No Time to Eat

Today I wanna talk about something that has been weighing on me, and making me less than I can be, for the past several years.  Something that weighs especially hard on every single person who works with animals, people, charities, anything that involves placing something else before yourself:

Stress.

Stress and animal rescue go hand in hand.  Whether it's assisting in a surgery, admitting ER patients, or pulling animals (sometimes literally) from horrible situations.  Even if it's just taking a healthy, loveable foster into your home - it's a wonderful experience that can make your life a million times better, but it invariably brings in a little stress.  How you handle that stress determines how much you can help the animals you work with.

The classes for stress are stupid.  No one can tell you what will work best for you, but you have to find something.  Handling anxiety, depression, frustration, the nights full of tears, the lack of sleep, the cramming and testing, the sometimes endless searches for a good home, the millions of "no's..."  This should come first above all else.  Not just for you, for the people and animals you are trying to help.

Find a way, find something.

I hate complaining, but I'm going to, for the sake of anyone who comes here to read this.  This is what stress has done to me, what I have done to me by not placing myself at a high enough priority (don't worry, I'm fine, it's just important).  I have a ganglion cyst in both of my wrists, one so bad in my dominant hand that some nights I can't even type or do my job, forget about changing cages or (Jesus, this is the worst) walking a dog that pulls.  I think I have a small fracture in my left foot.  My back hurts so bad some days it's like a bolt of lightning frying down from the middle of my back to the bottom of my left butt cheek.  I completely lost vision in the focus portion of both of my eyes for about an hour a couple of weeks ago.  I barely get any sleep from the foster dog sharing a bedroom with us, and I have trouble focusing on anything.  I get sick all the time, but can't take off of work because the new guy isn't trained yet.  I get dizzy, I throw up all the time (no, not on purpose), when you stress, horrible, physical, REAL things happen to you.  Things that get decidedly in the way of taking excellent care of your pets, fosters, and responsibilities.

It is so easy to become overwhelmed.  I am lucky to have a man who helps me despite his own full plate, but it's not fair to either of us.  There is no food in my fridge, but my animals have never had empty food bowls.

That is NOT right.

It sounds noble, but it's fucking stupid.

Of course, you have to feed your animals, period.  But you have to feed you, too.  You should never go to the store and come home with bags of pet food but no people food.  Ever.  EAT SOMETHING.  Go rework your budget.  If you can't afford to feed both you and the pet, ASK FOR HELP.

I am not ever, ever, EVER saying you should let an animal go hungry, EVER.  But if you can't afford to feed the both of you, you should look for another person to help you take care of the animals.  Talk to other people in rescue.  Talk to your coworkers.  Everyone in these kinds of positions is going through or has gone through exactly that, and might be able to lend a hand.  We're all bleeding hearts.  We all have to take care of ourselves.

If you don't you aren't much use to the animals.  Sleep 8 hours a night, eat 2000 calories a day, and ask for help when you need it.

This message brought to you by a chick who needs to change her entire lifestyle before it kills her.

-Mouse



P.S. - This book rocks, and is free online:  Biology of the Laboratory Mouse