Yes, I take time as well to do the stretches and just rest for a moment (sitting down alot and typing data). I also tell myself the positives of the job, and how it helps the community.
I've been noticing the burnout factor in the last week or so as well and taking steps to counter-act this.
I don't think I could do what I do 5 days a week though. It's majorly unstimulating, and is basically just a job to pay the rent with.
I reflected today on how the awesome goals I've got, I have made small steps towards and then talk myself out of them, like convincing myself that noone is gonna pay for what I'm offering during a recession where people are holding onto their beltbuckles and not spending on "luxury items" so much. But I realize that this is just my own neg thinking creeping in.
Thanks for the input rei. I'm sure it is possible to work 5 days a week, but it's not something I really WANT to do right now...as that would take away free time from my painting time.
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Originally Posted by rei  Yo luci. Haven't read this whole thread but wanted to weigh in.
I hear you re: sensitivity. I've been reassessing things lately for similar reasons, or sorta similar. But ya know, I'm finding I can do the full time schedule.
I just end up with that sensitivity burnout around lunch time, from the level of stimulation so the remaining part of the day isn't 100% fun for me. (I actually didn't even realize this is what was going on until the pattern clicked in my mind today.) But I also take time when I can, to plant my feet on the grass and just be, and this renews me. My work provides opportunities for me to do that in the middle of the day, or almost whenever I want to, while I'm on the job.
Plus I think about the money I'm making and the people I'm helping (even if I'm sorta encouraged to just 'go through the motions' due to circumstances - so confusing too, with the company line being expressed that's so counter to the unspoken realities)...
My point is, full time as a sensitive is possible to do. It just means you spend half the workday on the tired side. It's not a full-blown burnout either, like I wouldn't say it is anything at all like what most people mean by that term. It's the sort that goes away once you get off work and have time to recharge.
Full time as a sensitive is possible. Even more so when you're using an attitude that connects to this. (As in, if I was going through my day thinking, oh nooooo more to do, more demands, oh noooo my nervous system is about to burn out and I'm gonna be tired the rest of the day... I'm not sure I *could* keep doing it. Because I'd set up a big fat loop like that.)
Right now I am reevaluating things, but from the frame of Do I WANT to continue this road. Not the frame of Can I continue it. Because I can. I would imagine you could as well, if you wanted to consider this as an option. (I'm not suggesting you do that, by the way. Just bringing up the sense that I've learned through personal experience that a 40-hr workweek as a sensitive individual is doable. My particular work involves a lot of running around and dealing with grumpy folks and having to change my plans and, well, it's doable even with all of that. If you chose to do data entry at the clinic for forty hours a week it would probably not be that bad even with sensitivity. If you wanted to...)
Just wanted to chime in as a fellow sensitive who is doing the forty hour workweek and I'm still in one piece. Takes some adjusting of course, as with anything. Mindfulness helps. And it helps to schedule in renewing activities, whatever those might be. No one else will do it.
If I weren't so self-aware I might take the mini-burnout out on people but of course, it's not their fault. Even if they do something that makes things more complicated for me - it's not THEIR fault that my resources are distributed differently and that the system is not designed to be naturally supportive for sensory stimulation. It's also not their fault that I'm so in tune and connected that their vibes are really loud to me and that makes me feel sometimes like I'm just doing the social dance instead of being genuinely thrilled to connect with them. (I have been able to use natural light instead of the fluorescent lighting, which is nice.)
Actually reading this thread, I found myself inspired by the idea to feel genuinely excited to talk with people at any point in the day, even in the afternoon when my body is asking for a break, instead of phases where I pick up on the want-something-from-you and get inwardly reactivish.
I'm not sure that is an achievable goal, though.
It probably moves away from self-acceptance. I think instead it would help to consider what purpose there is in this nature and how I can move with it for win/win... which I think I'm doing anyway.
So just wanted to throw that out there, in case it might be helpful as you weigh your options. |