I read your essay to begin with because I bet that your job was teaching. I just left my teaching career with no regrets and am also navigating back issues… after years of gut issues, migraines, and abdominal pain. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Honestly, it gives me hope that I have some relief in sight.
Thank you for this comment! It gives me hope that leaving won't be the worst decision I can make. And yes, I hope you can get some relief. It took a long time and it still flares up with my stress, but most of my pain is gone.
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.
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.
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. 🙏🙏
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!
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.
There's so much beauty and vulnerability in this post it made me cry, but also reminded me of all of the hurts and injustices I pushed through teaching as a university adjunct some years back. Now, over 12 years since I left, I still have residual carpal tunnel from those nights in my concrete-walled office on the third floor, alone and grading final projects during dark winter nights. It was so important for me to teach my students how to draw and design and actually know that they could do it that I sacrificed myself for that desire in the process. I know some of them took what I had to give and used it for good, but the others...was it worth it I often wonde?. I can spin those years to look impressive, and in lots of ways they really were, but in the end what I learned was I could do anything I set my mind to without any support from the system I was in, but at what cost? A lesson I'm still learning.
I read your essay to begin with because I bet that your job was teaching. I just left my teaching career with no regrets and am also navigating back issues… after years of gut issues, migraines, and abdominal pain. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Honestly, it gives me hope that I have some relief in sight.
Thank you for this comment! It gives me hope that leaving won't be the worst decision I can make. And yes, I hope you can get some relief. It took a long time and it still flares up with my stress, but most of my pain is gone.
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.
Thank you Katrina. Sending you warmth and healing. Oh, and I also was thinking of Nicole Sachs’ work during your article.
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.
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. 🙏🙏
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!
Thank you. Exercise helps more than anything. Daily stretching and walking for me helps.
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.
There's so much beauty and vulnerability in this post it made me cry, but also reminded me of all of the hurts and injustices I pushed through teaching as a university adjunct some years back. Now, over 12 years since I left, I still have residual carpal tunnel from those nights in my concrete-walled office on the third floor, alone and grading final projects during dark winter nights. It was so important for me to teach my students how to draw and design and actually know that they could do it that I sacrificed myself for that desire in the process. I know some of them took what I had to give and used it for good, but the others...was it worth it I often wonde?. I can spin those years to look impressive, and in lots of ways they really were, but in the end what I learned was I could do anything I set my mind to without any support from the system I was in, but at what cost? A lesson I'm still learning.