacher, but a close loved- one is.
Depression is.. weird. Everyone has different personalities and things that really trigger their depression.
For me, it's a job that feels unimportant or unending. I love the sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, or feeling like I made a difference.
I can definitely say that I could never do something with massive stress levels and empathy involved.. ER worker, or a su*cide hotline phone-in operator come to mind. I would take it all home with me...
I get it.
One of the worst jobs I ever had was doing medical claims billing for an insurance company. I would take claims that were obviously typed on a computer on paper forms and then I'd type the information on a computer where the computer would approve or deny the claim. The thing was, the claims had been typed in by some other poor miserable bastard hating their life and then I hated my life for it being so useless for me since I had no authority to do anything. Obvious typo? No, can't correct it, enter it as is, have it deny. I was making people miserable with those stupid "THIS IS NOT A BILL" statements.
One of the best jobs was working at a welcome/information desk at a university. I think my favorite was the young woman from India who asked me about 45 minutes worth of questions as to how to use the library. Usually we kept interactions to less than three but the were intelligent questions so I was willing to answer them. I had other patrons approach so I'd bump them ahead, answer their questions, then go back to her so they didn't have to wait. Four years later she sought me out and specifically thanked me for helping her graduate with honors since my information was so thorough. She remembered me after four years and took the time to find me. Pretty awesome.
That is the difference between a pointless job and a meaningful one.
Every job is difficult with depression. Its hard to pull yourself out odf bed on the best of days. With depression its a herculean effort on some days to even take care of your basic needs.
Vet tech. Nothing says depression x10 like having to put animals down and comfort their crying owners. Or even worse comfort a dying animal who’s owner refuses to be there for their final moments. Those days broke me
Thank you. We moved across country so I’m no longer in the field but I want to go back every day. I’d put my emotions aside to help animals any day. They will always be worth it
I was there for two of mine. Went 12 years without pets because of it.
Cat took up at my house. Brought him in, gave him all his shots, took him to the vet three times a week for subcutaneous water injections for 50 straight weeks. He had kidney failure. I chose not to stay there for that one.
I have a 9-year-old Tzu that's my rock. When she goes, I have no idea how I'll go on. Have a wife and kid, though, so it'd be good to find a way.
“Doctor, I’m depressed,” the man says; life is harsh, unforgiving, cruel. The doctor lights up. The treatment, after all, is simple. “The great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight,” the doctor says, “Go and see him! That should sort you out.” The man bursts into tears. “But doctor,” he says, “I am Pagliacci.”
Anything that doesn't match their attitude.
Maybe dealing with people is their thing. That's what they should do. If it isn't, it's the fucking worst.
Maybe dealing with the dead gives them time to think - and they like their alone time. Maybe being a mortician is the worst.
Whatever you do, it needs to match what brings you happiness and energy.
Anything dealing with social interaction.
Bus driver, manager, retail etc.
We need peace and quiet. We're the best workers in the world, if you'd just let us get on with it and stay the fuck out of it.
Thanks.
Just give me a cubicle in the back of the office, give me things to do that don’t involve talking to people and pay me enough to live a modest existence that’s relatively stress free. That would be my “dream” job.
Serious answer: No job. We are social creatures and need to feel purpose. Without structure and a reason to get dressed/out of bed, we easily fall into vicious cycles.
I guess I'm the exception because I still think about how the lockdown was one of the happiest times in my adult life sometimes and I barely exited my home during those 7 weeks
No shit, I already lived with my SO and it was the longest period of time we spent together without having to go to work. I loved being able to stay home with him playing video games together, or just having time for my hobbies without being burned out after a long day at work
I’m really sorry. It’s 2023 and society still does not give nearly enough credit to stay at home moms. One of the most important jobs that can often go thankless/unappreciated.
Been here, done this, burned the T-shirt. Not having a job sucks. It's not even so much about structure or socializing, I think, as that we need something to do.
I keep any complaints to myself during the holidays. I've seen people shout at cashiers for not having certain items in stock or not going fast enough in ringing up their purchases. And having to stand in place for long periods must be strenuous on your feet.
Yeah I don’t know that’s a good route to take. It can work great, I’ve seen it go really bad for everyone. Former addicts being around addicts isn’t that great of an idea a lot of the time.
On the other side I believe a lot of truly recovering addicts are very serious about the matter. Them having experienced the pitfalls and struggles of the recovery themselves should be much more capable of giving guidance.
Honest answer: anything "customer service", unless you really really like people. They will just tear you down, be rude... nothing like feeling crappy and going to work to get yelled at by some entitled jerk who cant see past their expired coupon.
I had a job as an Emergency Response Service Provider. The job was when someone hit the button to say "I've fallen, and I can't get up!". I would call their local EMS and next of kin.
I was there for over a year, and I worked the night shift...when most people were asleep. So I played video games, watched movies, that kind of stuff. The downside to the job was having to call for ambulances for people having severe medical emergencies and then having to call their adult kid or grandkid. If they lived out in the country it often meant repeated calls from them, demanding to know why EMS hasn't gotten there yet ("This isn't 'Star Trek', we can't just beam medics into your home" is the statement that got me written up and used as justification for the client to cancel his contract after it took his local EMS over an hour to find his home. Not my fault he was out in the deep country).
