Discover more from Depresh Mode
If you go to work but wear a mask all day because of the constant threat of infection, work’s not supposed to be like that. If your office is shut down and you now work from the kitchen table, maybe managing your kids’ school work at the same time, not supposed to be like this.
That’s a quote from me. From this week’s episode.
I’m not a big stat guy when it comes to explaining something, I usually prefer descriptive words. But, like swearing or hot sauce, a little dab sometimes helps for emphasis. 89 percent of people in a huge recent survey said they have a diminished sense of well being. And that’s because of the anomalies of covid, sure, but a big part of it is the disparity in the concept of adaptation.
Namely, employers have demanded that employees adapt in the workplace, whether that’s working from home or adjusting the entire way of doing business to work on site somewhere. Home is not made to be a workplace. It’s made to be a home. That’s dissonance, for one, which causes distress to the mind. And also it creates a situation where you can literally not get away from the idea of these tasks you need to perform.
And granted, being constantly at work has been the case for a lot of people ever since you could easily check your work email on your phone before going to sleep. But when you have a table set up in your bedroom and that’s where you live your professional life, well, yikes.
Meanwhile, it’s the employers who are not doing as much of the adapting. They’re basically saying, “Here, take all this work and do it without the tools and support you’re used to having.” They’re expecting your house to be just like the office space they pay a ton to rent but they’re not giving you extra to rent your house. So of course you’re burned out.
Maybe they give you a meditation app. Or a discounted gym membership. It’s some bullshit.
Our primary guest on this episode is Jennifer Moss, who works hard on the issue of burnout and tries to avoid being burned out. Our secondary guest is various listeners, including the burned out forensic pathologist (autopsy person) to whom I alluded a few newsletters ago.
We wanted to use a few snippets from this song but were convinced to not do so in order to avoid music publishing rights hassles. I still love the song.
This is the kind of video that everyone makes fun of when they make fun of videos. Deservedly so. Fun, though!
I’ve mentioned articles here before about cities re-working their emergency response protocols. The idea is to not send cops to mental health distress calls, send mental health workers instead. It’s a matter of escalation vs. de-escalation. Latest update is that it’s working well in more cities.
Hey, I enjoy a good quality beer. And I am in favor of doing more for mental health awareness. And I’m sure 94.3 The Shark is a lovely radio station.
94.3 FM The Shark (WWSK Long Island) Morning Show Host Brian Orlando teamed up with the 1940’s Brewing Co. in Holbrook, NY to create the Never Alone beer to support mental health and suicide prevention awareness. As part of Orlando’s ongoing mental health initiative, which also includes musical collaborations with such all-star musicians as Candlebox, Sponge, Wheatus, Run DMC and more under the project name #ChooseSong, Never Alone’s mission is to remind others that there is always someone willing to listen.
I’m just not sure about the idea of making or buying what is really a chemical depressant to support mental health. Alcohol, generally speaking, is not known to be a great aid in improving one’s mental health.
And then calling it “Never Alone”?
I don’t know, you guys. You guys, I don’t know.
Here is the 12-minute vacation from the world that you requested.