Stressed out

[Biermann]

I have been coming on here lately, and finding myself not being able to rationally comment on things. . . so I felt I should start a thread about stress, and form a "support group" to rekindle enthusiasm over brewing...Lord knows I need it. If I may, let me be the first to vent. . .
Ok. . .I hope noone gets too bummed here. . .
1st, I've worked almost 100 hours over the last week.
I'm in the process of buying, and trying to sell a house.
The new house has Radon. . .
The new house has to have the radon abated. . .
Everyone wants money...
I have not gotten to spend very much time with my wife and kids lately (because of the hectic work schedule)
I can't sleep at night (3-5 hours tops)
I feel sick all the time (probaby because of the stress)
I have to bring my job home with me all the time.
I'm sick of dealing with death and pain all the time. (it really gets to you after awhile).
I'm working over twice the amount of hours allotted by my contract, and no steady schedule (3-4 nights, then 5 days, then nights again. . .).

plus about three hundred other smaller nuisances in my life.
So I get a grand total of about 4-5 hours a day to myself or with my family. Some days none.

So.....not too surprisingly. . .
I'm too tired and emotionally spent to brew beer when I get home. I'm even too tired to drink it. I have 5 gallons in primary right now needing to be racked, yet the only time I ever have to do it is before bed.

I don't really expect anyone to respond or read this, but since brewing is one of my great stress reliefs, and I have not been given any time to do it, I feel things boiling to a head.

On a brighter note, I did rack and sample an American Pale that I've had going. . . already nearly 7 percent, and floral. . .I felt a glimmer of joy. . . then did a happy dance and peed down my leg

I think I need an evening of at our local Hofbraeuhaus.

Thanks for allowing me to vent and ramble.

Please, if anyone has them, post your stressors here. . .I think I personally need to get re-oriented toward brewing...

 

[SwAMi75]

My dad once reminded me that, "this too shall pass." And strangely, it always does.

I think that came from some book.......

 

[MrSaLTy]

At work we just recently implemented a new computer system that I have been working on for over 4 years. It has been an unbelievable pain in the ass. In that last 4 years I have had so much stress its not even funny. I now take medication for high blood pressure. No real relief after we are 'live' on the system because we have to deal with all the problems that are comming up. (mostly stupid people) . Brewing has been a great way for me to relax. Oh and I just had to get a new central air conditioner and furnace. Talk about flushing a big wad of cash. Works eats. Everything is better when I relax and have a homebrew.

 

[Biermann]

See, isn't this cathartic???

 

[Ize]

I feel your pain. I am officially on vacation. I don't go back to work til the 26th. It's my first full week off in over 2 years.

And will be it a family vacation? Uh, no.

My week will be spent on projects around the house. Things that I just cannot get done without actually being off from work. The garage is a disaster, the stairwell was patched 2 months ago, but still needs sanding and painting, I have to clean up my shop downstairs and create some hanging space, plus landscaping work that needs to be begun and completed outside. The beauty part is, the 2 year old hurricane will still go to grandma and grandpa's like he normally does, my oldest will be with his mom all week, and SWMBO will be working like she normally does. I'll actually have distraction-free time to get this nonsense out of my HAIR...

And once I'm done, I won't have all this CRAP hanging over my head that needs to be done.

NOTE there is no brewing mentioned above. I'm hoping that happens next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for me....

So trust me, I feel your pain.



Ize

 

[the_bird]

I feel your pain, too. I actually couldn't get started on this hobby for about four months after I got my kit because I didn't have a single weekend day to myself all winter. Been working a ton, don't mind too much but it does get to be a bit of a drag on occassion (I'm in the office all day today). Few weeks I was here every day at lweast a while. Kidling takes up most of the time when I am home (not that I really mind), and the house needs SO MUCH stuff done. So many half-finished projected, sounds like a lot of the same stuff that Ize's doing (except my stairwell's been a mess for two years - finally getting it done, I think, next weekend).

All I can do is put my head down and get back behind the mule. Hope that I can make some progress.

I'm not terribly stressed right now, but I've been there. Just gotta have faith that it'll all work out.

 

[david_42]

I hear you. Two years ago, I put down two dogs, got two more, quit a job, sold my house, moved to Oregon and had my best friend die; all in 9 months. Woke up one night, after grinding my teeth so hard I busted a molar.