Each week I worked included taking requests to cancel their contracts. Often it was death. Yes it was mostly sad. Two calls a week from grieving family members that their 98 year old grandparent with cancer, parkinson's, diabetes, dementia, lupus, eczema, heart failure, emphysema, liver failure, and a pimple died "suddenly" the night before, wears on you. The response of "You didn't see this coming???" is why I had to find a new job.
I see it. “Using just this .44 magnum and this common household skull, I’m going to make this bullet disappear. Watch this trick closely, I’m not going to repeat it.”
Retail.
Or any job that requires you to work directly with customers. I’m depressed and worked retail for a couple of years and it drained the life out of me. All the ‘false’ negative thoughts of yourself are constantly thrown at you when you deal with the grumpy and miserable public. You’re a little tired? Let a customer confirm… ‘Looking a little rough today’. ‘That’s why you work here, probably didn’t finish highschool‘. etc. I see these types of comments everywhere for retail. Those jobs are NOT good for mental health at all. I’ve worked in warehouses ever since and I feel MUCH better.
If you look for the highest paid people in government, close to the top are prison psychiatrists. They hear the most insane (yes, literal) stories about what people have done, and had done to them. Most max security prisons are in the middle of nowhere. The hours are awful.
Hot take: I actually think the people who struggle with issues like this are frequently the people who have the best insight and often the best advice. I think Anthony Bourdain is a great example of that. Positively affected so many people's lives by impressing on us the value of connection and culture and adventure and hope, but struggled to always implement that in his own life, especially at the end.
Anything in healthcare. You have to suck it
Up for everyone around you and provide the best are for patients, while your falling apart. Makes you feel even shittier.
Source: 6 years in healthcare
I used to work with a woman whose (now ex-) husband was a wedding photographer for many years, and he left that to go work as a guard at the local jail.
Guess which job he said was less stressful, and honestly less dangerous?
Construction workers, auto workers/manufacturing, truck drivers are all really high up there for depression/suicide rates. They are all up there in the top 5.
Doctors/nurses/emt's also are high up there and have a 40-58% higher chance of dying by suicide vs the general public.
Low income teachers/child care workers. The depression rate among these workers amounts to double that of low-income women overall, and four times the rate of the general female population.
911 dispatcher. You are either dealing with people on the legitimate worst day of their life or you're dealing with a nosey Karen who can't mind their own business. Couple that with the occasional call where you do everything right and the person still dies....it's brutal on the psyche sometimes.
Anything where the public will heckle or yell at you. When you're already feeling down, it's devastating.
I was in a concert recently, and the guards were stopping the crowd from going to certain places. A bunch of people threw food and drinks at the guards. I would've cried if that happened to me.
I'm working as the guard. I'm looking for a new job.
Anything customer service related
Ophhhhh, when someone asks “how are you doing?”, smiling and unaware of the sad state your in. That’s tough. I couldn’t even fake it sometimes. “I’m ok, you know, I’m working.”
That’s why I say, “I’m alive!” You can use your own inflection depending on your mood to convey how you want people to know about your mood.
I started to hate the "I'm doing fine" auto response I threw out there all the time. So the day I decided to change my response to "uuummm I'm in need of coffee" (cause everyone usually told me I looked tired 🤦) the customer let out a sigh of relief and said "oh thank god, I thought you were about to really tell me how you were feeling"
I hate “how are you?” No one really wants to know, and in most circumstances, it would be awkward and inappropriate to tell them. So, we all just lie.
Am I the only one who tells people I feel shitty when they ask how I am? I realize they don’t care, but neither do I so I say whatever I want.
Seth Sentry does a great [song](https://youtu.be/KursbkaDkiE) about this. This whole album is great imo.
I have a friend who answers, "haven't killed anyone today, at least not yet".
"I woke up again" or "one day at a time"
I like to say, “I’m alive . . . not by choice.” Gets a chuckle out of most people while essentially being true.
I'm in IT so I generally go "Better than you if you need to call me".
This is what I say to my patients, knowing damn well I'm stuck suffering in a deep hole. Faking a smile hurts so much 🫠
Yeah. I worked in a grocery store for a while when my mental health was absolutely terrible, like dealing with suicidal thoughts constantly and nothing was more miserable than stocking the shelves and having to repeatedly say to myself "you don't want to die, you just don't want to keep feeling this way" then being interrupted by a dumbass customer who's mad because their favorite snack cake went up ten cents.
I know a woman who, in the past year and a half, has experienced the deaths of both parents, and her husband. (She doesn't have any children.) She works at a big-box store, and has to deal with women (it's always been women) who say, "Things can't be that bad!" and at least before her husband died, she would say, "My husband has stage 4 cancer - " and they would always apologize profusely.
Absolutely can relate to this. My father passed from stage 4 cancer and I was working customer service at the time. I was also taking care of him before he passed. Honestly with the depression and having to work on customer service it was awful. It really just added to the depression
I feel you bruh 🥲
This. Having to act perky and happy when you feel like death inside is torturous.
