Time to throw in the towel?

[Jenneversage64]

What Stephen said is perfect

You need to find your passion. I am getting older and lose passion at times. A good ol' seminar or trade show usually gets me excited again. Hey, just a trip to Ryans and new stuff can help me. You probably have creative ability; think about where that is for you. Meantime you do have a skill to fall back on or keep doing until the other takes over. Do you love dogs? What about pet sitting? It doesn't require a lot of money, just a good ad. Just loving dogs and being dependable. Some people get bonded for it. If it were not for the inventory, I would like to own a pet boutique, when I retire from grooming. I know the products I'd carry etc. For me, I will always do something with pets. Best of luck to you in whatever you do.

[Plexi]

You might want to get a blood work up done. Also it could be very simple as a lack... Going back to school and job changes are not always the
answer.

I agree with Shammu with seeing your doctor as I have a friend and she isn't a groomer but she had the same feeling about her job so she went to the doctor to find out depression was the cause of her feeling so bad. She did make a job change and she is better.

[ralla]

Its time for an about face turn around. Time to change. I went through that about ten years ago. Had two days off a week on the second day off I started to get upset because I knew the next day was the start of a whole new week of work...work that I hated. You start to feel the 'whats the point of this' and wonder if there is anything out there that will make you feel like getting out of bed in the morning (aside from your kids of course).

What I did was something quite simple. I got a newspaper and went through the help wanted ads. What I wanted was some ideas of what is out there...it was a start. I saw an ad for a vet and while I wasn't qualified to work as a vet...I thought , I would rather work with animals. I went to the vets office and applied for front desk and ended up with a job as kennel cleaner. Meanwhile I left my previous job and took another part time job in a resturant to help pay bills. Anyway while I was kennel cleaning (a job I hated) I met up with the groomer and decided that is what I wanted for me. She wasn't up for training anyone and I found out anyway that there was a grooming school down the road. So...for me...I cashed in my 401k (which was losing money anyway) and went to school. Went though a few jobs after schooling adn bought a van and am doing it my way.

So even though grooming isn't your thing - something else is. You probably don't even know what it is until you see something that will lead you there.

[ferretlov]

I thnk I can cure ya, work as a waitress for a while . I used to waitress And Ill tell ya now-People are stupid and I dont like em! lol. When you hear all the whining people give ya youll appreciate them barkin dogs!!!!! sometimes we dont rtealize how good we got it till we dont got it no more!!!!!
I guess you ll need to do some soul searching for now.I wish you luck in whatever you come up with for yourself.

[Helly]

Do yourself the biggest favor of your life and see your doctor. You sound depressed, not burnt out. I've been through both, and being burnt out didn't make me sit and cry. It just made me sick of working.

Depression, on the other hand, makes you cry. You can't sleep, or you sleep all the time. Your body aches. You dread getting out of bed. You feel like curling up in the corner and sucking on your toes. Does this sound familiar? If it does, you're probably suffering from clinical depression.

But there's hope! See your doctor. Sometimes you need medication, sometimes you can manage it with therapy, diet, and exercise. But whatever you have to do, you don't have to just endure life. You can actually feel better, and get out there and live.

[Particentral]

As hard as this is to believe, I TRULY love my career and would not know how to deal without grooming. BUT I am weepy, sad, nothing makes me happy, even working on my favorite dogs at this point, or my grandkids makes me happy! I am dealing with a lot of stressful problems and nothing is working to remedy them, making me feel even worse.

I am on my way to the doctor this morning. There is a type of depression that results in lots of crying fits and the like. I was on anti depressants for a while several years ago and its time to go back on them. If I don't I may not ever get out of this funk.

I hope you figure it out but PLEASE dont think its all about grooming, cause it likely is much more than that.

[HoundLover]

maybe cut back the grooming to part time? or take in fewer dogs a day?
this is my issue right now....im working at a shop that expects me to be superwomen and get all these darn dogs done...and not giving me sufficent time to do them. i about cracked on saturday because my boss gave me a shih tzu to do (with 1 hr to do it in)...granted it was only a 5 shave but considering im still learning i need at least 1 1/2 hrs to do the dog. then i had another big groom dog to do but i was already running behind, so that only gave me about an hour to do that dog, and i had a 5 shave JR to do in a half n hour...so of course i was already behind, everyone was crabby to beat (cuz of the husky that came in with my big haircut dog it just kept howling away and the dog was an idiot to boot)...and i had had my knuckles dragged across the grooming table by a lab that morning. so basically im hunting around for a new job because i honestly cannot take this anymore. im thinking of striking out on my own and doing it on the side parttime...and taking all the time i want to do a dog! personally id really rather spend 2 to 3 hrs properly prepping a dog, giving them rest breaks, play breaks, potty breaks etc, and spend the time hand drying the dog (ie with a brush! and stand dryer!) instead of feeling like i have to rush rush rush to get these dogs done and get interrupted when im in the middle of doing a dog for a stinking nail trim...then i feel obligated to stop what im doing, do the nail trim and return to the dog. its aggravating!!!!!!
sorry i highjacked your post...but maybe you just need a change in atmosphere too...seems like its where you work not the actual work itself.
Hound

[my.cats.name.is.psycho]

A new direction

Yeah, that's pretty brutal, I feel for you! That's how I felt when I was waitressing-I knew I had skills I wasn't using, and the skills I was using I just didn't give two squirts about. Maybe it's unrealized potential syndrome? You could definitely try medication for a quick fix but long term, you'll get your energy back by finding your passion. Do some career seeking and figure out what you're passionate about. Books, government resources, and the web are all great resources. Career cruising is a great online program but does cost a bit-I have used it many times for free at the government-funded career centre here (in Canada). I found it through the phone book in the blue pages under employment. And books really inspire me to think outside the box and see what I'm passionate about. I read a book written for artistic people, to show them the various options for a career, and it really got me thinking, dreaming, and feeling exhilerated. Hope can do wonders! It's really frustrating what you're going through and it's hard-I hope you figure things out soon

[Le Woof]

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone. While I'd rather none of us have any of these issues, it is a little nice to know that I'm not the only one that feels this way.

