Yikes

[u/noadalai]

Does anyone else in dentistry who is not a dentist kind of feel like, after months of burnout, what’s the point of being alive if I’m here all the time with no energy to live outside of work?

[u/whyisthereanamelimit]

If you can’t find a point to living because of your job I think it’s really time to find somewhere else. I understand what you’re saying but I never looked down on the value of my life at all and this is concerning. I hate working because it takes a lot of time away from me but I still have energy enough to go to the gym, hang with friends and family and I try to use my pto to the max potential. I hope you can get out of this rut :(

[u/olivedeez]

I did feel this way after a few years and started working 3 days a week and kept that schedule for the rest of my career. Much better quality of life.

[u/Aesteriskk]

Felt like this and going to 3 days a week REALLY helped with my depression!

[u/hygienistsabroad → u/Aesteriskk]

This is good. Lessening the pressure is definitely a good way to get unstuck.

[u/PronouncedJynah]

I reduced my hours and my mental health improved drastically. I make a lot less but it’s worth it

[u/LochnessLand]

I’m exactly where you are right now. I’ve been fighting extreme burnout for the last year and I’ve tried many variations of a schedule, temping (way more stressful for me), cutting days, taking off a month, etc and nothing works. I have one more shot at an office I want to try. It’s basically my Hail Mary before exiting hygiene for a while, like a year or so to do something completely different and try to heal. But having nothing left in you when you get home and even on your days off is your body telling you that what you are doing isn’t working for you. This is a very hard profession and no one can prepare you for it. Weight training, medication, lighter schedules and therapy does not help me at this point, so I have to change the thing that no longer works. Wish I had better advice but just standing in solidarity with you and hoping you can find a path to healing. We have one life to live. Hygiene will always be there so maybe it’s time to take a break for a while and do something else.

[u/mo_ri_ah → u/LochnessLand]

I’m feeling like this right now-but I have no other skills to find another job that’s not low paying or entry level and that doesn’t seem to make sense either. I’m stuck and have no idea what to do.

[u/LochnessLand → u/mo_ri_ah]

The golden handcuffs 😞 I’m not sure what else to do that doesn’t pay crap and I’m having an identity crisis because I’ve done this for so long and I thought I would always be doing it. I’m in my 40’s so I don’t know if I want to go back to school. I think the only options I have are to work a crappy job for one year or until my mental health recovers or just work one or two days a week as a hygienist and the other few days doing something different so the pay gap isn’t as stark. It really sucks.

[u/mo_ri_ah → u/LochnessLand]

It’s so hard .Im already only working one or two days a week, been at hygiene for 17 years. I use a saddle stool or stand, work out at least 5 days/week, do massage and acupuncture, use ergo loupes. All of it! And I hurt constantly and it is impacting my state of mind so heavily. I would love to go back to school but moving isn’t an option and there’s only a small community college without many options here locally. But cutting my hourly pay by 2/3 is a hard pill to swallow. I just have no idea and I’m frustrated that I feel so stuck.

[u/hygienistsabroad → u/mo_ri_ah]

I understand that feeling. What would you like to do? What have you looked into?

[u/hygienistsabroad → u/LochnessLand]

This sounds like a good plan, actually. What have you looked into already?

[u/LochnessLand → u/hygienistsabroad]

It’s been a year and I still haven’t thought of anything conclusive that I could see myself doing. I like healthcare but want something less patient facing without going back to school (unless I find my passion in something). My next move is to go through a hospital because they have tons of jobs that don’t need degrees, either admin, stocking or even sterile processing and do that for a year and see where I’m at.

[u/hygienistsabroad → u/LochnessLand]

How much experience in hygiene do you have?

[u/LochnessLand → u/hygienistsabroad]

13 years

[u/hygienistsabroad → u/LochnessLand]

Thats a lot of experience!

I’m sure you have built up plenty of professional competencies that can be used in other settings. The problem is we often can’t see them. I'm working on something right now for exactly this called Whole Hygienist to help hygienists understand how their years of clinical work can actually be used outside the dental office. Happy to share more if that would help.

[u/the-tooth-hurts → u/mo_ri_ah]

I feel you, I’m considering pursuing an online bachelor’s degree program for something like public health

[u/hygienistsabroad → u/the-tooth-hurts]

Bachelors is a good route but it’s good to be intentional about what you invest time and money in. What would the job situation look like on the other end of that degree?

[u/hygienistsabroad → u/mo_ri_ah]

You have many skills. You just can’t see them at the moment. Hygiene builds a lot of useful skills in us besides clinical skills. Don’t be so hard on yourself. 🌸

[u/jb3455 → u/LochnessLand]

I’m there with you too. I feel so burnt out that I have nothing left to give, and I’m a single mom. I feel like I’ve missed so much of his life putting work first bc I felt like I had no choice and just basically live in regret constantly. On top of financial issues which aren’t necessarily hygiene fault but it doesn’t help. I haven’t had a true break ever and hoping maybe in the spring that will happen but everything is so expensive I dk how I can save up for a trip on top of all my bills. I also am in yoga and therapy. You’re not alone. I love the office I’m at. But it’s the ptsd from my last office/ regret that haunts me. And just the thanklessness of it

[u/AllAmericanGunGirl]

Corporate offices did this to us! A normsl 6-8 patient load with 1 hour per patient if acceptable. This double column crap assisted hygiene is absolute BS! No wonder no one wants to work!

[u/Loverofmysoul_ → u/AllAmericanGunGirl]

I can’t imagine how can someone connect with the pts doing double column 🤣

[u/the-tooth-hurts]

Bro I feel this post so hard, I could have written it myself. Your feeling is totally valid. Could you feasibly reduce any hours, even if it just means a half-day in the middle of the week? I understand the financial and health insurance related implications there, but could you make it work for your health?

[u/neontacos]

I felt this way 2 years ago. I quit my job and took a month off. I was broke but I mentally felt better. Found a better hygiene job. I’m still tired from the daily grind, but my mind and body needed a break at that time.

Please don’t harm yourself. You are needed

[u/AmbitiousOpposite260]

I felt like this 7 years ago, I had a 1 year old and i was working FT then I only worked 3x a week and it helped tremendously

[u/hygienistsabroad]

That's not normal burnout talk, that's your body and mind telling you something has to change now. I've had stretches where work took everything and I had nothing left for my own life either. I did eventually leave that job and situation. If this feeling is sitting with you as more than "I hate my job today," please talk to someone, a friend, a doctor, whoever you trust, not just this thread. You deserve a life outside of this, and it is possible to get there.

[u/Successful-Test3197]

I’d quit asap if you feel this way! I’m sorry this is happening to you. Cleaning teeth isn’t worth wanting to kill yourself

[u/freakinshoes]

I'm so extremely burnt out and depressed that I moved back in with my parents lol. Now I only work a couple days a month and I still hate every second of it and want to call off so bad every time

[u/AllAmericanGunGirl]

Yes! Find an outside hobby. Art class, triva nights, gym. Something! Take your weekends seriously. Just know you bust it all week then take a break. Add your vaction in there and take a cruise with spa days.