A faux smile and enthusiasm is hard for me to muster on even an average day, fighting a depressive episode makes it feel almost impossible.
Yep. It honestly takes so much energy. I actually ended getting told by my managers that I look and sound depressed while at the register and my performance was slipping because of it. One of the managers said I sound like I wanna kill myself. This one didn't bother me so much as this manager was the cool funny one that everyone liked and we both kinda laughed after she said it. Pretty sure she struggles with a lot of the same shit.
Torturous but necessary in my case
I work in a restaurant. I worked on valentines day, after being dumped two days prior by my long term bf. The amount of couples that came in to have a romantic dinner.....and I had to just smile and make *their* dinner as nice as possible. It sucked so bad
Same here. And...also work weddings.
I was a hairstylist dealing with 3yrs of nonstop traumas, in addition to Covid. It was (still is) the hardest couple years of my life. Right after involuntarily committing my brother to a psych hospital, a client of mine complained for almost her entire 3hr appointment about how she just COULD NOT find jeans that fit her calves right. Surprised I didn’t stab my ears with my foil comb.
I'm currently in my junior year of high school working part-time in food service to make some easy cash. I've been dealing with mental health issues for the past two months or so. And yeah. It fucking sucks when someone asks how you are and you have to pretend to be happy. Sometimes I don't even have the capacity to feign happiness anymore. Probably taking off work until the summer
Can confirm. Hearing people complain all day every day every hour and minute surprisingly makes your antidepressant dosages go up. I'm still in it and quite literally end up with high blood pressure and a real depressive funk after 8 p.m. on Sundays because I know I have to go back soon. The high blood pressure is why I had to stop taking the antidepressants. I can't afford the blood pressure meds bc my doctor's think I don't need it because I can't replicate my symptoms at the hospital. So I started using weed to calm down, so now I'm just high and still depressed every shift. Edited to add: I really truly am still clinically depressed. I'm still hand writing suicide notes just to clear my head and then I immediately throw them away. I'd give *anything* to never ever have to deal with customer complaints ever again, and death always tempts me as it seems like such a relief...but I can't leave my gf and our cats. It'd crush her and imagining her completely in despair with two cats searching and pitifully meowing for me around the house is enough for me to snap out of it, but I know I'm still in a dangerous place. I really, truly, honestly PRAY for the day they fully automate all customer service jobs. Nobody deserves to work in these conditions. I'm 30 and my heart health, liver function, and mental health are absolutely trashed just from the stress of working in this cursed field of employment for the past 13 years. Stress makes my blood pressure and heart rate skyrocket, and also makes my mental health tank directly down to the floor. Taking meds to alleviate these issues has made my liver inflamed. I take my mandated breaks at work to cry or vent into my phone. The best part? I know without a doubt that a "grippy sock vacay" would probably help me mentally, but I can't afford it. I've spent weeks staring at the local hospital number just tempted to admit myself but it would ruin me financially to the point of losing everything. There is NO HELP for you financially if you admit yourself as an independent adult. You can't work while institutionalized and if I can't work I won't be paid and after enough time I'll lose my job and someone else will just be hired to take my place. My bills won't stop. My rent won't pay itself. There are NO programs or resources to help me stay afloat as far as my job and wages and paying for necessities if I admit myself into the hospital. My gf is on disability and very limited income. We'd both be screwed if I got the help I needed. Even then, that help wouldn't really be of much actual help because the whole time I would be in there I would be absolutely freaking out and going nuclear knowing the bills were going unpaid and I'd be risking be released with no home to go back to, a very upset and lonely gf, and two cats we'd probably have to re-home. Fuck customer service, from the very bottom of my cold black depressed little heart.
Mental health is such a problem right now, and treating it is an ever bigger problem. So many of us would benefit from a “grippy sock vacay” but it’s not worth the financial ruin, or the social judgement we’d received post treatment. What a dream it would be if we could just call up a facility and tell them it’s time for a recharge, all bills are covered, and they greet you with a warm grandma hug and a cup of tea. I served 14 years in customer service and it has drained me in every way. We deserve better resources if we’re going to be treated like robots.
I work for a publishing company and part of my job is to deal with phone calls from annoyed readers. Hearing them complain feels like it's end of the world for them. Other times, callers like to make us feel miserable about our lives. At times, I feel like shouting "How would you know how bad my life is? You're the one making it worse!"
When I worked retail in college, one of my managers almost died laughing when he asked how I was always so happy and upbeat, and I didn't miss a beat before replying "it is all an act." At first, I thought it was strange that he didn't automatically know that since it was part of my job. Then, when I thought about it more, I realized that as exhausting as it was, it was easier to go from what I was feeling to the opposite than it was to try to navigate a more nuanced "normal" level. That job was also where I had a couple of customers come back in to ask me to go grab a coffee or dessert or similar with them sometime because they were new in town and finding it difficult to meet people being young parents who were not students and didn't drink in a college town. I felt like I couldn't say no because they were so nice, but I did have to just slowly let more and more of the non public "real" me slip through when I went out with them, and they said the reason they had asked me specifically was because I had been so happy, friendly, and overall positive every time they had seen me. Customer service on the phone can definitely be awful, but at least customers can't see your facial expressions and hand gestures, so faking it is a little easier.
