7 Comments

Hi Katrina. Thank you for sharing this. After 10 years, I left full time faculty in 2019 for a lower salary and status job and can relate to so much of what you write here. Academia is toxic and exploitative. One place that helped: Academics say goodbye Facebook group. Also, dealing the chronic back pain, Nicole Sachs has been eye-opening: https://spotify.link/KAYhWlF2RCb. I hope you get out. It's the best thing I did for myself and my health.

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Thank you Katrina. Sending you warmth and healing. Oh, and I also was thinking of Nicole Sachs’ work during your article.

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Good grief, did you ever find out what was the cause? Of all your back problems? I had the exact same experience and ended up having to have a nerve block injection due to spinal stenosis, several pinched nerves, sciatica, and arthritis. Pregabalin and tizanidine got me through the nights along with sleep gummies. I'm also managing and cannot do all I want to do, but at least I'm living! I pray you find your cause and cure and find the perfect work/home life balance. 🙏🙏

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Honestly no. I never found out exactly what was happening but stress was exacerbating the issue for sure. I’ve been learning how to manage it. It took about a year for me to feel physically normal again, but I have to be careful. I'm glad you're managing and living as well!

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Thank you. Exercise helps more than anything. Daily stretching and walking for me helps.

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Yep this is about where I ended up. I was also getting monthly massages for a while as well, but the stretching helped with that, so now it's just a treat instead of the difference between me lying in bed in agony and feeling like myself.

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Truly appreciated the raw honesty of this essay, delving into the emotional and health challenges that come with trying to strike that work/life balance, and how all the detrimental effects of the stress can build up over time, never quite letting the "balance" come into being. Thank you for sharing this story, Katrina.

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