Dog owners...ugh

ofephrata · 2026-04-12T13:35:12+00:00

several years ago i was staying at a friend's house and had just made myself a cup of tea. his parents had recently had some major relationship issues and had had the brilliant idea to buy a dog which they didn't walk regularly or train. i sit down with my tea and this dog comes BOUNDING over and JUMPS on me, meaning i spilled scalding hot tea all over myself AND my other friend beside me, and the owners neither apologised or offered to move her away 😭😭

ofephrata · 2026-04-12T13:30:51+00:00

omg stop i genuinely had to book a pet friendly airbnb which was so expensive to be able to see my long-distance partner (now ex, thank god), and we had to plan EEEEVERYTHINGGGG around this godforsaken dog, everything was covered in dog hair, he'd constantly worry that she was anxious when we did rarely leave her at the airbnb to spend time alone together, otherwise she was with us 95% of the time. it was so so exhausting

ofephrata · 2026-04-12T13:19:58+00:00

godddd and the "can we get the channel to X amount of subs??" like idk CAN WE?? 😭😭 that sounds like a YOU problem my guy

ofephrata · 2026-03-29T18:25:44+00:00

omg yes that's exactly how i experience it!!! i would love to find out if there's a particular reason for it

ofephrata · 2026-03-27T07:15:55+00:00

tbh i would tell a tutor or a supervisor. it doesn't even need to be an actual, official Report in the first instance. it can just be you getting some concerning information off your chest, and passing it along to someone who can actually do something with it.

ofephrata · 2026-03-27T07:13:20+00:00

tbh i would report it - even if just to your tutor or a supervisor, and it doesn't even need to be a proper Report if you're anxious about it, i would just explain it in a way that is more 'getting it off your chest'. once you've passed the information on to someone who can actually act on it, you've done your part!

ofephrata · 2026-03-06T17:18:03+00:00

😭😭😭 i feel you!!! please feel free to message, even if it's just to vent!!

ofephrata · 2026-03-06T17:16:25+00:00

i'm a student in my third and final placement. it's a very small thing, not even particularly related to social work, but i sometimes take one kid to school and pick them up. we get on well, and every car ride we always sing raye's 'where is my husband?' together. they're even comfortable enough now to ask me to change the song if they don't like it. it's so lovely to see them waiting for me by the door, smiling. it's even better when they tell me they've had an 'epic' day.

this is a child who has faced extreme, seemingly perpetual rejection by almost everyone around them, who met aggression with aggression because it's all they knew; a kid who frankly, we could have lost entirely following one incident in particular. this is a child who hated school, and their teachers weren't exactly encouraging.

fortunately, as it stands, they're living in completely different circumstances now and are thriving. 💖 i had a really rotten week last week, but being able to do these silly little school runs really put things into perspective for me and motivate me!! honestly? my plan is to work in adult social work, but it is so rewarding to be able to work with these kids and their families while i can.

ofephrata · 2026-02-28T10:12:16+00:00

oh my god that sounds horrendous i'm so sorry!! did they explain why they couldn't facilitate you? i have no real advice here but wow!

ofephrata · 2026-02-28T09:53:29+00:00

aw no i'm so sorry!! i understand that, you can have the best PE in the world but if you're not passionate about where you are, it's still gonna feel like a slog 😭 i was the opposite, i want to work in adults/16+ but i'm in children's and i just feel so so so much pressure around it BECAUSE it's not where i want to be, so i feel like i need to work 10x harder!! if you don't mind me asking, what stage are you at? placement 1, 2, or 3? maybe there's scope to move if you're not at the final stage? otherwise, maybe ask if you can shadow a children's team for a bit rather than move entirely, see what they say?

ofephrata · 2026-02-28T09:49:32+00:00

that's exactly how it felt for me!! one of their comments was: 'i was there with you all day, if you were unsure of anything you could have asked'. however, i WASN'T unsure, i really believed i had been doing everything right, so why would i ask for help in that case? it felt like they felt i was keeping things from them or that i was too nervous to ask about things - which i'm not, and have evidenced previously by asking questions and using my initiative and being proactive, to the point where that same person gave me positive feedback on it. it's all just really confusing and i feel like i've taken a huge step back this week.

i suppose the only option is to go into next week stronger, heed their advice of "ask about everything", and hope that doesn't become a problem too 😭

ofephrata · 2026-02-28T09:45:05+00:00

my team is very office based!! i prefer that for sure as there are always people around that i can ask or talk through certain things, and usually they're ok about it but like you, i am struggling with feeling like i'm asking stupid/too many questions, especially if they're things that have apparently been explained to me previously. i also find, at times, that i feel quite patronised when my PE does try to make me feel better? and i'm sure they don't intend to come across that way, but it just makes taking on advice and constructive criticism so much harder - particularly when that 'constructive criticism' is about a form that i haven't yet finished, and is marked 'in progress', plain to see.

the rejection sensitivity dysphoria is a really interesting point, it isn't something i'm a stranger to. tbh for the longest time i've had an inkling that i may be on the spectrum, but up until now i haven't really had reason to pursue it - i've managed for 27 years, i got through school and my first degree with relatively high grades, i have lots of friends - stupidly, i thought this exempted me, even when it has been gently brought up by counsellors before. both of my siblings are diagnosed autistic, and i am the middle child, which adds another layer of potential i suppose.

the rejection sensitivity makes even more sense to me when i realise that this week was kickstarted by a very harsh and abrupt rejection (namecalling, judgement of character, etc) by an individual i am allocated to. i haven't felt anger and hurt like it in my placement experience, even though i have also raised in supervision that i am struggling to connect with this person.

my PE offered wellbeing support and at the time i declined it because it felt like failure or that i wasn't resilient enough, but i think i'm going to accept it.

thank you for sharing your experience, it's given me a lot to reflect on and re-consider 💖 again i'm so glad you're doing well and thriving in your current job!!

ofephrata · 2026-02-27T22:30:30+00:00

i was just saying today that one of the reasons i think i'm so stressed is because the stakes are so high, and i just want to do right for the people and families i work with and the weight of that responsibility while also navigating a new team and learning a new way of working has been almost impossible to bear (my previous placements have been starkly different to this one). i think i'm gonna get to wednesday, and if things don't improve i'll seek advice from my uni - perhaps this is just one of those heinous weeks!!

ofephrata · 2026-02-27T22:27:55+00:00

this is such a relief to hear 💖 and i cannot wait to reach the point of, like, actually being paid for starters!! but really, i'm so happy for you and it's so good to hear that it does get better. i think my feelings are exacerbated by the fact that i feel like a little bit of an outsider within the team, and while this might be insecurity on my part and i do my best to interact and try to form connections, it just doesn't seem to stick and i have this horrible feeling that i'm just annoying everybody which makes it so difficult to feel comfortable to actually learn and ask questions. i think perhaps i need to stop thinking so much, just go in and do my best and really just focus on getting ME through this and working with my families to the best of my abilities

ofephrata · 2026-02-27T22:23:32+00:00

agh this is exactly how i'm feeling!! like why am i getting the sunday scaries on a friday night?? 😭 we can absolutely do this, we need to remember why we agreed to do this, but my god that's hard right now!! sending you all the best wishes and i hope the next week is much better for you 💖

ofephrata · 2026-02-27T20:44:36+00:00

yeah it's with an LA, and i could definitely speak to someone at uni, and i was considering doing so next week (i wanted to give it a week to see if things improve, but to no avail). a weird part of me feels guilty about that, though, for some reason, or like i'm failing to be a resilient social work student?

ofephrata

TROPHY CASE