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Doctor prescribes machining to treat anxiety / stress.

El Mustachio

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Location
Eastern Washington, USA
So, my shrink says spend more time at the lathe or mill, preferably 1-2 hrs a day. Also suggested I find an outlet of like minded individuals to connect with, perhaps "a web forum or blog where I can talk to other similarly technical people" (pretty much exact quote). This, I can do :). Before I say any more, I'd like to thank all of you and especially the moderators for keeping this corner of the internet alive and well. For some of us coming here isn't just a hobby, it's part of holding it all together. Keep it up.

Now for a little background for those who would relate.

In 1996 the second best thing in my life happened. While 20 yrs old and going to college in Seattle I landed a job in a machine shop across the street from my school. Even though I grew up in a fab / mach shop setting I was greener than green. First day of work I showed up with only a tape measure, some wrenches, and a fractional slide caliper (probably had a claw hammer in my box too ;)). I was given a chance to learn though. Just a few months into my job there the shop moved to a new location too far for me to commute. My boss went above and beyond and contacted the boss of a shop I would call home for the next 3-4 years. Still wet behind the ears but at least savvy enough to admit it, I was given 90 days to prove myself useful at Nordic Machine & Mfg. With help from family I pulled together enough money to start buying some basic tools. To this day I can remember how hard it was to justify $300 on a set of brown and sharpe mic's. The guys at Nordic took me in and taught me constantly, I will never be able to repay that crew for what they did. During this time I was in engineering school full time, was newly married (the #1 best thing to happen in my life), and broker than broke. Understandably the stress was intense, but I handled it well. The shop was rough and could be harsh on those with thin skins. Yelling bosses, yelling customers, yelling co-workers, it was all part of the package. I remember my boss pulling me aside one day and saying "Si, you're a duck!". I didn't know what he meant. He explained, "You're a duck, everything just rolls right off your back", referring to whatever abuse was being handed out that day. I was surprised he said that, but took it as a real compliment.

Fast forward 17 years, I'm no longer a duck. Seems like nothing rolls off my back these days. It's all personal, every bit of it. I'm angry, I'm tired, I just want to be left alone.... and I hate knowing that's what I've become. Understandably the wife isn't excited about it either ;). So I finally agreed to see a shrink. We looked at all the things that make life today is different than back then. Started a then and now list: "just" a machinist then vs. shop boss now; no contact with customers then vs. part of the job now; no desk work then vs. almost constant now; not related to co-workers then vs. employed at family business now. Also identified that, at least for me, the act of running a manual machine has a calming effect on me. Somehow I feel free to let my mind go ahead and forget everything else, nothing else exists but the work-piece and the tool in that moment. Leaving my desk work and getting back out in the shop is not necessarily convenient, but at least I work in a situation where it's certainly available. So the Dr. settled on that as his advice until next visit.

So far so good. Nothing has changed in my work load, still over my head from dawn to dusk. But the machining is helping. Apron goes on, earplugs in, swap safety glasses for office glasses, and I become a new person. Of course nothing's getting done at my desk while I'm out there. But at least the work I'm doing is part of production, I'm not just out making brass napkin holders. After a week or two, I really am feeling the difference. Nothing's perfect and I still have plenty of stress to find ways to manage, but this is a prescription I could take all day! (side effects may include: swarf in mustache, permanent odor of vaporized cutting oil, & increased creativity)

Thanks again.

Silas
 
I think you just described why most people on this site have also have shops at home. I do, and it's because I really enjoy making stuff. It's a part of my nature to design and build things. When I'm at work I HAVE to build things according to others timelines, budgets, designs, etc, and with that comes stress. Sometimes a lot of it. At home, I can work at my own pace, my own budget, my own designs, etc, and it has a nice relaxing effect. I also get a chance to do things I don't normally get to do. At the day job, It's primarily 3d mill work. At home, or after hours at work (depending on what equipment I need) I get to do everything.

It's stuff like that that keeps me interested in this trade. And the reason I got into it in the first place. I like making stuff.

Congrats on your new found outlet.
 
