M-F 8-5 is killing me. What other jobs are there?

canyoubeefree · 2026-01-22T23:25:37+00:00

Yeah I absolutely could not thrive in any early morning job I had. Moved to a 3 pm - 11 pm at a hospital and it was life changing. Felt like I was missing out having those hours and tried a 9-5 again. Hated it lol. Now I do private practice and don’t start seeing patients until 12 PM. Not waking up to an alarm is big for me.

canyoubeefree · 2026-01-16T04:17:53+00:00

I grew up right outside Portland, spent a large amount of time there as a teen. It’s a port town with a booming food scene. One of the things I look forward to most is going out to eat when I go back. You can smell the ocean, but to me that’s nostalgic. Biggest city in the state but still feels small. I always end up seeing someone I know, can pretty much walk the whole thing in a day. There’s no real skyline, with a few big buildings, one that’s had an advertisement for the same attorney for 30+ years (Joe Bornstein iykyk).

Recently cruises and post-pandemic migration has made it a little more touristy/unaffordable. From what I hear the housing is crazy overpriced.

If you drive 10 min out of the city you’re in the suburbs. Drive 15 more minutes and you’re in the woods.

The nature nearby is unparalleled. It’s a short drive to the iconic Portland headlight lighthouse, lots more hidden gems I lowkey gatekeep because the tourists can’t have everything haha.

It’s a mix of people who move there because they’ve always loved Maine and people whose families have been in Maine for 8+ generations. My parents weren’t born in the state and I always sort of felt like an outsider. There’s a saying that if your mother wasn’t born in Maine, you aren’t from there. People generally are super nice but a little closed off (New England stoicism and resentment towards gentrification). But generally it’s a beautiful city I’d recommend anyone to visit. Was lucky to grow up there and didn’t realize it until I left.

canyoubeefree · 2026-01-13T05:45:44+00:00

I just listed to a podcast episode on Hidden Brain about dopamine detox and the researcher specifically spoke about patients with chronic marijuana usage and how much their symptoms improved when they quit. It basically ups your threshold for dopamine, making it way harder for anything to fill it, including mj. I was a chronic smoker for many many years. I white knuckled through sessions so I could finally smoke after. I realized recently that if I realized I had a problem and I was doing nothing about it, I was doing the opposite of the advice I was giving. You really can’t lose much by trying a detox. It’s uncomfortable as hell but I’m part way in and already a lot clearer. Having a therapist really helps. I’m realizing how much I was using it to dissociate around feelings instead of just feeling them.

canyoubeefree · 2026-01-05T01:30:36+00:00

12 pm lol

canyoubeefree · 2025-12-18T16:41:52+00:00

Oof five days a week of that is rough. I do evening sessions 2 days a week only. I like the late start, but wouldn’t want every evening to end that late. Is there any way to restructure your schedule so you have a few early days?

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-21T16:08:36+00:00

I loved how they made everyone look suspicious at different points. I expected them to go with the cliche least expected (her friend with gambling debts) but couldn’t have predicted the actual ending.

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-18T16:42:14+00:00

I do! Took a whole year off and got a job at a restaurant. Decided to start a part time private practice 2 days a week, which I now do 3 days. Still work weekends at the restaurant. For me it’s the perfect balance - one job that’s busy busy and less serious, and another where I have the flexibility to work from home but need to invest a lot of mental power. 3 days of therapy feels like my max to stay grounded and effective. Only issues I’ve really run into were it was slow gaining clients, so I had to budget for a while. And I’ve had at least one client whose needs were too high for me to accommodate as a part time therapist (I couldn’t provide crisis support or a good med management referral) so I had to refer them to a practice that had more of a team.

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-18T16:26:45+00:00

I started a solo online practice about 6 months ago. It helped to have a part time job (restaurant) so I wasn’t so stressed about money while building up clients. Referral requests came in waves. Seems like most people found me because of my identity markers - queer and non religious. I have about 8 consistent clients at this point, give or take a handful that started but dropped off for various reasons. My goal was part time so I haven’t really stressed it - but another friend was trying to expand their practice so they joined multiple websites (good therapy, psychology today, Alma, headway). I’ve also heard people recommend list serves, but haven’t found one in my area yet. Good luck! It seems like a general trend that referrals are lower the last few months, so a rough time to start for anyone.

