#ask the stressed department

[askthestresseddepartment]

Happy (Late) New Year!

I'm going to try to make a better effort this year of posting on this blog. I'm entering my last few semester at uni, so the stress is on as I also look for an internship.

In the meantime, thank you for continuing to send questions! I will be trying to answer a few this month before classes start up again

#ask blog #mmhoph #mao mao heroes of pure heart #update #mod talks #ask blog open #mmhoph au #mmhoph ask blog #askthestresseddepartment #ask the stressed department

[shima-draws]

Me: Oh god. It's time for our company's yearly performance review. Where my boss will judge my performance over the past year and see how awful I am at my job and--

My boss: You're doing such a great job and I'm so happy you're here <3

Me:

#SLAMS MY HEAD INTO THE TABLE I probably need therapy. #Shima speaks #LMAO #I always. ALWAYS get stressed about these and they ALWAYS turn out just fine #It's the self-esteem. The self-esteem I don't have :) #Anyway glad that I wasn't roasted and fired and I'm doing good at my job. #I'M GOOD AT MY JOB?? ME?? OKAY I'LL TAKE IT! I'LL TAKE IT #Listen this may not be my dream job but it's a good job with good people #And it pays my bills. Couldn't ask for more #Eventually I will leave to work elsewhere but I'm glad I'm doing good 😭 #Realizing like. How important my job is actually. When I do leave the company I'll have to train the new hire #For at LEAST a couple weeks #Bc I'm the only one in this department that knows how to do payments! Just me!! #Anyway. Glad that stress is gone now #I can go home and watch One Piece and NOT cry over a tub of ice cream #(I'll probably do that anyway but bc of the anime Emotions and not bc of work. LMAO)

[lexosaurus]

Hello! Very random and no worries if that's not your intention for the blog, but I love reading about your teacher experience and insights! Take this ask more so as encouragement to write more about it if you feel like it, because I'm going to start teaching soon (and yes, many people I've met have warned me about both its miracles and horrors lol) and it's really helpful to hear others' experiences :)

Thanks for the ask! Honestly I'm just a first year, so I don't have a tonnnn of advice to give. But here's a few general first year tips from one to a future another:

1 — No matter what, having a good department team is ESSENTIAL. You're going to be relying on them a lot your first year for help, advice, curriculum stuff, behavioral management stuff, etc. Talk to them, get to know them, have lunch with them, share issues/seek advice from them. You're going to encounter situations that your degree did not prepare you for (likely, in the first week lol. For me, it was Day 1) and having people around to help you judgement free is going to be crucial. I was super lucky that my department team and all the teachers from other departments that I work closely with are really amazing, easy to work with, etc.

2 — You're also going to want a good relationship with the "other" departments. The library staff, tech staff, sped department, guidance, janitors, etc. They're all lovely people, so don't be afraid to pop in to introduce yourself on the first week!

3 — Crazy things are going to happen. Like....all the time. Don't bring them home with you. As soon as you exit the doors, shake it off. All your students made it on the bus to their parents alive, so it's fine. Your job is done for the day. I've been going to the gym a lot right from school, and it's been really helpful to prevent myself from taking anything home with me so to speak.

4 — Document, document, document. Did something happen? Document it, email a copy to whoever's applicable: admin, guidance, sped, BCBA, etc. "Hello, just emailing a summary of what happened today" is not an uncommon email for me to send out. If an IEP isn't working, well at the next IEP meeting it shows they have 10 emails in the last month from you about little Timmy's hourly verbal threats and attempted physical violence to his classmates, so maybe the BCBA needs to do some data collection to adjust his BIP, or they need to give him a 1-1, or give him more resource intervention, etc.

5 — This isn't so much of advice, more like reassurance. The small moments when it clicks for a student and they get something, and then the confidence and excitement shows, it's really the best. That's probably why I've fallen so in love with working where I did. The other day, after weeks of struggling to help this student with Downs with his math, I tried a totally different approach based off a few example problems I saw in a math intervention workbook and hOLY HELL IT WORKED. It totally clicked for him, and the kid was so excited to do a problem out on the board for the class. It was amazing. Another student with an LD who I've been helping heavily school aced a quiz in one of her classes and legit ran into the room to show me. Cue me literally jumping out of my chair to high-five her, and her calling her parents to deliver the good news. Like, little things like that are really really special, and they're going to mean so much to you. And I hope you get to experience LOTS of them too!

