We might think that the worst job for our mental health is the one that we hate. But, according to research, there are actually some professions where depression, burnout, and people taking their own lives are more common than in others.
In 2019, Business Insider wrote how veterinarians, first responders, doctors, and childcare, construction, and restaurant workers are at a higher risk for the above-mentioned ailments than the general population.
Recently, one person on the Internet asked: “Which job has, hands down, the worst impact on mental health?” And while some of the answers from people reflect statistics from the article, others might be quite surprising.
Bored Panda reached out to the author of this thread, u/VenkyFromAnakapalli, and they kindly agreed to tell us more about what prompted them to ask other Redditors about mentally exhausting jobs. Read our short conversation below!
#1
It’s not the worst (see: First Responders and, apparently, veterinarians) but being an inner-city public school teacher broke me.
Look, again, not as bad as those others but I’ve seen and read enough that my decade in has been enough. I’ve had students murdered (one kid was shot for twelve dollars worth of weed. I also taught the murderer), I’ve called DCS on many parents because my student came in beaten or starving (I paid for one of my student’s lunches because she was pregnant and couldn’t afford school lunch), seen brutal fights that have ended with hospitalization and have also been hospitalized due to breaking up fights. You watch brilliant students discover d***s and overdose, you see kids with bright futures get pregnant and refuse to go to college because they “will be supported” by the baby’s father who skipped town the day she gave birth, and you see kids fall through the cracks in the system to never be seen again. I’ve also reported two f*****g pervert teachers; one didn’t have enough evidence but he was still let go while the other currently enjoys prison.
My first year, a few of us teachers started a “club” that would have lock-ins at the school because some of the kids needed a place to get food, get clean, and be away from the danger of home. I’ve never played more Monopoly in my life or eaten more Papa John’s and I really didn’t like doing it but it was worth it at graduation when one of my students that never missed Club thanked me because, “it was the one night her mom’s boyfriend couldn’t get her.” I still cry about it. I’m crying now.
There were amazing positives. I have a few students that are now doctors that were once told that they would never graduate. Getting kids who couldn’t read at the beginning of their freshman year to graduate with a full ride to college is a feeling that I can’t really compare to anything.
But, at the end of the day, the lows are too low. I left the first school that I taught at six years ago because we had an “incident” that definitely *wasn’t* a school shooting that failed only because the kid turned the corner directly into our school officer and, out of fear, the kid killed himself instead of the kids on his list. I should have left then but I thought it would get better; that I could handle it all.
I can’t. I’m tired.
Image credits: classroomcomedian
#2
The FBI evidence sifters in child s*x cases. Weeks of freeze framing children's faces during abuse videos and matching that to databases to identify the kids against other videos, missing children, etc. then putting it all in a timeline for prosecutors.
Edit to add: they have to watch these videos looping back over and over to record audio, names, places, numbers, background noises, and any other evidence that might connect persons to acts or cases to other cases.
Image credits: patdashuri
#3
I don’t know if it’s the worst, but maybe. I’m a retired detective. In the latter part of my career, I was tasked with running our Special Investigations Unit. One of our responsibilities was computer crimes. 95% of those were child sexual abuse media investigations, child p*rn to the lay person.
I trained and got certified in computer forensics. As a result I spent many, many hours poring through thousands upon thousands of child sexual abuse images and videos.
The seething, white rage that would build up inside of me would necessitate an occasional break to go punch a wall or other inanimate object. The other detectives outside of our enclosed lab got used to the occasional outbursts by my other computer forensic examiners and me.
Most of the time I could endure it, but sometimes certain acts or victims would trigger rage in me that still affects me to this day. This in spite of the mandatory and regular therapy for our examiners that was established by policy. There is no redemption for people who abuse children.
Image credits: Greenman333
Sometimes, your job might be stressing you out so much you start thinking: "Are other people living like this, too?" The author of this thread, u/VenkyFromAnakapalli, found themselves in a similar situation. "I was inspired to ask other Redditors this question because my job at a molecular biology lab was stressing me out," they told Bored Panda in a message.
"I found myself feeling more and more reluctant to go work, so in frustration, I turned to Reddit. I wanted to just see how other people's jobs were affecting their mental health." And Reddit didn't disappoint. People pointed out many professions where people have to sacrifice their mental health, like trucking or air traffic controllers.
#4
My dad is an oncologist. He handles it well but that has to be up there.
Every time you meet a new patient it’s during one of the worst (if not THE worst) time of their lives. And it’s up to you to break it to them/their families if the toxic treatment you have been administering is working or if they should give up hope and get their affairs in order.
On top of that you have them attending appointments telling you the kind of toll the cancer is taking on their marriage **(SO MANY people walk away from their “beloved” partner of 30 years rather than support them through this)** not to mention their finances.