 

[Biermann]

I'm glad to know I'm not alone. . . Seriously, I was beginning to wonder what was wrong with me, but then I figured out that I'm not reallly enjoying life or interested in any of my past times because I'm too damned fatigued. I haven't even been drinking much lately (not that I drink real regularly. . . ok, occasionally nightly, now every 3rd day, but . . . .. .you all know what I mean )

I hope to have some time off soon, though (administrative duties permitting). And once I get moved, I'm going to take some pictures of the new dedicated brew room at the new house. And hopefully, all will be well.

 

[Treekiller]

STRESS! I went to pour a glass from the keg last night and got a whole half glass.
DAMN I am out of brew, now I am really stressed! Oh well, I will be on vacation begining this Thursday and will be doing my very first mini mash then. I will be getting all the stuff for my cooler conversion tomorrow (HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ME, happy fathers day to me...) and just picked up one of these Friday, after sneaking out of work early. http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=126459 Damn I can not wait to break these bad boys in. Now this is going to be some serious stress relief. :rockin:
Happy father's day to all you dads out there ( I will be out and about tomorrow), Enjoy them kids.

 

[Ize]

and just picked up one of these Friday, after sneaking out of work early. http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=126459 Damn I can not wait to break these bad boys in. Now this is going to be some serious stress relief. :rockin:
Happy father's day to all you dads out there ( I will be out and about tomorrow), Enjoy them kids.

WHOA.... Now THAT'S a nice find! and an unreal price to boot! I may just have to rejoin for that reason alone!

Thanks for the heads up on that! And a very Happy Father's Day to you and to all too!!


Ize

 

[seanhagerty]

I have found masturbation helps relieve stress.

 

[Brewiz]

I feel your pain, but in other ways, you are over worked and I have been looking for a job for 3 months. You stress over your new house, I stress about losing my house. You can't sleep because of stress of your job, I can't sleep because of stress of no job. You can't brew because of time, I brew all the time ( I get my grain and yeast free, that way I can aford it). But I do have a great family that I do get to spend some time with.


On the somewhat bright side I just got a recall notice from my previous employer ..

 

[AHammer16]

Radon? Was it disclosed in the sellers contract? Can you back out of the purchase? Why would you want a radioactive gas expelling house?

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I agree with Swami. This too shall pass. I am not an overly religious man(despite the quote in my sig-that's just a cool movie) but I had a priest once tell me that God doesn't give you any more than He thinks you can handle. Kind of makes sense.

 

[Cheesefood]

I think I need an evening of at our local Hofbraeuhaus.

I almost forgot about the Hofbrauhouse.

What you need is a night a Club Cabaret to relieve some stress.

 

[Spyk'd]

Hey man, my life was affected by Hurricane Katrina and while most people are probably sick of hearing about it by now, it is still part of my daily life. Not to drag this out, but to put it in a nutshell, "I had three and a half feet of water INSIDE my house and as such lost nearly everything I own overnight."


I only say that to say this. I've found two things that help deal with stress:

The first is keeping the lines of communication open. It sometimes feels like we want to crawl inside ourselves when stress becomes nearly overwhelming, but if we constantly speak with our spouse or good friend or anyone else that we feel comfortable talking about the object of our stress with (US here!) it seems to help keep all things in perspective and diffuse the stress to some degree. Besides you never know when someone will step out of left field and say just the right thing to get you back in the saddle!

The second thing is always try to see the "silver lining" in situations. That is, what good will come out of this horrible situation? Or what has already come out of it? If we focus on the positive, then we move ourselves away from the negative feelings and dispair.


Ok, that's it for me. I hope this post helped a little, even just one person. Y'all be good out there!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Not to add any stress to your already stressed-out life, but stress can give you a heart attack!

Attack each of your projects one at a time and don't think about the next one until one the first one is done. Then sit down to enjoy/admire your accomplishment for about 1 hour uninterrupted before starting the next one.

I remember reading that worrying is like paying interest on a debt you don't owe.

That masterbation technique works too, but watch out for carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

[Biermann]

Well, you all have pointed out that everyone has their problems, and as my dad once said "no matter what, it COULD always be worse." I'm just tired, and as an Emergency Physician, I'm constantly around death and pain, and that wears on a man's soul after awhile, no matter who you are. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, and wouldn't trade my lot in life, and I'm thankful I have a good life, good future, and a wonderful family, but I have my limitations...I just want time to enjoy all the good things, and I found myself being absorbed in the humdrum, and losing interest in everything I loved.