I've been wanting to talk to a doctor but I don't have insurance and I haven't jumped through all the hoops to see if I can go through a sliding scale clinic. On top of that I'm just insanely shy and kind of uncomfortable with it in general. But I know it's something that I need to do.

In the mean time I'll have to figure out how to make work less stressful while still making money and working for someone else.

[kdickerson]

I say find a way to go to a dr. I had depression/anxiety for a really long time and didn't realize it. At one point my family told me I needed help, and I began taking antidepressants and receiving counseling. It changed my life. I realized things could be completely different, and even when I have had bouts of depression this realization has meant so much. I didn't even know what it was like to think "normal" and my life was/is so much better without all the fear/anxiety.

If you do begin antidepressants or any kind of mind altering meds, make sure to do several follow-ups with your doctor about how you are feeling. The first dr (a pediatrician when I was like 14) called in a rx and didn't even see me to prescribe zoloft. This was extremely irresponsible, and it hurt me in the mean time. My doctor I currently see has seen me through several med switches, and she sees me for follow ups after 2 weeks, then a month later, then three months later, and it has made a world of difference.

[doggydivas]

I really did not like my job when I worked for someone else. It wasn't the actual JOB that bothered me it was being told how many dogs I had to do a day, how to do the cut, what kind of shampoo to use....etc. I hated that other people that didn't groom would schedule my appts. I would end up with 3 St. Bern's, 2 Standard poodles and a slew of Shih's and be expected to groom them all in a timely fashion.....I was forced to work 12 hour days 6 days a week. It was just too much.
So I started a salon from home. Set my own hours, schedule the dogs so that I can get them done in a reasonable amount of time, used the shampoo I want to use and give styles to the dogs that I like. I am much happier
I am not saying that I don't have days where I wanna quit. But for the most part it is good. So, besides all the other wonderful advice you have received i would suggest really thinking about if it's the job you don't like or the demands of your workplace.....

[nuk]

Le Woof, I have been on and off of anti depressants many times. Finding the courage to actually go to a person you don't know and admit how sad and frustrated you are is one of the hardest things i've ever had to do. especially when you have little money for treatment. Not to mention going through adjustments of meds etc. but in the long run it will be worth it. I've been severly depressed for the last six months and finally decided i couldn't handle it myself anymore. I played up that i had a lot of anxiety when i went to the dr and just mentioned the depression, you basicallly get the same meds, and it's a lot easier to talk about being worrisome and stress and not able to sleep than crying uncontrollably.

I started grooming in CA and worked there 3 or 4 years, absolutely loved it. Transferred to FL and within 6 months basically walked out and stopped grooming for over a year. I was so burnt out on co-workers, bad dogs, bad scheduling, mistreatment of animals and bad management period. I had ulcers and other 'digestive issues' and was sleeping 3 hrs a night among other things. If I hadn't changed something I'd be dead or in the mental ward!

Now I've moved again and started working part-time in a slow paced privately owned salon. It took me a while to get back in the grove, but I know now that I love grooming, it just has to be in the right environment.

I really wish you the best either as a groomer or otherwise, but please take care of yourself cause your happiness is what's most important. Big hugs and good luck. Keep us up to date cause you'll be in our thoughts

[celebpet]

A couple of suggestions.

Find a Womens Clinic. Go to a female Dr. or a Nurse Practicioner (spelling). I go to a NP, Female, and I'm a guy. You just need to find a Dr that you are comfortable with seeing.

Most places will initially just charge for teh office visit. If you tell them you don't have insurance sometimes they discount their office fees. The NP I go to charges $60. If you want basic labwork its another $125. Advanced work up is $175. They can tell a lot from a lab work up.

Lastly if they put you on a anti depressent ask for a generic or better yet for free samples. Tell them you don't have insurance. Drug companies give them tons of samples and most Dr. are sympathetic to our needs and will gladly give you samples.

[Particentral]

Lastly if they put you on a anti depressent ask for a generic or better yet for free samples. Tell them you don't have insurance. Drug companies give them tons of samples and most Dr. are sympathetic to our needs and will gladly give you samples.

Well my new, generic anti depressant costs me, after discounts, $111.00 a month. No samples. The druyg reps are cutting back on samples in an effort to cut costs. NOW that being said there are some that are on the Walmart generic list, mine just isn't on that list and the ones that are are ones I have tried and either couldn't take, or didn't work for me.

GO to the doctor.

My grandma on my dad's side was a wise woman. She said:

You cannot get embarrased about ANYTHING if you don't know the people around you.

How true is that>>>> I would rather, to this day, discuss problems with people I do not know than admit to someone I do know what is wrong.

[nuk]

most places will tell you a low cost place for meds and labwork, i got a full blood panel for my annual phys and it cost me $35. i just filled my xanax and celexa (generic) and a antibiiotic, was $19. the antibiotic was free at this pharmacy for the health center i went to. it was a grocery store pharmacy too not wally world. there are solutions out there