I'm angry, I'm tired, I just want to be left alone....


I think anyone who works in this field will get like this. I would say it is completely natural.

The other day I thought to myself that the ONLY time my mind is not twisting itself into knots and mulling things over is when I am stick welding, when a 'zen like mindlessness' comes over me.

No bullshit - Laying a nice weld is the only time when I do not feel stressed/depressed. If this ever fades away I am in deep shit.:crazy:
 
You just described my life, Welcome and I wish you the best, truly. I have a family who understands and a wife who gets me through it all. After 27 years she is no stranger to the things that live in my head and has on more than one occasion sat at my bed side and coached me on my way for the day. She is true gold.
Remember not one of you customers is sitting at home thinking about you and when you are going to deliver those parts. They don't lay awake at 1am thinking about what they are going to say to you in the morning. Guys like us with small shops have away of burring ourselves with work and then digging out and it beats us down. I have to take that job because I don't know what is or is not coming tomorrow. I recently hired a guy to manage the Biz side. Purchasing, shipping, billing and work flow. He tells me to stop taking jobs or bid higher or give 6 week lead times. He's right but it's me who has to sign the checks and meet my financial obligations, so I wont price myself out or give longer lead times. I take it on and dig my way out always a few days late sometimes more.
I work seven days a week and my average day is ten hours. I do what I have to do to keep it going. One of these days everything will fall into place and I will get what I've been working for. I just hope it's not a heart attack :)

Ron
 
To the OP - I dont want to get all 'mens feelings group' cos we are all titanium chewin' badasses here :) ...but sometimes i listen to a podcast that has people on it who have had truly shit lives, and are still hanging in there.

if you google 'mentalpod', itll bring up the podcast. the dude who runs the show is also a 'maker of stuff' - in this case , wooden furniture, but anyhoo some episodes are interesting.

If you go to the archives, there are some older shows, which are probably a better intro than some of the more recent shows.

As a heads up its NSFW or if children are around as there are adult themes discussed and some swearing.
 
Ok I am one of those guys too. I do auto electric for a living. Electrical trouble shooting stimulates me. Tail lights, turn signals, trailer wiring,......Just how many of the same jobs, repetitive stuff can a guy do? (frustrates the hell out of me). I rebuild starters and alternators and generators, have become known to some for machine work. My machine shop is a spin off of the auto electric-I am my own best customer. I use the machine shop to repair, make and remake parts. My favorite is old stuff that nobody makes any more, or strange stuff like chinese equipment starters and alternators that you can't buy parts for, so I get to make them out of something else or scratch. (I feel that they are better than new.) My first wife didn't get it, how I could spend all weekend long out in the garage making a part, or refurbishing some old ancient turret lathe, just because it was cool? We divorced. My new wife doesn't get it either, but she know's that I am happy when I am making stuff or running off to rescue some old machine, and she supports happiness. The forum for me is all part of this...........Happiness.........thanks Tim
 
For me, it's instrument flying that I find most relaxing. It takes a LOT of concentration, so your mind doesn't wander; it keeps you focused.

My doctor recently suggested that I take an afternoon nap. I told her that I didn't think my boss would like that idea. She said, "I'll write you a prescription!" I still haven't tried it.
 
There is a great series of very funny books written by a fellow called Roger Welch. He got into antique tractor restoration after being under a doctor for stress. Since they were monitoring and documenting his health they were actually able to see the improvement as the hobby progressed. It works.
Read the books, they are hilarious when you are involved with machinery and a suspicious wife.
 
a great way to treat stress and anxiety is exercise.Hard ,get the heart going for an hour
type.I run up a mountain a couple of times a week now and at 57 feel like a kid again.
Cut out as much sugar as possible.Also most important is time alone.NOT making stuff.
no one to talk to but yourself.I bet in eastern Washington there are some amazing sites to see.
I fly fish.At least once a week rain/snow/piles of work, what ever, I still hit the water
for a few hours.
Paul Quinnett wrote a couple of great books.Nothing to do with machining but pretty insightful
for stress/anxiety.
 