This all has helped. I'm glad others have voiced their stress here too. . .I posted this thread with the hopes that people could air their dirty laundry. Just talking about it helps, and getting reoriented to our past times (aka brewing) is sometimes necessary.

 

[Biermann]

Radon? Was it disclosed in the sellers contract? Can you back out of the purchase? Why would you want a radioactive gas expelling house?

Well, the top level of radon is supposed to be 4 picoCu, or something like that. Our new house turned out to be 8, tops. The current homeowner tried to bargain his way out of it, then offered us money. I told him to fix it or no deal, so he's getting a contractor in there to install a vent/radon removal system. I think 8 is not that bad, especially in our area. . . there are houses north of us with levels 50-100 (commonly).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Biermann
I think I need an evening of at our local Hofbraeuhaus.



I almost forgot about the Hofbrauhouse.

What you need is a night a Club Cabaret to relieve some stress.

Not a bad idea . . . if my wife doesn't find out!

 

[AlaskaAl(e)]

Damn guys. Reading stuff like this makes me glad I'm in Iraq. At least we only have one major stressor and at least we can shoot the source of our stress.

 

[Biermann]

Damn guys. Reading stuff like this makes me glad I'm in Iraq. At least we only have one major stressor and at least we can shoot the source of our stress.

Hey, I'm thankful we have guys like you. I actually wanted to volunteer for duty when 911 happened, but I have MS, and the military wouldn't take me (I talked to Army and Air Force), and my wife was pissed off that I even considered it. God bless you guys.

And shoot some sources of stress for me too. . .

 

[SwAMi75]

Biermann...go out in the garage and admire your B3 1550! If that doesn't do your heart good, I think you should consider therapy.

 

[Biermann]

Biermann...go out in the garage and admire your B3 1550! If that doesn't do your heart good, I think you should consider therapy.

*L* My wife already thinks I have an unhealthy relationship with my brew sculpture. (she's just jealous!)

I'm actually going to get a day off in a few more days. . . maybe I'll brew. . .

 

[david_42]

Maybe wife needs to take the same day off ... or at least the morning

 

[Beer Snob]

Maybe wife needs to take the same day off ... or at least the morning

Well... mine was kinda scary when I did the AG last Saturday..... She is not realy at all interested in beer brewing. I have no idea how she came up with this outside of possiblly reading from one of my books when I was not looking I'm in the middle of the sparge and she comes up and goes.... that's the mash and your using the hot water to raise the temperature so more sugars are extracted.

 

[Sir Sudster]

Biermann, I just read your rant.. Here are my 2cents..

5 rules for Happiness

1. Free your heart from hatred
2. Free your mind from worries
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Expect less

Your breaking some rules.

 

[alemonkey]

Biermann, I just read your rant.. Here are my 2cents..

5 rules for Happiness

1. Free your heart from hatred
2. Free your mind from worries
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Expect less

Your breaking some rules.

My rules:

1. Drink more
2. See rule #1

 

[Sir Sudster]

OK...6 rules.

 

[Biermann]

wow, what a support network. . .

really, I started this thread to air bad Karma. . . *L*

 

[Cheesefood]

Brew more beer,
Drink more beer
Watch more porn.

 

[kornkob]

maybe there needs to be a rule 7: if you have to work, do something you enjoy.

*shrug* My stress level has, according to those close to me, visibly dropped since I ditched the career in IT, took a pay cut and took a job doing something much more enjoyable to me.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Once you find a job you really like you'll never work another day in your life...

 

[Sir Sudster]

Exactly HB99!

 

[homebrewer_99]

From what I remember, radon builds up in enclosed areas.

If you open a window in your basement the levels will drop. You can always place a small fan near the window to draw out the basement air and draw in fresh air through another window.

 

[Biermann]

From what I remember, radon builds up in enclosed areas.

If you open a window in your basement the levels will drop. You can always place a small fan near the window to draw out the basement air and draw in fresh air through another window.

I'm not overly concerned. . .obviously I'm still buying the house. It has a walk out basement even, and lots of nice windows in the basement. The only season of concern will be winter. Even so, its the principle. . .the current homeowner still needs to fix it!!

 

[Biermann]

Once you find a job you really like you'll never work another day in your life...

Well, I have a career. . .It still feel like its work. I came home today and fell asleep for 3 hours.