Is anyone else feeling down?

steve0mania

If you'll allow for a moment of venting, I gotta say that I am really feeling deflated right now. It's grey and cold outside, with most of the walkways and roads full of slush and ice. COVID doesn't really seem to be dissipating, I'm tired of wearing a mask, and I don't feel like I'm at much risk for serious illness anyway. There was that whole hostage situation in the synagogue in Texas the other day, and I was listening to an interview with one of the hostages and he said that there was a point where they realized that no one was actually coming to save them, and they'd have to save themselves. Heck, I go to synagogue twice a day, and I'm not a huge fan of thinking that I am risking my life every day. We're still in the midst of "the great resignation" and one of my best staff people is about to quit and take a new job at an outside company and there's nothing I can do about it. I feel unable to express myself at work because my own views don't fit the "group-think" that exists in the academic world. Our political leaders seem to be more interested in posturing and bickering rather than finding something they can agree on to work on. I'm not feeling in control of my eating as much as I would like to be. And...I'm tired...really tired.

Part of my job (in my leadership position) is to be a cheerleader and to help keep the level of enthusiasm and motivation high among my colleagues, trainees, and staff. Yes, I will continue to "fake-it-until-I-make-it," but it's hard to do when you're feeling down.

Anyway, thanks for listening.

Anyone else feeling this way?

Al_Howard

Yeah. Me too. Was thinking this AM that I'm without motivation to do much (except eat) these last few days.
Like someone used to say "suck it up buttercup"!

misterhub

You are not alone.

My biggest concern right now is that there is most certainly going to be a layoff in the first quarter of this year, and this is the first time I have felt concerned for my own self.

And, the whole COVID thing...where to begin. I also am suffering from mask fatigue. I do what I know is right because I know what is right, and I trust science. But, this is getting quite old.

There are other things, but I'll hold on to those for the moment.

crewahl

I think it’s in the nature of things that they deteriorate. “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world . . . “. Consider that William Butler Years wrote those lines 102 years ago, and what you’re experiencing is, obviously, nothing new.

Which doesn’t diminish the reality of those feelings.

I thought of you as that hostage situation unfolded. Despite the current belief in some places that this specific selection wasn’t tied to Judaism, the reality is that you clearly have more of a target on your back by virtue of religion and heritage than I do in todays environment. Feeling oppressed and concerned is an expression of rationality under the circumstances.

COVID? Did any of us think a year or more ago we’d be wearing masks in 2022, let alone be seeing record levels of new infection? Being tired of that is reasonable for a layperson, let alone a medical professional who is more immediately confronted with this.

And we’re faced with a government that has more in common with Great Britain than with the founding fathers, where commitment to party is more important than commitment to principal, and where re-election is more important than progress. “A pox on both your houses”, indeed!

I’m not going to tell you there’s a ray of sunshine just around the corner - but I do keep looking for it. I’ve stopped listening to things that bring me down; I’m spending my time (as a retiree) on things that are meaningful to me. I’m doing my prep work for another AARP Tax-Aide season, and volunteering puts me in touch with people who are committed to helping others - which a good environment for me.

So congrats - feeling deflated means you passed the Charlie Wahl Test for Sanity. Things aren’t great. But remember that you personally and the work you’re doing are moving things forward. You’re working on yourself, yes, but you’re also working on things bigger than you. If the world is divided into people who are advancing civilization and people who aren’t, you’re pretty clearly in the first group.

And any time you’re in a group that doesn’t include Ted Cruz, you’re entitled to feel good about yourself.

👍🏻

steve0mania

I just found out that that UCLA graduate student who was stabbed to death in a furniture store in Los Angeles was killed just a few blocks away from where I lived when I was a UCLA graduate student (and med student). What a tragedy.

steve0mania

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I guess I need a therapist or something! Ha ha.

crewahl wrote: »

And any time you’re in a group that doesn’t include Ted Cruz, you’re entitled to feel good about yourself.

Charlie, you know I respect and love you (in a cyber-platonic-friendship kind of way ;-)), and at the same time I note that it's these sorts of statements at work that led me to say:

steve0mania wrote: »

I feel unable to express myself at work because my own views don't fit the "group-think" that exists in the academic world.

At work it's more about the "woke" philosophy but politics and "diversity, equity, and inclusion" are deeply intertwined with it. I'm sure it exists in most worlds, but in the academic world, if you don't conform to the groupthink then you risk being an outsider. Being in the out-group is never good when your career development is decided by the in-group!

crewahl

Sorry, Steve; I didn’t intend to run salt in that particular wound. 🙁

steve0mania

No worries, but helpful to have provided an example. My academic universe is so full of folks bending over backwards to be accepting of everyone, regardless of race, gender (-identity), sexual orientation, social class, etc , until G-d forbid you don't vote democrat, or you suggest that "follow the science" means looking at the data with a critical eye, etc., at which point you are at risk of being classified as "one of the crazies."