Ok, so this won't involve any practical or useful advice like a Dear Byron thread might, and the whole thread may very well be nothing more than an excuse for trotting out another innuendo, but bear with me. In fact, don't bear with me. I'm only a few lines in and I'm already losing interest. I could turn back now, cut my losses and post on some else's thread and we'd all be better for it, except perhaps for whoever's thread I post on, and indeed the other posters on that thread, but I digress. Just give me some time to chew over your issue and I'll see if I can't make you feel better.

How many views would you say a thread needs before it can be called a success?

Sometimes I feel this incredibly heavy emotional pressure, as if I'm continuing to do something horribly wrong and if I lay one more straw on the pile, everything's going to come crashing down. This is paired with an equally upsetting existential funk that dictates that even if I am contributing to some kind of eventual downfall - be it spiritual, social, mental, physical, etc. - it really doesn't matter anyway, because when you boil any kind of object or behavior or experience down to its bare essence, it's all just a bunch of grunts and shapes and colors, so why worry about it? But why not worry? You know? It's kind of like when you Google yourself and all you get back is bad porn links.

Hey, fella, keep your probe away from our issues...

What kind of hippy lovin' bullshit is this?

some probe. i knew i should have had my deep roots frosted instead.

Anxiety said:

I'll take this one. There's sometimes a perverse satisfaction involved in continuing to do things we know are ultimately detrimental to ourselves, in taking the wrong choices, in a way that amounts to a kind of wallowing. That's not a standard industry term FYI, but rather just an example of my dubious brilliance. But I digress. Wallowing happens when we're feeling vulnerable or hopeless about something in particular and it then carries over into the way we live our lives and the choices we make in general. We know, deep down, what we should be doing, but that doesn't seem to have any effect on us emotionally as it doesn't usually provide the same automatic gratification (no matter that it's a perverse one) as wallowing. Yes, it's just grunts, shapes and colours, and even further just particles, energy and a spontaneous interdependency of processes. There's very little solice in that, however, so more concrete and practically applicable solutions must be found. I would suggest a bonding session in chat with clothing optional.

How's this...

Every time I think about going back to work I feel a horrible dread...almost a fear...

Fauxie said:

I'll take that. Let's just say you needn't worry about this issue anymore.

applekisses said:

oh, holy crap - that happened to me today. i nearly called in because i didn't think i could bear to walk through the door. of course, i think it was just some kind of premonition, because work has been dreadful all evening.

Anxiety said:

I'm feeling the same things lately.

Imago777 said:

Let's all quit and live on a Kibbutz!

applekisses said:

I'll field this one. That's not uncommon. On the contrary, I'd say it's common, hence my use of the prefix 'un' to denote that fact. But I digress. Do you find the thought worse than the actual act of working? This is a very serious issue as it means the sense of dread is basically irrational. This irrational element is what can lead to health problems through suffering from stress and can even lead to panic attacks, or worse, crippling anxiety, but that's more of an anger issue most of us here share and one better served in the Site Discussion forum. Unfortunately, perhaps due to my lack of qualifications or maybe just an underlying apathy about most things I do, I have no advice to help you with this problem, but I can say that it's something to be concerned about and something that needs to be addressed if only for the greater ramifications it can have if left unchecked.

Every time I go to work, I get very, very tired to the point of wanting to fall asleep, but when I leave work, I'm wide awake for another 3 or 4 hours. I'm wide awake up until the point of sitting down at work.

Fauxie said:

So, basically, the probe was left stranded and flacid...

applekisses said:

Yes, basically, it was.

applekisses said:

Is this an echo of a Milty idea?

TMPletz said:

I'll take this. Do you work in a packing factory that uses shrink-wrapping machines?

i admire the plucky way in which this thread is failing.

Imago777 said:

IS IT?!!?
If it is...maybe we're onto something...it just can't be chance that we had the same idea...Synchronicity!

applekisses said:

Seriously, I'm really hating my job so much that I'm reconsidering my entire path in life.

no shit. And I make good money damnit!

Imago777 said:

oh god. stop it! get out of my head! gross!

Anxiety said:

I'll field this one. Sounds like jealousy, and dare I say it, a not inconsiderable amount of sexual tension. Chat bonding session, post haste!

Anxiety said:

LET'S ALL QUIT TOMORROW!

Anxiety said:

I think our snoopys are connected.

Imago777 said:

applekisses said:

We should all form a company selling happy endings.

Imago777 said:

Sounds good to me...but, how would be package them?

Imago777 said:

So long as you make a plan you can go off in any direction you choose and be successful. If you had something in mind there's no reason why you couldn't keep working in your current profession, perhaps with the idea of just giving yourself even more financial security for future endeavours, and all the while feeling out the direction you will go in. Then when the time comes and you're ready and you've thought it all through and it's viable, make the move.

applekisses said:

Well, some of us already have packages.