Alright fellas,

I've been feeling burned out at work for a while now. I work night shift, haven't been sleeping well during the day, and have generally been in a rotten mood the whole time because of it. It all kind of came to a boiling point today when my wife and I got into an argument, and she flat out told me that she was tired of me and my attitude towards work and home.

I know I've got to do something, but what do I do? I'm kind of at a dead end here - I don't know where to go.

Views: 33

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

From your pic, you're a CSR of some type. What exactly is it you do, what does she do, and do you guys have children?
Kind of. I'm a 911 dispatcher, she's the secretary for the sheriff's office, and no kids yet.

The stress level of my job doesn't help matters much, I know.
What's yours and her educational background, and such? Got aspirations to any particular level of greatness?
I'm a few hours away from an assiciates in fire science, she has a teaching degree. I've thought about finishing my degree out. Also have thought about going to paramedic school, and have gone as far as trying to get on a police department.

The biggest barrier to the schooling is not being able to pay for it right now. We bought a house and a car, and paramedic training is pretty much a full-time job.
My wife is a paramedic/fire fighter (associates in para-medicine and fire science) - it took her about 17 months of schooling, and she worked while she got it.

I've been in the same boat as you - close to a degree, hating my job, and getting aggravated about it. My suggestion to you is:

Finish your fire science degree. Just DO it. You'll feel better having finished something, and either get inspired to start applying to the fire departments, or you'll look better because you'll have *a* degree - which often is more important than what the degree is in. It shows commitment and dedication to getting things done.

You have a house and a car, you're married, and you both work. Hopefully, you didn't buy a mercedes when you can only afford a toyota (I've seen couples like this). Get your finances under control and make it happen.
Night shift does get better. I have been doing the 12 hr night shift thing for about 13 years now and it is tough. One of the biggest things to remember is to sleep when you need to. Don't try to keep up with day shift people and if you have a sleepy day oh well roll with it. Good luck and hang in there it does get better
I feel your pain Brody as I do 3 - 13hr shifts and end up filling in for people a lot (15 OT and 10 DT hours last two weeks), the last 22 months has really taken it toll on me physically and mentally. I, like others posting in this thread, try to sleep when my body tells me to but that is not always possible when the rest of the household still needs to function. I'm applying for other positions with in the company to get to a more normal shift. I for the most part have always been a happy go luck person, but have noticed a change in myself as my wife bringing it to my attention. I think some people are just cut of for that shift ... I am one that is not. Good Luck to you and I hope things change for you.
Isn't supplementing with melatonin suppossed to help night shifters? Maybe you could try that.
Good suggestion. ZMA (Zinc and Magnesium) might also help. I would try ZMA first then if that doesn't do it try the Melatonin. Also beware of the half-life of caffeine. It takes about six hours to completely leave your system.

That should help with being tired, but the unmotivated part...set a goal, start working toward it, and see how your current job is a means to that end. Also, realize that you are providing a critical service and you have probably been involved in situations where people health or life were saved because you did a good job dispatching the call. You should feel good about that.

Another thought is to sit down with your wife and set goals together so that you are both on the same page and working toward the same thing.
Dude, say a prayer of thanks that you don't have rotating shifts on top of the long hours. I worked a job where we averaged 10-11 hours per shift and rotated every two weeks.
One observation, I bet you don't get any weekend nights off, do you? It adds stress when one person is on 4pm to whenever, with single or split days off and the other person is M-F 8am to 5pm.
Rotating shifts here as well ... front end back end of the week I usually have been working weekends as well and so very true it does add to my stress. We rotate monthly, but my body never gets use to any of the funky shifts.
Self-hypnosis. I'm serious; it helps me relax. That, and a nap.

RSS

Latest Activity

Carl Monster replied to Nathan DeParis's discussion Women: The Infallible Baromoter
"I took it as humor disguising a message that women cover themselves and get back in the kitchen. But you are right, anyone is at liberty to be stupid, including the creators of this meme."
10 minutes ago
Herb Munson replied to Herb Munson's discussion The Primacy and Existence of God in the group The Great Debate
"For some schools, that might be a good prayer to pray ... on several levels."
35 minutes ago
Daniel replied to Herb Munson's discussion The Primacy and Existence of God in the group The Great Debate
"She must have been praying for the tornado to rip apart her school."
53 minutes ago
Mike Copperman replied to Matt L.'s discussion Mix and match vests
"The last three pairs are good to go. I would not wear the first combination. They are too similar, but not identical."
58 minutes ago
Dallas the Phallus replied to Silas Moser's discussion Fun new words... in the group Philology: A Group for Verbivores
"landlubber - noun an unseasoned sailor or someone unfamiliar with the sea. Etymology landlubber (n.) also land-lubber, sailor's term of contempt for a landsman, c.1700, from land (n.) + lubber…"
1 hour ago
Aaron Lancaster replied to John Muir's discussion Night Photography in the group AoM PhotoGroup
"Cheers Ian The ISO depends on how dark it is, the aperture and what you want to achieve. I generally go as low as possible to reduce noise in the image. The above images are; 1. ISO 200 2. ISO 400 3. ISO 3200 This one is an ISO 200 taken at f18…"
1 hour ago
Chuck Knight replied to Daniel's discussion Casual Belts for Jeans?
"Just as you loosely match the colors, brown for brown, etc...you loosely match the metals as well.   Many casual belts will have snaps which allow you to easily change the buckle, so you can change the buckle's metal and design depending…"
1 hour ago
Will replied to LShieldes's discussion Scandal run down in the group The Great Debate
"I think y'all have more faith in the legal system than I do -- and I have more than she does.  A year in prison?  She'll have biweekly interviews so the media can regularly report on how cruel Congress is to a sweet lady who was…"
1 hour ago

© 2013   Created by Brett McKay.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service