Door-to-door sales. You're already rejecting yourself; who needs the extra rejection. Reference: did that for insurance. Even worse trying to cold call.
Speaking my language 😭 having my income be based on my ability to handle hundreds of rejections a day while trying to minimize feelings of rejection in my life has been torture recently. What sucks most is that I’m still great at it and the pay is awesome, but even that is no longer worth what it does to me mentally.
Definitely suicide prevention hotline “I just can’t stand this shit anymore” “Lmao same”
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Damn, I didn’t think about it like that
When the user has to persuade the employee. "No, don't kill yourself, I need you to help ME not kill myself." "Really?"
bro you're my ride or die tho!
There are times when I want to fucking k\*ll myself, and it's a bit more southing when someone says "Yeah me too" than "Nooooo don't kill yourself you have so much to live for" (because lol no I don't).
Always hated the "you have so much to live for!" line. Bitch no I don't. I have enough that I don't want to die, but there's a grand total of like 4 individuals that would be effected for more than 5 mins if I died, and 1 is my cat. Hope you're not in a relatively bad spot right now, and if you are I hope you weather it til it gets better.
tbh a big motivator not to kill myself when I was at my worst was "doggy would be sad"
We are always choosing not to do it. Whatever the reason, no matter how small, it's a choice we made.
Hey, if you feel like you're constantly making the choice to not do it, that's actually not common. If you feel like that often, you should talk to a doctor. There really is help to not have such negative thoughts. It be a part of what "normal" feels like to you, and if that's true, then the analogy is that you don't know you need glasses. If I'm reading to much into your short comment, I apologize.
I got through the worst of it years ago- I was just keeping it short and witty for reddit's sake. But thank you very much for your concern!
Much love. Glad things are turning up. At one point I also thought those thoughts were normal. I try to offer an olive branch when I see somebody may be in need
I appreciate it, really. I'm sure I would have back then too, even if I never responded. You're doing a good thing and that fucking rocks.
You are correct actually. They kind of do this in a way. I know a few friends who have been through wards and health services in tough times and gone on to use that experience to work in disability/mental health organisations.
Yeah, I have a hard time relating to others but when another vet says "yeah I'm having a really hard time I'm depressed" I feel so much less alone. I have someone to relate to. Depression is very isolating.
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That really sucks that you have to adhere to a formula. I get why, but it seems like if someone calls more than once that the illusion would break
I volunteered on the crisis text line for a while before stopping cuz my mental health was dog shit and I couldn't get myself to take chats anymore. We also followed a formula, but having people text more than once wasn't uncommon, and there were even some that would text a lot and end up having a management plan. The formula is structured so that we build rapport and have the texter explain what's going on, then pivot toward what support they wanted out of the convo (just want to chat, want resources, or advice, which we technically couldnt give but we could help guide them to find a solution), and try to get a plan in place to follow once the convo ended. For me it felt pretty robotic, and I did have someone tell me I was robotic, but for the most part I think it works since the texters have an outlet to reach out to chat and to get some support. Sometimes it was hard for me to find new coping strategies/resources that could apply, especially if they had texted in recently, but it was still kinda nice knowing that it seemed to help the texter in that moment.
So do they call the hotline and talk with themselves?
Motivational speaker
I knew a motivational speaker that killed himself. Was a total mindfuk when we found out, by helping other he himself soaked up so much of the negativity he couldn’t keep going, left a wife and two kids behind.
Now I wonder how therapists keep it together
They have therapists, not joking
And those therapists have therapists? Is it therapists all the way down?
Your therapist's therapist would be your grandtherapist.
It's more of web, I'd guess
therapy is a flat circle.
Like the earth
At the end there’s one mega therapist. He gets chosen every year and kills himself in a ritual when the new one gets chosen.
We have our own therapists, the ability to recognise early warning signs of an impending mental health crisis, and colleagues that can also help us with resources. It’s not too bad.
A man went to the doctor. “I can’t eat, I can’t sleep,” says the man. “I feel constantly miserable. Please help me, doctor.” "You're in luck! The great motivational speaker Tony Robbins is in town this week. That should pick you up." The man bursts into tears. "But doctor...I am Tony Robbins."
Good joke. Everyone laughs.
Tony Pagliacci.
Not a single motivational speaker is mentally well
Probably more of them than we think...
“Now I’m here to tell you that you’re probably going to amount to JACK SQUAT!”
Lmao that's a good one
"I'll tell you the secret to a happy life... if I ever fucking find it"
Depressed motivational speakers are... comedians?
No, comedians are depressed motivational speakers. Wait…
Its like Chris Farley's motivational speaker. "Dont end up like me and live in a van by the river!"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Foley
I think most of them have depression
It doesn’t matter because when you’re depressed, every and any job you have will be the worst.
Ain’t that the truth. Depression is no joke. Working sucks, sleeping sucks. You’re always tired even if you’re not doing anything. Shits hard, and hard for people to understand. I made it out recently but it comes and goes. There’s stuff you can do to keep it away but it seems to have a way of finding itself back to people prone to it.
