I found my breaking point today.

"bob and john" (bobandjohn)
06/21/2020 at 00:02 • Filed to: None

Well. It turns out 4 weeks of 60 hours of school, 50 hours of work, and 48 hours of sleep will break you. (for those going the math, that leaves 10 hours of time to wash, commute, eat, unwind. and at least 1/2 of that it wasted commuting.

I rode to work in the morning..all was good. and then about an hour in...I just stopped functioning. Couldn’t walk. couldn’t think. Could barely string together a sentence or pick up the phone. and felt really cold (and there is zero exaggeration here)

I think I was about / / <- THAT closer to leaving the bike at work and ubering home. After about 10 minutes, i started to regain some functions. Ended up riding the bike home and sleeping for 4 hours. Went to the doctor and he felt that I had simply run myself ragged with no rest and that he was SHOCKED I didnt drop sooner. He also sent me to get tested for COVID as a just in case (he and the docs at the testing place didnt think I had it, but better safe then sorry)

I uhhh. I’m scared. I’m not gonna lie. I honestly felt that I actually had a bit of a grip on the situation the past week and a bit. And now, I get told I basically blew myself up.

I’m done my semester after this weekend, so thats going to be my time back. But how do I prevent this from happening again? How the hell do I mentally strengthen myself so that this doesnt happen again?

Well, that’s my rant/concern for the night. Hope everyone is doing better than I am.

Photo of the fleet (of Pete) for your time.

DISCUSSION (26)

dumpsterfire! > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 00:11

We talk about driving the wheels off a vehicle, or driving it into the ground...that is what you are doing to yourself. I don't mean to sound harsh, but that's what's happening. You need some decompression time before the wheels fall off. In the medical community we call it burn out and a few years back I ended up using FMLA to take 6 weeks off to literally unwind myself. Good luck.

bob and john > dumpsterfire!
06/21/2020 at 00:13

I’m hoping the 2 weeks off school and the (SIGNIFICANTLY) lighter course load next semester is all I need. I do try and take care of myself...apparently not enough.

jminer > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 00:23

Learning how to balance everything is hard - especially with work and school. For the longest time I had the problem of overworking and putting in something like 60-70 hours regularly working most nights and every weekend. I was salary too!

I had to take a hard look at what I was doing, leave my current job and set serious boundaries with my new one. It doesn’t work perfectly as I’ve definitely had a stretch or two where I worked like that again but it was usually related to a project or deadline and it had an end date. There was one time though where it stretched into the months and I had to sit down with my boss and tell him I needed a break and to work less or I would quit.

Life’s too short to not take care of yourself - hopefully you’re start to feel better though and can de-stress soon.

SmugAardvark > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 00:23

Been there for sure, and it’s a bit terrifying. For me, I just wind up in this mental state where I feel like I’m trapped in a perpetual thick fog. After a certain point, I lose the sense of what is real and what I imagined. I hear people talking, but not a clue what they’re saying. The sheer overexertion you’re putting yourself through can definitely impact not only your mental well- being, but your physical health as well.

As cliche and silly as it sounds, maybe look into some meditation techniques. They helped me back when I was in a similar position. The nice thing is that once you find something that works for you, you can do it any time you have a couple minutes to yourself.

No matter what though, best wishes to you!

wafflesnfalafel > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 00:29

take it easy sir - had a college buddy do that, passed out inline at a Dairy Queen of all places with a couple of us. Dehydrated, stressed out and hadn’t had enough sleep in the previous two weeks and boom, down he went.

CB > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 00:30

It also likely doesn’t help that you had some brain trauma a few months ago. Get some rest and get well soon.

VincentMalamute-Kim > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 00:38

I bet CB is correct. I bet you did have macroscopically visible brain trauma (the unidentified white matter spots on the MRI) which likely means you more extensive microscopic brain trauma not visible by MRI.

You have to decrease workload.

bob and john > CB
06/21/2020 at 00:39

minor setback. I just had some bleeding in the noggin :D

I asked the doctor if this could be related to the crash, and he shot that down pretty quick.

I’ve never felt like that in my life and frankly, it was god dam terrifying .

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 00:41

You seem to be doing better than I did. I worked overnight 10-6 or 7am when I was going through college.

I did not finish college. At all

bob and john > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/21/2020 at 00:45

I failed the first time (engineering...I was not as good with maths as I thought)

I have 2 semesters of the buisness degree left. I need to hammer them out as quick as I can

bob and john > VincentMalamute-Kim
06/21/2020 at 00:48

once this semester ends, i’ll be cutting the school number from 60 to 20. I hope its enough.

Chariotoflove > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 01:01

The direct answer to your question is that you need to get in touch with your limits and build rest for your mind and body into your routine. Now, that’s easier said than done, but it’s absolutely essential. I watched my wife do similar with 60+ hours a week and every third night on call during her residency. It was brutal, but she survived it mostly by somehow building in time for rest when she was home. I say start by knowing how many hours of sleep a night your body ideally needs to feel rested and then make sure you get that, at least most nights of the week. Then, build everything in your schedule around that as much as practical . Also, make sure you eat properly. It’s easy to forget good meals when you get busy, and your brain suffers for it.

