I may be downvoted for this but she is not wrong in the general terms.
There are multiple people for whom the work is their main opportunity for social interaction. Also being busy sometimes helps as it doesn’t leave enough time to think about issues.
That’s not healthy, though. That’s repression, which is bad for you. I know it’s bad for you, as I have not had more than six emotions in the past 20 years.
That can really depend. I’ve had both friends and family who have struggled with all kinds of issues. In every case I’ve seen so far, building a daily routine that involves getting out of bed and doing something that makes them feel useful/successful has been the cure.
It turns out that we’re social creatures, and succeeding at doing stuff that benefits someone other than ourselves often helps us feel like life has meaning. That in turn helps us get over/process whatever shit we have behind us.
By all means, the LinkedIn post here is dogshit. I do, however, believe that for most people, getting back to work/school is paramount to getting better. Research backs me up. I’m on my phone now, but if you’re interested, I’ll dig up some studies when I have time.
No research needed. Getting back to the routine, after a suitable period that varies from person to person, is important. But it is not, in itself, healing, and someone who didn’t miss a day of work is not doing well.
It’s like I used to work somewhere and this guys mum (I think) died, he came in did a shift and then took a lot of time off…I think he just needed the normality and time to process.
But don’t you think there’s something wrong that people are conditioned or broke that they have to be like that?
No, I don’t think it’s wrong for someone to want to focus on something other than tragedy. Work is something simple and productive that you can let your brain focus on.
Should work be your only outlet? Absolutely not, but there’s nothing wrong with using it as one. Humans like to work, period. If it’s not to sustain ourselves, we’ll invent work to do.
Yeah, that’s fair enough, but I feel like the OP is disingenous and that the motivation for it comes from this “the business must come first” attitude…a bit like my OHs boss (Company owner) telling her how she should be more dedicated and how he was up til 9pm the night before.
BTDT. Having a routine is conditioning we do to ourselves, but for so much of life, its the most useful thing ever for so long as we can keep it up.* The trick is to not be further hurt by guilt for failing to continue with it or get back to it quickly enoug/“just so”.
Routine can be grounding. Especially in the wake of tragedy, where you’re still going to need to go on, it’s important to go on, even through the despair.
But it’s not “one or the other.” You need to maintain your routine, whatever that is, and do the work of therapy as necessary. Continuing your routines and avoiding therapy can be repression.
That’s not a healty coping mechanism, that’s repressing your pain, ignoring the voices in your head that tell you to be sad. The problem with repression is that it works, at the beginning but it will stop working eventually and the more you do it, the worse it’s gonna get when everything is collpasing.
the issue is that instead of advocating acceptance of a different way of being (working through pain), she’s contributing to the actual alternative (needing time to recover) being erased
I think you’re right. In an environment where people are chronically overworked, pointing to people leaning into their work while faced with traumatic situations and asserting that they are better off being able to continue to work is not helpful. It reinforces that overwork culture is not only normal but beneficial, which is a terrible stance to take.
She’s not wrong that it’s structure and distraction for many. She’s absurdly, insultingly wrong that this is in any way laudable or good, as opposed to a travesty and an abject failure of society.
But is it the work they need, or is it the social interaction?
All the things she’s saying work gives us are things we can find (in more fulfilling ways even) outside of work.
Social interaction and purpose can be found through community and creation. Making things, growing things, cooking things, making music, etc.
People are so stuck in this box of capitalism we struggle to recognize that life could be enjoyable and fulfilling if we gave a shit about one another, but community isn’t profitable, hyper-individualism is.
You’re right but also the fucked part is celebrating it like, we should have better support networks, richer social lives, and work that isn’t inherently exploitative.
I was a shy introvert and got a job in public medicine. I learned how to interact with a broad variety of people, ranging from senior staff doctors to homeless folks.
I went from being a shy introvert to a glib introvert.
I think a lot of people have never had time to slow down and not work for an extended period (voluntarily and without financial stress). Having time to just process thoughts and feelings while doing things you want to do instead are obligated to do is actually a pretty big deal.
I may be downvoted for this but she is not wrong in the general terms.
There are multiple people for whom the work is their main opportunity for social interaction. Also being busy sometimes helps as it doesn’t leave enough time to think about issues.