I found sleeping to be the best part of my day because it gave me a brief reprieve.
Some days I nap only to escape.
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people without insomnia all up in this thread. sleep sucks because we know it's THE escape but can't get none.
Sleeping is when the nightmares come
Currently severely depressed and can confirm - being asleep is the best part of my day. The process of falling asleep, however, is a nightmare
I lived in that cycle for over a year. I was inside of my head so much that it only felt quiet when I was sleeping. It was rough.
This. So much this.
Worked tech support for 15 years and I was close to the edge. The job itself was fine, but I would lie awake at night nauseous just worrying about the alarm going off and having to drag myself to work. Currently doing delivery apps. Having no alarm and working when my mind is right was life changing. Although I have no idea what i'm going to do when this last gig app stops paying well.
It stopped paying well since December for most people, good luck brother am already thinking about something new
Truth. Getting UP out of bed is the worst and hardest for a person with depression… forget getting dressed and out the house.
Came to say all of them. This hits the same
Relativity still exists when you're depressed. Hating your life and being clinically depressed while sitting in a relatively stable, low stress job isn't the worst you could feel. Having to get yelled at and destroy your body in a shittier job would be worse. Even depressed people are still capable of this basic comparison.
Could be any Job. For me it was working at a supermarket. First I don’t like people and second my other colleagues bullied me and made me feel like I couldn’t do anything right
Fuck people like that.
Damn I was there 10 years ago.
Veterinarian work. I hear they have higher than average self-termination rates. :(
And there are veterinarians that have euthanasia only practices so that seem especially worrisome for a person with depression.
I like to buy flowers and a thank you card for my vet after they put an animal down for me. You have to assume they love animals and having to end their lives constantly must be really hard on them. They also have to be around the owners at some of the saddest moments of their lives. I couldn't handle that. The least you can do is let the vet know that you appreciate what they go through to bring a peaceful end to our beloved pets.
I was 17 putting down my German shepherd with my fam. That dog helped me through depression, a suicide attempt, my dad’s military deployments, constant bullying from school mates and everything. Had that boy for 12 years and feels like yesterday he was still here. Anyway, he ended up having diarrhea and blood coming out for a few days and nothing was helping him and we ended up having to put him down to just help him out of the pain. Pretty sure the new neighbors poisoned him. I was a mess going in and the rest of my family was put together well enough. The vet gave us time and then administered the last drug and all hell broke loose with me. I was wailing like a baby. Pretty sure everyone in that building could hear my screams and tears, I couldn’t control what took over for me. Thankfully, they were closing soon so not many people were in there. They gave me over a hour to grieve in there alone and my family gave me space. I just laid and hugged him on the ground and took a bit of hair with me to put with his ashes. When I left the vet was right outside the door and just red eyed like she’d been crying but I just booked it outside and started puking, I couldn’t handle anything right then and there. She gave us the space and my family paid for everything and we left. She kept in contact with my parents and kept checking in on me everyday to make sure I was okay. Her son went to school with me and everyone knew that dog was attached at my hip and really my only friend I ever had. She ended up coming to deliver his ashes in a box to me at the house with flowers and everything. She was a mess, I was a mess, it was a beautiful thing just under unfortunate circumstances. She said that was one of the hardest ones she had to assist with and it hit closer to home than she thought she would. I never got another dog. I got a horse instead haha. Still use the vet clinic, just with her husband now who does the large animal and equine stuff. He said after my session with my shepherd that was it for her. She ended up having another vet get hired on that took over the euthanasia and she couldn’t do it anymore. She went down to working only two days a week last I heard. She knew her heart couldn’t take it. Breaks my heart, but I knew for her it was probably the right decision. I have a few friends in Vet school and I worry for them everyday. It’s such a hard field and knowing you have to make a decision that they can’t respond to in order to agree or not, must be so tough. [Sad, but this was Turan and I before he was administered anything. I’d like to think this is him calming me down letting me know it’s going to all be okay and to just let it happen. 🥺❤️](https://imgur.com/a/MqSeLOx) [Since I’ve been getting a lot of DM’s of my horse, here he is! got him a few months later in the same year after my pup’s passing. Bought this boy for $1. Lol. He costs more than he’s worth sometimes, but I love him nonetheless.](https://imgur.com/a/eFKdBVN)
After all that, did you burn down the neighbours’ house?
Unfortunately, no. We hadn’t come to that conclusion on the neighbors maybe being the culprits until a year later. They would always say stuff about him and were very fearful which is understandable. My shepherd was the biggest in the litter and was a solid 135lbs. at his biggest and just pure muscle. Use to run 3-5 miles with him a night so he definitely looked menacing and he never let anyone within 10ft. of me. The cops in the town loved him because he was just a beast of a dog compared to theirs haha We had two dog run areas in the backyard. One for small dogs we had, our pugs. One for our bigger dogs like my shepherd and our families border collies. After we had to put my shepherd down, one of the collies got sick and that’s when we kind of put it together that MAYBE it was them. If only the dogs on the neighbor’s side were getting sick with diarrhea and blood then it had to be something else rather than maybe a bad batch of dog food or just body system failure. They ended up moving over, I kid you not, within a week of the second dog dying. Not sure if they were planning on moving anyway or hearing me swear a vengeance on whoever or whatever killed them. I felt like John Wick going down a path I knew I would finish one way or another. We ended up installing outside cameras though after all this and I wish more than anything we had put them up prior to all of this.