That’s enough life coaching for now from me. I’m glad you got home okay.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 01:06

When I was in the Navy (god, I feel like I say this a lot) I was working 112+ hour weeks underway. We would do 12 on, 6 off, day in day out for months on end. I learned humans are amazingly resilient and can muster up the strength and cope with a lot. I also developed a serious sleep disorder and couldn’t serve on a submarine anymore. After the wrecks of the Fitz and McCain a few years ago, the Navy learned that they were exhausting their people and screwing with people sleep cycles is a bad thing. Now they work on more normal schedules.

So whats the point of all this? Its that having a semi-normal schedule is hugely important, sleep is important, and so is having some down time. It sounds like you are on the right track, cutting some hours next semester. You can do some amazing things, and run yourself ragged, but it all catches up to you in the end.

Please take care of yourself.

My bird IS the word > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 01:14

Considering sleep deprivation can literally kill you, get your damn 7 hrs.

CRider > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 02:08

Fu ll time work + full time school = a bad time.

Longtime Lurker > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 02:26

I was in the same situation in March, my body was shutting down from exhaustion and high levels of stress and anxiety. I took 2 weeks off in April to rest.

You say in the comments that you have 2 weeks off school, you should talk to you boss about taking time off as well so you can rest and recover properly. Once you rest the lighter course load should help going into the future, but you’ll have to try to recognize the symptoms so it doesn’t get this bad again.

While you can’t easily take “vacation” from school in the middle of a semester, if it happens again you should cut back on your work hours so you can rest more.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 06:59

Dude, you shouldn't be pushing yourself that hard even when you're not still recovering from a serious spinal injury

Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 07:05

Definitely sounds like you burned out.

I did 9mo ago, after working 18mo straight and only having the 2 banks of vacation in 3 years (I’m pretty sure it’s actually illegal in labor regs). I did shift work so I had no circadian rythym and I endured a high number of shift changes; changes to shift times or days , day of increase of hours to 12h , calls during days off, traveling required on days off.

I got mentally and physically exhausted. The little solace on my days off were simply recovering energy. There would be nice summer days and I’d sleep all day until 3-6 pm sleeping from getting off nights. I didn’t want to do anything ‘adult’, especially if it meant getting up before noon.

And even though I was tired, I couldn’t sleep properly. I almost never slept for the first work morning. If I took melatonin it helped but I was a zombie all day. I’d have a split sleep doing long 4h naps 12h apart.

I’ve worked for 2 companies where I’ve quit now because it’s simply not healthy. I’ve debated countless times of just changing careers because I don’t seem to have the energy sustainability required.

If I’m going to be honest with you, this is something I don’t think I can change. And maybe not you either . You simply have to reduce your work load. In this case you might just have to suffer your course load and never do it again.

I eat extremely healthy, large portion size. Low alcohol intake. I don’t drink coffee or energy drinks regularly. Cut down on dealing with women and their relationship BS I always end up stressing with. My job is already physical, so I don’t think adding more stress via gym or sport is going to help when I already feel worn down after work. I’m 6’ and around 200lb so I’m not exactly obese. I do day trips on the moto but once again I don’t want to start work week bagged. I’ve considered maybe swimming for exercise...

Khalbali > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 08:26

Unfortunately I think you just have to do less. We all have limits, that’s an insane schedule you have and regardless of how healthy you are/aren’t, there’s only so much a body/brain can take. Meditation or whatever might help a little but at the end of the day your body is telling you something, so listen before it has to yell.

shop-teacher > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 08:49

That should help a lot.

shop-teacher > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 08:50

That's 40 more hours of sleep and relaxation. Yeah, that will help.

shop-teacher > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 08:55

Nobody can sustain a schedule like that for long. The body needs sleep.

facw > Snuze: Needs another Swede
06/21/2020 at 10:11

I read about Navy schedules in a book on sleep, and they seemed totally nuts. Seemed like they were doing things (especially on subs) that were just completely at odds with how humans are supposed to function. And if you are running the crew ragged during normal times, how on E arth do you expect to function under the stresses of wartime where in addition to higher tension overall, you potentially have crew losses due to battle injuries or deaths, as well as likely more stuff that needs to be done. Seems like a recipe for disaster. Hopefully the fixes you mention will stick.

facw > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 10:14

May not be what you want to hear, but sometimes you just have to take on less. Make sure you get enough sleep if nothing else.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > facw
06/21/2020 at 11:45

I think they are already seeing a lot of improvement and I don’t see it going away. Id be curious to know what the history is of the 12 on 6 off schedule. At one point I got to go underway on a carrier and they worked 12 on 12 off.

The Compromiser > bob and john
06/21/2020 at 19:16

You need to take care of you. Get school done, and do some vegitating. Calm your mind and body.