#ask #not dp related #teaching #it's a great career but it can be stressful if you don't have other outlets #having lots of hobbies outside of school has helped prevent burnout significantly #i also do gig work in my other career outside of school #which has been another great outlet! #i have ppl i work with who i can see are reaching burnout now #and being in a place where you dread going to work every day is both not good for your mental health #and also isn't good for the kids you're working with #so preventing that is honestly key #i'd like to think that it's because i haven't been afraid to rely on those around me for help when i need it has been a huge factor #if something happened i have a few veteran teachers who have kinda taken the mentor role on me that i can go to #and when they need a judgement-free listening ear im open to be that person for them as well #i've also gotten to know some ppl in other departments pretty well #which is helpful when i'm struggling with a specific student #i can go to one of their other teachers and see how it's going in their classes #compare notes and whatnot

[kayvsworld]

i always forget i have Healthcare System Anxiety until i have to interact with The Healthcare System and immediately just start screaming internally for days

#my mom obliterated her bones and the pre-surgery surgery post-surgery experience. the ER situation. moving 2 the woods #this is a vent post i forget my complaining tag #waited 30 mins for an ambulance & when we called back they were like ''yeah it hasnt been assigned to anyone & might be hours'' #so i drove her to the ER with a migraine & ran over some pylons (cool). #stuck in the ER for 9 hours. took 4 hours for anyone to give her any kind of pain management. i caught covid #was supposed to get a call when she was out of her 2 hrs max surgery. was told i could call if i hadn't heard anything #5 hours later i called and was transferred 6 times - told she had been discharged - told she had never been registered at that hospital - #yelled at by a nurse for asking for patient information - eventually got the right department and was told oh yeah sorry she's in recovery #was supposed to find out if she could come home or not in 30 mins. 3 hours later theyre like OK come get her #i show up and the doors to that wing are. locked? and no one's there to unlock them? #apparently i was supposed to pick up the wall phone? and call a code they hadn't given me? spent 30 mins getting help from other department #to GET THEM TO OPEN THE DOORS. FREE HER RELEASE HER #finally i get in and she's OK SHES FINE except morphine doesn't work on her so that's. fine. bodies are good to have #we have reached shrimp colours levels of anxiety i am a walking talking stress migraine but she's doing ok. but holy fuck #kayvswords #also like she's black and all of her nurses and doctors have been white so feeling normal about all of it all around

[klingerfashionarchive]

season 5 episode 16

#m*a*s*h #mash #maxwell q. klinger #klingerfashionarchive #38 across #mashblr #hey all im back!! i've had a crazy december me and two friends did the costumes for a short film and then supervised on set #it was so stressful and SO much fucking fun #it was my first time being responsible for a whole costume department instead of just assisting #and i couldn't have asked for better people or a better project to work with for such a big step #i'm exhausted i loved every minute #hope you all survived the holiday season in one piece and i hope you have a calm rest of the winter <3

[warlordfelwinter]

being a student is mostly fine until you decide that your best option for a project is to cold email a massive player in the world of conservation and ask if maybe one of their zookeepers might want to answer some of your questions for a paper and have to hope that they don't think you're insane

#i feel like i'd be less nervous if i could email the cheetah department directly #i'd feel more comfortable going straight to the zoologists #but that contact info isn't public #so i have to go through guest relations #and i just dont know if they're going to bother going to ask the cheetah team if they want to talk to me or not #but whatever #email sent #it's not like they know who i am so worst comes to worst they say no #and i have to interview a professor or one of their colleagues instead #i'd just really like to talk to a cheetah caretaker #i got really excited when i had that idea #so fingers crossed #if i was a caretaker at a zoo i'd be stoked to talk to students about stuff i think #personal #this is but one cause of all my stress today and this week

[mookybear12404]

Coming home from my 9-5 (meetings) to do my 5-9 (work I didn’t get to do today because MEETINGS but I also don’t get to put off because too many people’s well-being depends on me)

#20 emails out of 150 responded to #I’m so exhausted I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck #doesn’t help I spend like three hours helping carry heavy stuff #in super hot summer #there’s so much to do I feel so overwhelmed but we’re taking it one set at a time #I’ve also decided on TOP of all that #to make a proposal for a budget increase for my department #I need a couple thousand dollars more if imma make any of what they want to happen happen #but also #asking for more money STRESSES ME OUT #GAH

