Hey,
Nc for this and will be a bit vague on some details as I don't want to be identified.
I work in a high pressure role, 4 days per week. Think social work.
I work with some vulnerable client groups.
My team are busier than ever, permanently short staffed due to sickness, holiday etc. So we never have a full team.
Some of my week is spent on duty. Those days are busy and you very rarely get a moment to look at your own emails.
I work in the office mostly with the occasional day working from home. I have a long commute, sometimes up to 2 hours. A young preschooler. I am lucky to have DH who does share the load. Although I don't have a caseload as such, if you have dealt with a client you tend to mainly be the one to deal with them. Management tend to pass the most vulnerable clients to me and I tend to hear some horrific stories. Those cases will take up a good portion of your day. Some of those clients need more handholding and sometimes just someone to vent to.
Most days I leave by 7/7:30am, some of the time I will be dropping my preschooler off to childcare for the day. Most of the time I don't make pick up and DH will collect. I can get home between 7:30/8:30pm. The days I work I'm lucky if I get 30mins with my child that they're awake or we are rushing so I can try to get into the office. I work my hours and then some. If I have forgotten something I'll log back on at home to complete it, because otherwise I'm more anxious.
I have suffered with anxiety before and have taken medication in the past. I have been off medication for around 7 years and I'm keen to avoid going back on any. I struggle to go to sleep because I'm worrying about the next day. My IBS has got worse, I have almost permanent stomach pains. I'm just run down exhausted and I don't know what to do. We can't afford for me to reduce my hours or take a lower paid role.
How do any of you get a handle of things.
I don't know how much longer I can keep it all up.
TIA