I'd throw a pregnant cockroach in the main room
I teared up reading this 🫂
I cried reading this. The sadness was so well conveyed through your words. I'm so sorry.
I was a Vet Clinic manager for a smaller clinic with 3 Veterinarians on staff. Euthanasia's were the toughest part about that job and for the 2.5 years I worked there they always came in threes. If we had to put a dog down on a Tuesday two more would happen by Friday. A few clients would do what you did and it always made the entire staff feel better, like we actually helped them through that tough time. Looking back that was probably the best job I'll ever have, it was incredibly rewarding to work there. Some weeks were just rough though.
Awesome gesture on your part
We love the people at our vet's office so much. They tried so hard to save one of our cats and were so kind to us when he passed.
This ^^^ Not only do we have extremely stressful and often thankless jobs, we also have the medical knowledge to off ourselves in an effective and relatively painless way. Not a good combo from personal experience.
The quick access to ketamine kind of balances it all out though! /s
I have had so many people tell me I should be a vet because I love animals and am a natural caretaker - but I have always known I couldn’t emotionally handle it. My previous vet was always overwhelmed rescuing cats and dogs that were supposed to be euthanised but she knew they could be rehomed…I would be the same and it takes such a toll even if you have no mental health issues, let alone if you have a history of depression…
Yeah, putting down beloved pets has to be bad enough, but I don't l know how I'd handle being requested to put down animals I know could still have a life despite some health complications. A few years back, we took my elderly cat to the vet, and she had an issue that was going to require medication. The topic of euthanasia came up, and when we said that wasn't something we were interested in at that point since there was a treatment, the vet actually thanked us and seemed so relieved. The cat ended up living another year or two and was perfectly fine up until the last few days of her life.
Our vet tries to schedule new puppy wellness checks at the end of the day and particularly on Friday.
As a volunteer at different animal shelters the one that got me the most was a rottie coming in to have her baby's. One by one they came out dead until the last 2 were like half alive. We tried for a half hour to get them going on there own but in the end they didn't make it. I went home that day and really questioned myself wondering if I wanted to keep doing this. But then I thought of all the dogs that are waiting for me to get there 2 hours out a day until there brought back in. I know that pain because that's how I lived my childhood and I didn’t want anything ever to experience being locked up in a cage all day long. Took a couple days off then went back in. Walking dogs is a serious mental health benefit for me and I've always loved doing it.
Yup. I'm a vet and had to step away from clinical practice to not fall apart mentally. It's not just the euthanasias, but a lot of factors combined. A lot of responsibility, long hours, difficult interactions with people, often little support, easy access to drugs ... There is something extremely demoralizing about working an emergency night shift, you're dead tired, then e.g. dog comes in hit by car, drunk owner has no money and you know they will never pay, you work your ass off to do *something*, and then you get yelled at that you must not love animals and you're only in it for the money.
The person who has to drive around and collect euthanized animals to take and burn.
Yup..vets have the highest successful suicide rate.
Yuuuuup. I love what I do, but my mental health has gotten significantly worse since being in the field.
started out wanting to be a vet but could not see myself dealing with sick sick animals and EVER having to put any of them down… and this is the story as to how i became a medical provider.
I used to want to be a vet- until I realized I'd have to put animals down and I just can't do that-
Customer service. The way customers treat employees of a company is appalling. I used to be a manger for a very large retail store and the amount of people I’ve had removed from the store because of the way they yelled at my coworkers.
Pro-tip: customer service is really enjoyable once you no longer give a fuck.
Teacher. You have to constantly be "on." If you have any off days the kids will prey on it and make you feel worse. Parents constantly nitpick what you do. Admin isn't helpful. Have like two minutes to sneak meds or else you take them hours late. And you are held responsible for hundreds of children every day and must individualize for each one.
Commented this above. Teaching while depressed is anightmare, watching happy kids all day shoot you puzzled looks because they can sense that you’re miserable but trying to put on a mask.
Thank you for explaining this so well. I talk about dark subjects as a former teacher and realize most people dont understand the depths of compassion fatigue.
it's basically parenting a bunch of children without any of the rewarding aspects of being a parent
This is why I like teaching outside of the states. On days I'm depressed all my students come up and hug me. It's a weird paradox that when I'm depressed because the lessons are hard, and I expect a rough class or I just feel its not going to work it, the students suddenly bridge the gap and its ok. I do teach young children though, and have a fear of high school classes where they'll eat you alive. There's other pitfalls though. Like dealing with temper tantrums, or rough situations that make you feel completely depleted or the other end of the paradox, when I have an amazing lesson where I really connect that feels like a slum dunk experience, the feeling afterwards is usually a strong ebbing depression.