[noramoons]

i live

#im off work for four days and become active again HAHA #but also. hi y’all i know it has been a minute 😭 #this has been a crazy year (and it’s still not over…) but im feeling much more confident/comfortable at my job these days. so— #—much less stress in that department than before #uhhh got a bf. flew across the country for bf. broke up with bf. normal activities for tumblr user noramoons #all that being said 😭 i think im in a good spot to start being somewhat active again :) #and !! i’ve been writing !!!!! it’s a christmas miracle !! #one fic dropping either tonight or tmrrw…the next will be a while later since it’s a series but y’all. i am SO excited to keep working on i #AGGHH forgot how fun writing can be. anyway. life update over i hope everyone is doing well and staying safe n warm this holiday season !!! #and if not - my asks and dms are always open if anyone needs to chat or infodump or vent <3 I MISSED YALL #beck.txt

[welcometogrouchland]

Pacing back and forth rapidly rambling to my parents like a mad man trying to figure out whether or not I experienced sexism at film school today or if these guys are just assholes in a different way

#ramblings of a lunatic #like they made a couple comments about how one woman in the department (who's always stressed bc she has a busy job)- #-clearly doesn't ''like guys'' and gave them the wrong equipment to set them up for failure (??? okay???) #and proceeded to organise things so that. none of the other members (who were all girls and here's where i can't tell if it's coincidence) #-had ANYTHING to do on set. like didn't ask them to set up tripods (we all went to thr class where you learn to set up tripods...) #didn't ask them even to hold things or plug things in (they did ask me but only bc i spoke up and volunteered multiple times) #didn't even really talk to us much bc they were off in their own world setting up equipment (that we didn't need btw) #and i can't tell if they were just really focused or being exclusionary! #and i don't think there's a clear answer to any of this. if it did happen it's almost definitely unintentional. #it might've just been bad optics. again unintentional. and i don't know how the other girls felt or if they were bothered #so i can't claim to speak to collective experience #I'm just. I'M JUST PACING WONDERING IF I'M CRAZY #also i told them the one day i was available was today and they showed up and proceeded to have nothing for me (or any of the girls) to do #and now i don't even know what i could do. maybe ask the editor if they want an edit assist bc that's one of the roles #siiighhhh #also feel it's important to mention that one of the guys was on the autism spectrum #so i can't tell how much of it was exclusion bc he thinks he's the only one competent enough to do these tasks (and that coincidentally- #-the only other guy in the group is also the only one competent enough to help him) #or if he was just having a relatable social ineptitude moment where he didn't realise the rest of us felt useless and excluded #and i don't know how much that context effects the end result BC I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WAS REAL OR IF I'M JUST A HASHTAG FEMINAZI SJW LIB #UGH #(use of the word feminazi was ironic parody of the way sexists speak pls pls pls don't think i ever talk like that irl)

[itsnotalemon]

Nothing quite like a coworker getting pissed off at you to make you wanna front flip off a building

#im just been getting really anxious lately #my 3 of my 4 goldfish have this mystery infection #i thought i finally got them over it #so i moved them back into their tank once they started feeling better after finding a medication that actually worked #but its been only 2 fucking days and they are showing signs of stress again #so now im asking all my coworkers questions and none of them really know what to do #and i feel so stupid for asking questions they dont have answers to #and then my fucking old ass co worker has just been a passive aggressive ass hole to me until he left #i tried to be friendly and ask how his day was going and he brushed me off #i went to go help a customer cut something and he would like... pace up and down the isles #and when i asked for help and didnt understand what he was trying to explain to me and that i wanted him to show me #he just stared at me like im fucking stupid #and then #i said id clean one sections of aquariums tonight cuz it gets slow once im the only one in my department #and he got pissed and me to get it done and stop standing around #and like #i get that #but he notoriously does jack shit all fucking day #he probably got bitched out again but really? you wanna talk to me about time management when you hardly clean a sump a day #puts me on edge #now im worried that im not doing enough #and im too slow #and im just some lazy asshole #i need some time away from people #lemon post #vent

[lovecolibri]

I never thought I would hate hearing "you're smart" but when it's said by people who are avoiding spending the time to properly train me because I'm "smart" enough to figure it out on my own, it gets tiresome.