Image credits: f**kandfrolic
#5
I have a friend who works for CPS. You wouldn't believe the number of times she's tried to get a child taken out of a horribly abusive home. Clear physical evidence of sexual abuse etc. but the case falls through because the police won't provide a detective who is good with children then the child won't repeat accusations for official testimony. It's gotta be up there with first responders.
Image credits: cockOfGibraltar
#6
Care giver?
1. the racist : It’s very hard to go on your day taking care of someone who spits in your face and calls you dirty while you’re trying to help them wash up.
2. The way people just die, after you’ve finally had a relationship with them and cared for them for months and how fast that empty bed gets occupied. You don’t get any counselling or therapy but you’re expected to go on normally with your work shift.
Image credits: NoExplnations
u/VenkyFromAnakapalli tells us they work long hours at a lab, making it a pretty mentally exhausting job. "It can be fun at times, but with paper deadlines [and] grant proposal writing, as well as routine/repetitive experiments, it gets tiring," they admit.
"Add to that a stressful PI, as well as colleagues who don't always want to help, [and] it gets demanding sometimes." After reading the many answers from people, u/VenkyFromAnakapalli feels lucky to have the job they have. "I feel more blessed that my job never got as bad," they say.
#7
I mean, being a nurse during the pandemic was pretty s**t on a lot of people’s mental health.
Image credits: signaturefox2013
#8
Combat soldier. Nothing destroys the human psyche like the constant stress of combat and being in combat zones.
Image credits: Hydraulis
#9
Crime scene cleanup. Entire families murder s*icide. Seeing dead babies would wreck me. The smells...bodies turned to soup, brains splattered, blood, lots of blood, feces and urine, pets taking a chomp because they haven't been fed. Having to pull all carpet, pad and scrubbing sub floors. Extracting body juices.
High probability of bio illnesses/bio hazards (blood/airborne pathogens).
100% will affect a sane person.
Image credits: Tacos_always_corny
"I guess my life is easier compared to the answers I heard, some of which [were] hard to believe just because of how brutal and demanding they described their job as, but some jobs really are that hard, so I do think everyone was just telling the truth."
"I feel like the question was a good way to gain perspective in the life of someone else while letting off your stress by sharing it with others," the Redditor added.
#10
I’ve been I cop for only 2 years. I can never see people the same again and I’ve experienced more stress in that time than I have my whole life. And I’ve already seen way more than you would imagine. Everything about the job sucks. The schedule is terrible, I never see my family or old friends. I go from zero to 100 on stress about 10 times a night. Unfortunately I also work in a big city. EVERYONE hates me and for some reason it’s become socially acceptable to be openly racists towards me. EVERY person I talk to is constantly lying to me - even the people who called me for help because they want someone to get in trouble badly enough. When the 1 out of 10,000 cops does finally make a mistake 5 states over - I have to pay for it with everyone’s hate.
I just wanted to save lives - and I already have saved more than I thought I would. But it’s become so hard to put my vest on and get myself to work lately - and it crushes me to see some of my friends making 3x my salary - working 6 hours a day from home while I’m out here in the trenches every night. Every decision I make affects somebodies entire life and freedom or could cost me or my coworker’s life. The amount of red tape I have to go through to do my job is insane. Most of the criminals I break my back to capture get released the next day or get let go in court on some stupid technicality.
Nobody wants the job I have anymore so there are never enough coworkers to help me - we are always understaffed and by the time I show up to the lower priority calls I’m met with hate because the response time is so bad. I get to hear Karen scream in my face about showing up hours later to her broken car window even though 15 minutes ago I just got done watching jimmy gurgle his last breath succumbing to stab wounds while his mom looks on in horror.
Even if I quit tonight, I believe most of my naive innocence and optimism for life could be shattered and the mental health effects could last me for the rest of my life. And the weird cherry on top is that I’ve become kind of addicted to the adrenaline and activities that used to excite me in my non working life can sometimes feel mundane and purposeless now.
Image credits: Dustin_James_Kid
#11
Veterinarians have some is the highest rates of s*icide. I'm going with that.
imlumpy:
My vet cried with me when we put my cat to sleep. I was touched, but it was a bit of a surprise since I was apparently the second euthanasia appointment of the day.
What I hear from vets is that the people are the worst part of the job. Seeing evidence of neglect or abuse, clients refusing to pay for necessary medical interventions, etc. Watching animals suffering is hard enough, but knowing you (or the owner) could do something about it but can't/won't has to be rough.
headoftheasylum:
Veterinary work, specifically animal welfare and rescue. The things that people will do to another living creature is horrendous. I dislike the entire human race. I think the world would be better off if we all just f****d off and died.
Image credits: reyrey1492
#12
First responders will eventually watch a person die right in front of them more than likely.