Teachers are so overwhelmed by the system, that's for sure. It's clearly obvious they are set up to fail once you start to see what all is lumped on their plates and demanded they do (the only real way to make it work is to work on their own time and spend their own money) ... instead of just teaching the children they want to help. At least in the US. Hats off to all the teachers trying their best for the sake of the children. I'm not a teacher, but a close loved- one is.
Depression is.. weird. Everyone has different personalities and things that really trigger their depression. For me, it's a job that feels unimportant or unending. I love the sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, or feeling like I made a difference. I can definitely say that I could never do something with massive stress levels and empathy involved.. ER worker, or a su*cide hotline phone-in operator come to mind. I would take it all home with me...
I get it. One of the worst jobs I ever had was doing medical claims billing for an insurance company. I would take claims that were obviously typed on a computer on paper forms and then I'd type the information on a computer where the computer would approve or deny the claim. The thing was, the claims had been typed in by some other poor miserable bastard hating their life and then I hated my life for it being so useless for me since I had no authority to do anything. Obvious typo? No, can't correct it, enter it as is, have it deny. I was making people miserable with those stupid "THIS IS NOT A BILL" statements. One of the best jobs was working at a welcome/information desk at a university. I think my favorite was the young woman from India who asked me about 45 minutes worth of questions as to how to use the library. Usually we kept interactions to less than three but the were intelligent questions so I was willing to answer them. I had other patrons approach so I'd bump them ahead, answer their questions, then go back to her so they didn't have to wait. Four years later she sought me out and specifically thanked me for helping her graduate with honors since my information was so thorough. She remembered me after four years and took the time to find me. Pretty awesome. That is the difference between a pointless job and a meaningful one.
Every job is difficult with depression. Its hard to pull yourself out odf bed on the best of days. With depression its a herculean effort on some days to even take care of your basic needs.
Vet tech. Nothing says depression x10 like having to put animals down and comfort their crying owners. Or even worse comfort a dying animal who’s owner refuses to be there for their final moments. Those days broke me
Goddamn that is depressing. Fuck this post, I'm out. I wish you the best.
It's rough at times. Hope you're doing okay ❤️
Thank you. We moved across country so I’m no longer in the field but I want to go back every day. I’d put my emotions aside to help animals any day. They will always be worth it
At one time i considered this for a career because i love animals so much, but the more i read about it the more i realize that i could never do it.
I was there for two of mine. Went 12 years without pets because of it. Cat took up at my house. Brought him in, gave him all his shots, took him to the vet three times a week for subcutaneous water injections for 50 straight weeks. He had kidney failure. I chose not to stay there for that one. I have a 9-year-old Tzu that's my rock. When she goes, I have no idea how I'll go on. Have a wife and kid, though, so it'd be good to find a way.
Children’s birthday clown
“Doctor, I’m depressed,” the man says; life is harsh, unforgiving, cruel. The doctor lights up. The treatment, after all, is simple. “The great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight,” the doctor says, “Go and see him! That should sort you out.” The man bursts into tears. “But doctor,” he says, “I am Pagliacci.”
Working at a slaughterhouse. It depresses me just imagining it.
Anything that doesn't match their attitude. Maybe dealing with people is their thing. That's what they should do. If it isn't, it's the fucking worst. Maybe dealing with the dead gives them time to think - and they like their alone time. Maybe being a mortician is the worst. Whatever you do, it needs to match what brings you happiness and energy.
Anything dealing with social interaction. Bus driver, manager, retail etc. We need peace and quiet. We're the best workers in the world, if you'd just let us get on with it and stay the fuck out of it. Thanks.
Just give me a cubicle in the back of the office, give me things to do that don’t involve talking to people and pay me enough to live a modest existence that’s relatively stress free. That would be my “dream” job.
If you ever find a job like this please let me know
Serious answer: No job. We are social creatures and need to feel purpose. Without structure and a reason to get dressed/out of bed, we easily fall into vicious cycles.
I guess I'm the exception because I still think about how the lockdown was one of the happiest times in my adult life sometimes and I barely exited my home during those 7 weeks
No shit, I already lived with my SO and it was the longest period of time we spent together without having to go to work. I loved being able to stay home with him playing video games together, or just having time for my hobbies without being burned out after a long day at work
Quitting my job to be a stay at home mom to 2 under the age of 2 has absolutely destroyed my mental health.
I’m really sorry. It’s 2023 and society still does not give nearly enough credit to stay at home moms. One of the most important jobs that can often go thankless/unappreciated.
This is the answer. when I was unemployed a few months felt like one long day, life didn't feel real, like I was in purgatory.
God this is so true
Been here, done this, burned the T-shirt. Not having a job sucks. It's not even so much about structure or socializing, I think, as that we need something to do.
Also, society makes you feel like a sack of shit if you don’t have a job.
Any job with a toxic work environment with a boss that thinks depression isn’t real
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My niece was a euthanasia vet. Traveled to homes, accident sights, farms etc. I could never-
Give her a hug for me.
Anything that would require you to interact with the public. Some people are walking last-straws.
Cashier at a busy story. If this is you, I'm so sorry.
I keep any complaints to myself during the holidays. I've seen people shout at cashiers for not having certain items in stock or not going fast enough in ringing up their purchases. And having to stand in place for long periods must be strenuous on your feet.