That’s not healthy, though. That’s repression, which is bad for you. I know it’s bad for you, as I have not had more than six emotions in the past 20 years.
It’s also not healthy to sit and wallow in your misery. Having a purpose can be a good thing, but the dose makes the poison.
Oh certainly. But it’s treating a symptom, not the actual problem.
That can really depend. I’ve had both friends and family who have struggled with all kinds of issues. In every case I’ve seen so far, building a daily routine that involves getting out of bed and doing something that makes them feel useful/successful has been the cure.
It turns out that we’re social creatures, and succeeding at doing stuff that benefits someone other than ourselves often helps us feel like life has meaning. That in turn helps us get over/process whatever shit we have behind us.
By all means, the LinkedIn post here is dogshit. I do, however, believe that for most people, getting back to work/school is paramount to getting better. Research backs me up. I’m on my phone now, but if you’re interested, I’ll dig up some studies when I have time.
No research needed. Getting back to the routine, after a suitable period that varies from person to person, is important. But it is not, in itself, healing, and someone who didn’t miss a day of work is not doing well.
It’s like I used to work somewhere and this guys mum (I think) died, he came in did a shift and then took a lot of time off…I think he just needed the normality and time to process.
But don’t you think there’s something wrong that people are conditioned or broke that they have to be like that?
No, I don’t think it’s wrong for someone to want to focus on something other than tragedy. Work is something simple and productive that you can let your brain focus on.
Should work be your only outlet? Absolutely not, but there’s nothing wrong with using it as one. Humans like to work, period. If it’s not to sustain ourselves, we’ll invent work to do.
Yeah, that’s fair enough, but I feel like the OP is disingenous and that the motivation for it comes from this “the business must come first” attitude…a bit like my OHs boss (Company owner) telling her how she should be more dedicated and how he was up til 9pm the night before.
BTDT. Having a routine is conditioning we do to ourselves, but for so much of life, its the most useful thing ever for so long as we can keep it up.* The trick is to not be further hurt by guilt for failing to continue with it or get back to it quickly enoug/“just so”.
Routine can be grounding. Especially in the wake of tragedy, where you’re still going to need to go on, it’s important to go on, even through the despair.
But it’s not “one or the other.” You need to maintain your routine, whatever that is, and do the work of therapy as necessary. Continuing your routines and avoiding therapy can be repression.
That’s not a healty coping mechanism, that’s repressing your pain, ignoring the voices in your head that tell you to be sad. The problem with repression is that it works, at the beginning but it will stop working eventually and the more you do it, the worse it’s gonna get when everything is collpasing.
the issue is that instead of advocating acceptance of a different way of being (working through pain), she’s contributing to the actual alternative (needing time to recover) being erased
I think you’re right. In an environment where people are chronically overworked, pointing to people leaning into their work while faced with traumatic situations and asserting that they are better off being able to continue to work is not helpful. It reinforces that overwork culture is not only normal but beneficial, which is a terrible stance to take.
She’s not wrong that it’s structure and distraction for many. She’s absurdly, insultingly wrong that this is in any way laudable or good, as opposed to a travesty and an abject failure of society.
Work is important, even stress is important for development and growth. But balance is the key.
But is it the work they need, or is it the social interaction?
All the things she’s saying work gives us are things we can find (in more fulfilling ways even) outside of work.
Social interaction and purpose can be found through community and creation. Making things, growing things, cooking things, making music, etc.
People are so stuck in this box of capitalism we struggle to recognize that life could be enjoyable and fulfilling if we gave a shit about one another, but community isn’t profitable, hyper-individualism is.
You’re right but also the fucked part is celebrating it like, we should have better support networks, richer social lives, and work that isn’t inherently exploitative.
Work isn’t a panacea.
I was a shy introvert and got a job in public medicine. I learned how to interact with a broad variety of people, ranging from senior staff doctors to homeless folks.
I went from being a shy introvert to a glib introvert.
I think a lot of people have never had time to slow down and not work for an extended period (voluntarily and without financial stress). Having time to just process thoughts and feelings while doing things you want to do instead are obligated to do is actually a pretty big deal.
But saying that working is better than therapy in dealing with emotional distress is both false and dishonest.