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Monday
Jun202022

Who's NOT stressed?

 

Yesterday’s Mankato newspaper had an AP article describing the kinds of stress veterinarians are under. Who’d a thunk?

As in human medicine, veterinarians feel the strain of handling emergencies, caring for the sick — and, often, starting out with six figure student debt.

Veterinary doctors, however, also confront the responsibility of advising pet owners about euthanasia and carrying it out.

There are emotionally painful, ethically trying moments when people can’t let go of a suffering pet — or, conversely, can’t afford treatment that could be life-saving …

We’ve all read stories about the high stress levels among teachers, health care providers, police officers, and other workers due to COVID, civil unrest, and economic woes. And it is easy to empathize. I even feel for restaurant workers trying to keep up when there are staffing shortages.

But what the article about vets made me wonder is just who HASN’T been under stress the last couple of years? Parents trying to help their kids at home learn - yes. Small business owners who wonder if their stores might fold - yes. Non-profit employees seeing a rise in the need for services and decrease in funding - yes. And no matter what kind of job one has, if working from home instead of at an office, that’s got to be somewhat rough as well.

Those of us who are retired often lead a fairly stress-free existence. But I would argue that the current high rate of inflation and current poor performance of the stock market may have even those of us without job problems staring at the ceiling at night. Inflation eats away at Social Security and pensions; the falling DOW and NASDAQ decimate IRAs.

Now more than ever we need to heed the admonition "Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." It’s not always easy to deflect anger or rudeness with kindness, but it is worth a shot.

 

 

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Reader Comments (4)

Doug, during my weekly family Zoom (one of the good things to have come during the pandemic), I heard my father and aunt frequently talk about the stress of isolation and the cessation of their usual retirement routines. Just this week my father mentioned that a family friend had come down with COVID, so now Dad has to test and isolate to be sure he doesn’t have it (although his excitement over the home test technology was… unusual).

My point is, vets think they have it bad? Welcome to the COVID Era. We’re all suffering!

June 21, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterLaura

Hi Laura,

Since retirement, I have been doing a lot of volunteering helping older adults get to dr appointments, grocery stores, etc. I am appalled by how isolated so many of these folks are. I am sure many were alone before the pandemic, but it has to have gotten worse. I'll never forget a very nervous woman I took to a doctor appt who said it was the first time she'd been out of her apartment in a YEAR!

So yeah, it's not just workers who are stressed. 

Thanks for the comment,

Doug 

June 21, 2022 | Registered CommenterDoug Johnson

I had this taped to our circulation desk. I came back from lunch one day, just in time to see a 6th grader lifting his head up and saying “But it hurts!”

June 24, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterJacquie Henry

Sounds like a middle schooler!

Thanks for sharing,

Doug

June 25, 2022 | Registered CommenterDoug Johnson

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