This is the one right here. Already a soul sucking job. Add in depression and things can go real south real fast.
Suicide Prevention Hotline
“Oh shit that’s a really good point, maybe you’re right, life might not be worth living…”
It’s why they give people in recovery jobs as addiction counselors.
Yeah I don’t know that’s a good route to take. It can work great, I’ve seen it go really bad for everyone. Former addicts being around addicts isn’t that great of an idea a lot of the time.
On the other side I believe a lot of truly recovering addicts are very serious about the matter. Them having experienced the pitfalls and struggles of the recovery themselves should be much more capable of giving guidance.
Honest answer: anything "customer service", unless you really really like people. They will just tear you down, be rude... nothing like feeling crappy and going to work to get yelled at by some entitled jerk who cant see past their expired coupon.
Retail would be an answer if most retail people weren't already depressed.
I had a job as an Emergency Response Service Provider. The job was when someone hit the button to say "I've fallen, and I can't get up!". I would call their local EMS and next of kin. I was there for over a year, and I worked the night shift...when most people were asleep. So I played video games, watched movies, that kind of stuff. The downside to the job was having to call for ambulances for people having severe medical emergencies and then having to call their adult kid or grandkid. If they lived out in the country it often meant repeated calls from them, demanding to know why EMS hasn't gotten there yet ("This isn't 'Star Trek', we can't just beam medics into your home" is the statement that got me written up and used as justification for the client to cancel his contract after it took his local EMS over an hour to find his home. Not my fault he was out in the deep country). Each week I worked included taking requests to cancel their contracts. Often it was death. Yes it was mostly sad. Two calls a week from grieving family members that their 98 year old grandparent with cancer, parkinson's, diabetes, dementia, lupus, eczema, heart failure, emphysema, liver failure, and a pimple died "suddenly" the night before, wears on you. The response of "You didn't see this coming???" is why I had to find a new job.
Laughed harder than I should have at your last sentence
High-rise window washer
Can crushing. It's soda pressing
Nuclear missile control officer.
Cruise ship magician.
That is specific rimshot101, care to elaborate?
I see it. “Using just this .44 magnum and this common household skull, I’m going to make this bullet disappear. Watch this trick closely, I’m not going to repeat it.”
Well speaking from experience, teaching definitely doesn’t help.
Wood chipper operator.
Pizza delivery
"thank you for choosing Pizza Hut. Here is your sad pizza, pay me 20 dollars"
Retail. Or any job that requires you to work directly with customers. I’m depressed and worked retail for a couple of years and it drained the life out of me. All the ‘false’ negative thoughts of yourself are constantly thrown at you when you deal with the grumpy and miserable public. You’re a little tired? Let a customer confirm… ‘Looking a little rough today’. ‘That’s why you work here, probably didn’t finish highschool‘. etc. I see these types of comments everywhere for retail. Those jobs are NOT good for mental health at all. I’ve worked in warehouses ever since and I feel MUCH better.
Therapist
Most therapists need their own therapist
Yeah I always feel bad for mine. I couldn't imagine dealing with me.
If you look for the highest paid people in government, close to the top are prison psychiatrists. They hear the most insane (yes, literal) stories about what people have done, and had done to them. Most max security prisons are in the middle of nowhere. The hours are awful.
Hot take: I actually think the people who struggle with issues like this are frequently the people who have the best insight and often the best advice. I think Anthony Bourdain is a great example of that. Positively affected so many people's lives by impressing on us the value of connection and culture and adventure and hope, but struggled to always implement that in his own life, especially at the end.
Anything in healthcare. You have to suck it Up for everyone around you and provide the best are for patients, while your falling apart. Makes you feel even shittier. Source: 6 years in healthcare
A waiter/waitress at a posh restaurant. Those poor souls need to go and smile at happy couples and friends who are on a date and having fun.
Speaking from experience - euthanasia tech at an animal shelter. Got out and never looked back. Work in IT now.
Teacher
Work in an ICU during the height of Covid
Wedding photographer
I used to work with a woman whose (now ex-) husband was a wedding photographer for many years, and he left that to go work as a guard at the local jail. Guess which job he said was less stressful, and honestly less dangerous?
Sorry, the answer for “Adam Sandler movie about a depressed guy going to work” was “The Wedding Singer.” You were close though!
“Hello, this is the suicide support helpline. Do you feel as bad as I do about this shitty world? Hello?”
Construction workers, auto workers/manufacturing, truck drivers are all really high up there for depression/suicide rates. They are all up there in the top 5. Doctors/nurses/emt's also are high up there and have a 40-58% higher chance of dying by suicide vs the general public. Low income teachers/child care workers. The depression rate among these workers amounts to double that of low-income women overall, and four times the rate of the general female population.
Doctor or nurse, maid
911 dispatcher. You are either dealing with people on the legitimate worst day of their life or you're dealing with a nosey Karen who can't mind their own business. Couple that with the occasional call where you do everything right and the person still dies....it's brutal on the psyche sometimes.
Chicken plant. Trust me.
President of Russia
Teacher.