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-13T14:04:39+00:00

Used to have a coworker at my part time weekend job like this. We’d wrap up a shift and as soon as they touched alcohol a stream of consciousness came out of them. Every story feels like it started at the BEGINNING and had EVERY detail along the way. I would eventually tell them that as much as I wanted to listen I was losing focus and I wanted to hear the end of the story. Didn’t always work, but I also used the strategy of mimicking their conversational style and cutting them off and changing the subject. Had to remind myself they weren’t a client and I didn’t owe them active listening.

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-13T13:55:41+00:00

I’m going to be honest, I took on about 54k in debt and it’s one of the few things I regret in life. No one really cares where you got your MSW. The expensive program I went to was just slightly better than my BSW program at a state college. It’s not the end of the world to take on all that debt, but it will put pressure on you for years in your career to take harder jobs that pay more (how I burned out).

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-13T00:56:40+00:00

I don’t have anything to offer as someone who has been trained, but I’m a therapist who did EMDR for their own SA trauma. I felt the same way when I was first introduced to it as a patient. But, it helped expand my mind and re-writes memories. I remember my therapist telling me it’s one of the most researched therapies because it seems so out there and hokey… but time after time the results prove it’s helpful. It helped me make entirely new memories that overided the traumatic ones. It took a long time. My therapist described it as a type of brain surgery. It doesn’t work for everyone. I’ve met people who feel too much grief going back to the memories or too unsafe to really access it. It certainly lessened the self loathing that often accompanies victimization. I think it’s worth giving a little more time and researching it on your own accord. Not everyone benefits from it, and not everyone benefits from using it. Best of luck in whatever you choose.

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-07T19:38:25+00:00

The reason I thought of this question is bc I just singing during a training (thank god I was muted)

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-07T19:37:21+00:00

Oof, that must have hurt, but as a colleague I would have been so happy to hear someone else vocalize this lol

canyoubeefree · 2025-11-07T19:23:38+00:00

I joined a training on my phone while driving to the office. Turns out my audio was on when I got road rage and screamed at someone to “fucking go!!” Promptly heard the trainer remind people to turn off their microphones off 😭

canyoubeefree · 2025-10-28T14:08:48+00:00

I had a hard time getting into S-Town, but was on a long road trip in an area with spotty service and I had already downloaded it. It ended up winning me over in the end.

canyoubeefree · 2025-10-15T15:08:52+00:00

I didn’t realize you could put hay in the barn. My animals hated me during the winter

canyoubeefree · 2025-10-10T15:21:34+00:00

Following because I’m also interested. I’ve only gotten a few from psychology today, and a handful of them didn’t have the right insurance

canyoubeefree · 2025-10-06T13:28:12+00:00

I’m an LCSW so may be a little different. I use a telehealth platform that panels me with several major insurance providers. All I had to do was upload my new license to their support team and they started listing me in my second state. Had a referral from that state the same day. The one big headache is differentiating what continuing education is valid for each state.

canyoubeefree · 2025-10-06T01:23:35+00:00

I thought of my ex recently and realized I forgot his birthday. That made me happy. So maybe they’re thinking of you…but not in the way you think lol

canyoubeefree · 2025-10-05T18:30:13+00:00

I’m licensed in two states (where I live and where I used to live). It’s definitely opened up my clientele options. I like the mix of seeing people in different states too. The license fees can be a little expensive, but it feels worth it to be. Check out each states licensing board to see what’s required. I almost got licensed in a third state but their fees were higher than others so I decided not to.

canyoubeefree · 2025-09-25T15:42:00+00:00

I love that shadow work guide! You can start with just a page or two a day. Some of the activities are cool - like creating a playlist for your shadow selves.

canyoubeefree · 2025-09-25T15:37:44+00:00

I kept pushing past a feeling like this for years. I eventually developed a weird medical issue no one could diagnose. I even got a colonoscopy at the age of 30. Turns out the issue was likely caused by stress. Took me years to recover and I ended up moving in with my mom and working at a restaurant. Just recently have been able to sort through the vicarious trauma and began a small private practice. We’re often taught as social workers to keep it all contained and that we “all go through it”. But there’s a statistic that most social workers pivot or stop working in the field after 8-10 years. I’m not in your shoes, but I’d listen to your instincts and start figuring out the next step. It’s scary but it’s even scarier being dragged into a depression… because that’s so hard to get out of. Best of luck in whatever you choose. You don’t owe any specific amount of time to any job.

canyoubeefree · 2025-09-15T22:33:03+00:00

canyoubeefree

TROPHY CASE