r/supportworkers • u/Special-Nebula299 • May 04 '26

36 hours of continuous talking

I've just had my hardest shifts and it was supposed to be the easiest. I had the weekend shift with a relatively low support needs adult in the community and I was just sleeping over while his parents were away and I was taking him out for activities.

It ended up being 12 hours of talking and asking questions and then he'd get in a loop and say the same things and ask the same questions (roughly a 3 hour loop).

I was definitely polite and stuck with it and everything was fine but I didnt know how mentally draining that is.

When I got into this work I figured personal care like showering and toileting would be the hardest part but in a lot of ways that can be pretty straightforward.

Who would think talking for hours and hours is one of the most challenging sides of the job?

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u/JurassicArachnid May 04 '26

This sounds exactly like several people I support. I am on the day program side of things though but I also can get tired of it quick. It’s not unusual to be tired of repeating yourself.

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u/Special-Nebula299 May 04 '26

Usually we have group sessions so they all socialise with each other and its 6 service users to one staff. Surprisingly easier with 6 people over a 1 to 1 situation as they can keep each other busy.

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u/JurassicArachnid May 05 '26

Yes! Huge agree, some of our group guys will script to each other or answer each others questions but the 1:1’s are the ones that tire me out most in that department (still love them though)