i dont know what kind of disorder it is i have. but used to be stress free and not give a shit what anyone thought. used to drink and smoke pot when i was single, then got married and gradually quit the bad shit. used to like to be organized and everything had to be perfect, but wife wasnt that way, so had to relax my expectations. never could sleep at nite, always thinking about work, toss and turn all nite, and worry. went and seen a shrink 7 years ago after getting all anxiety about everything, waiting on people is the worst for me, always someone screwing things up, like line ups in a store, drive thru, or fucking bad drivers, etc. shrink gave me meds and it zonks me out soon as head hits pillow till alarm goes off in morning. so i never worry or think work at nite anymore but still have a mad on at people screwing up thinks. i also have a dislike of crowds especially confined in a church or other ceremony where other people congregrate in numbers. i rather be alone and work in garage doing my own shit. maybe should smoke pot and drink again, and not give a shit again.
 
increased creativity

When the day to day stuff becomes a bit too much, I take the time off to out into the shop and work on some new designs that are at some incomplete stage. This is my relaxation! By being able to disappear into the mental components of a design and "become one with it" everything else falls away. Running a business can become a 24/7 event, and there has to be some "ME" time in there, or you will go nuts.
I notice that among the posters that I am seeing some names that I have never encountered before. Obviously, this thread is touching another sub-set.

Lee (the saw guy)
 
The best part of my day job is getting to work on a project, alone, and actually get something done. The worst part is when someone comes and interrupts me.

BYW, you might try Jesus too...
 
I'm only 32 and I've gotten to be one of those bitter old codgers already somehow. It probably stems from being the go-to guy, I'm the only machinist in a wire mill and staple factory so I have to fix just about every damn thing that ever breaks. Sometimes I realize I actually like what I do but some of the frustration has to come from people not knowing what they need, so I'm left to figure it out on my own with very minimal guidance and rarely a blueprint for reference.

On the therapy issue…I've taught myself to weld MIG and stick over the last year and that has been a big stress reliever. Now I don't have to count on someone else's time frame for a half-decent weld job and there are a lot less screws in my designs! It's gotten me away from some of the tediousness of machining and made me put my squares and c-clamps, transfer punches and hermaphrodite calipers to use
 
I got to the point that I could not even walk into the shop without feeling stressed. Summer time was the worst for me as my favorite stress release was snow skiing. So I started up martial arts again... it's so nice just to scream at someone, give em a punch, and take em to the mat.
A little controlled mayhem does wonders for you.:fight:
 
I put myself through this.
I spent 40 years as a military and commercial pilot - high stress job, yes? Not any comparison to starting a business after retirement so that I would have something to do with my spare time! Spare time, I've barely seen spare time in 5 years and to add to the stupidity I let the work get between me and my wife (saved that one thankfully).
Do anything that others have suggested but do something. Find the remedy because you are obviously a good guy with a problem.
I was lucky, I found a great shop assistant that I could teach and he soaks up the shop techniques I've learned over the years, mainly from my machinist cousin. Teaching him the tricks that I know that are never going to be taught to another generation of workers has been a joy. When did you last have a young kid quiz you about the different types of files and how they are used and looked after? I really feel that in my clumsy way I am helping to preserve important skills and that provides a good reason to sleep soundly at night.
 
A huge number of people who fly off the handle and take everything personally have severe unknown sleep issues. Aka , sleep apnea.
Or even just not getting enough sleep. There's people who pride themselves on how little sleep they can get by on. Many of them are whistling past the graveyard, literally. Lack of good sleep is a significant cause of diabetes, weight gain, and some other diseases, as well as poor mental equanimity.

just sayin.

smt
 
I know it's often not a good idea to jump in with an opinion when you haven't been there yourself, but it seems to me that you don't need a doctor to tell you how much satisfaction there is in turning a rough chunk of metal into a part. And you certainly don't need a psychologist for that, or maybe for anything else either.

Not trying to start a war with the believers. As smt says, just sayin.

-Marty-
 








 
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