#you don't understand i have *anxiety* and i NEED to be trained how to do something and WHY things get done #so i don't have to constantly be asking questions and 'bothering' people or stressing that i'm missing something or doing it wrong #i hate this 😒 #and added salt to the wound is that the outsource company that took over my job is basically doing nothing at all #so i'm watching numbers go up up up but no one cares even though we are paying far more than my yearly salary a month for them #while me and my department got nitpicked for everything #ANYWAY #i want to be at home doing crafts

[askthestresseddepartment]

ok, I have a solution for you mao mao... why don't you go to the king and borrow a book of the ruby pure heart from him?

CHAPTER 3 BEGINNING | FIRST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

MM: I'll have to look into that...

Sounds like a trip to the library later

#ask blog #mmhoph au #mmhoph ask blog #askthestresseddepartment #mao mao heroes of pure heart #ask the stressed department #mmhoph #ask blog open

[opens-up-4-nobody]

My boss: So, I'm getting hired at a different school many states away

My 1st concern: w-what happens to the algal culture collection? How do you move them?

My boss: I take a subculture and the rest stay here to be cared for if anyone wants them. And no one does so they all die

Me: 😖🥺😭 noooooo that's so sad!!!!

#that is my 1st concern once she explained what was gonna happen to me lol #she is on a plane headed over to Europe rn and she emailed me like #yo i figured out plane wifi! can u send me the tracking info on the package u sent today? #and im like FUCK. bc i did send the package but i left it with the office ppl #bc i asked for the fedex account number and they said to just leave the package with them #so they have the tracking number. and really i should have just taken it across the street bc i do not trust our department #with literally anything but my brain does not deal well when im presented with new info #so i could tell her all this and she'll get stressed out. or i could go in early tomorrow and hopefully get the tracking info #hopefully they sent the package out properly bc it does need to be delivered by tomorrow #bc it has perishable samples. so yeah fuck me i guess #i hope theyre ok. i really hope theyre ok. we have a backup but still #oh god this is gonna haunt me until i csn get thst tracking number #unrelated #me everyday: ive got this. im gonna get myself together and itll all b good #and me everyday: im tired and im sad and i cant fucking focus :-(

[writeyourletters-inthesand]

this isn't a question i ever thought i'd ask, but why doesn't Liszt deserve big naturals?

because i hate him, personally 💞

thanks for the ask 🥰

#no actually once in freshman year of high school my piano teacher signed me up for a recital without asking me and i had to play liszt in #front of the entire high school music department with two weeks to rehearse and i nearly killed meself with the stress. needless to say i #did not do well. #thus liszt has become inherently connected with personal failure and intense feelings of stress! hes my nemesis enemy actually 💗 #sorry again for being weird on your post bro i love you dude ❤️

[fourteenbatsstapledtogether]

Finding out that my coworker (probably autistic) who leaves early most days due to stress will always stay if I’m (also autistic) in cause he doesn’t feel like he has to pretend to be normal when we’re together is pretty neat to know

#I asked him why he leaves after like an hour or two most days and he said that he hates talking to the other people in the department #but I think he’s left when I was in once and for a genuine reason #not that stress isn’t more as in he was sick #we regularly rp being a medieval tavern together and no one knows how to tell us to stop so they don’t

[pinkfey]

job insecurity hitting me like a bus at 9:30AM 😟

#i don’t intend to be a sub forever just to be making SOMETHING while i get on my feet #but uhhhhhhhhhh what am i supposed to do ahaha 🥴 where am i supposed to apply. and for what. i !! i just. hmmst. #after these next two commissions i’m not going to be spending money on anything because i am just Paralyzed by anxiety about not making any #i could apply to be a paraeducator but it costs a hundred dollars to renew my CPR cert #i could also apply to be a personnel assistant?? entry level?? but that requires a Year of office experience #and i need two letters of recommendation on top of it #which i. do not have. and have no way of asking for. #i sent an email to the program manager of this department but like. IF she does write one where am i getting the other one #these are the only two jobs i could potentially apply for. and are listed this late into the school year #what if someone else applies before i get my bearings. what then 😟 #IM SO STRESSED !! #anyways.txt