Intelligent-Box-3798:
Definitely have seen multiple die, as well as plenty of already dead, brains on walls, etc.
None of it was nearly as bad as responding to a dying infant then having to stand around while EMS is going through the motions for the sake of the parents.
Image credits: Vegan-Kirk
#13
Social workers spend their days dealing with some of the worst people humanity has to offer and their victims.
Lily_Hylidae:
Social workers, particularly those in Child Protection. My friend has been signed off for months now. She said she doesn't think she can ever face going back. The thought of it is giving her severe panic attacks.
Image credits: Enginerdad
#14
Police I would guess.
Things I did in my career:
Watched people burn to death in a car wreck.
Did trauma care multiple times. Saved some. Lost more.
Searched a house for a dead baby. Found her in a bag in a wardrobe.
Searched another house for a severed penis and a testicle that a mentally ill man had cut off.
Saw multiple murder victims and blood covered crime scenes.
Told multiple people their family members were dead, including telling a six and a seven year old their parents were dead because Daddy had shot mummy then himself.
Suffered daily abuse from the public for 30 years.
Got assaulted numerous times.
Been to multiple autopsy's including child autopsy's.
Watched videos of murder and sexual abuse including of children in order to prepare it as evidence.
Worked horrid shifts and lives an unhealthy lifestyle for years.
Got virtually zero support for mental health in all that time.
Was massively overworked the whole time.
Dealt with the stress of trying to keep people alive and carrying massive case loads knowing one slip up
Yeah policing is terrible for your mental health. I can't imagine much worse.
Image credits: useful-idiot-23
#15
Social media moderator. Imagine your job is watching videos of animals being mutilated and then having to decide if it violates the TOS as written; then moving on to a child abuse video.
Image credits: YetAnotherZombie
#16
My doesn't deserve top ten, but I worked at an payday loans place for a few months. If that didn't feel like legally working for the devil I don't know what does
Image credits: Nobanob
#17
It's not the worst but my mother used to deliver meals on wheels. It's a program in the good states to deliver food to the elderly or homebound. She saved a few people in distress and found her share of dead folks which sucks. She was often the only person some of those people would see each day. It was heartbreaking and she did it when she was even eligible to receive the meals as she was elderly.
I lost her to COVID bc stupid people ran our country.
Image credits: JerseyGuy-77
#18
Mental health care for children. Especially when the parents don’t do anything we suggested. The kids work so hard to be “successful” in the sessions and when they came back again you can see the parents did NOTHING that was being taught to help the kids. It was frustrating and really sad to see.
Image credits: Nana212
#19
The people you pick up the phone when you call 911.
They have to endure mostly horrible calls, listen to people die, or people calling with someone they love dying in front of them. And when it’s over the hang up and answer the next call and start over. There’s some great YouTube videos on just how bad it is.
Image credits: BenDover0903
#20
Wildland firefighters, no one really talks about it but since it’s apart of my field of study, my instructor who’s been on a few hotshot crews and knows so many people in the wildland firefighting industry who have just ended their lives. You work 14 hours days for 2 weeks or more of some of the most physically demanding work anyone can do, usually can’t shower, you’ve actively watching nature including all its creatures being burned alive, moving their corpses, and possibly watching it destroy peoples homes and lives. Not only that but at any moment something can change and you’ll burn alive in the fire too.
It’s not for the weak of heart, because even those who have the toughest hearts are struggling with depression.
Image credits: VexxFate
#21
Maybe slaughterhouse worker...
l337hackzor:
Bit of a second hand story but I dated a girl, in her home town the slaughter house was a big employer that paid well.
Apparently they had X number of what are basically mental health days (and this was 20 years ago before that kind of thing was more top of mind) because people would have breakdowns or just walk off in the middle of a shift.
Rather than fire these people or have them assume they can't come back they just gave them a bit of paid time for it.
Image credits: Yuvaloosh
#22
Animal Cruelty Investigator.
Image credits: lauren_76
#23
Psychiatric nurse in the psychiatric inpatient hospital. In a state prison. Dealing with death row inmates.
Image credits: Amani329
#24
I will say, that one of the worse I can imagine, would be mining cobalt in Congo.
Everytime I try to hate on my job, I remember there are actually people that are force to labour this way for like a dollar a day and I feel less like I should be b**ching and have nothing to complain about.
#25
I work in customer service for insurance and I am told to kill myself/go f**k myself/stupid b***h etc multiple times a week. Also it is my fault that your insurance is so high and you have to choose between paying for insurance and paying for food for your kids…
yep that’s my fault, not your 2 DUI tickets, crashed BMW, 4 speeding tickets, and bad credit.
#26
I spent a summer as a legal intern in the homicide division of the Orange County DA, and much of my job that summer was to review and catalog photos of the victims and crime scenes. Disproportionately children, since it was a job that no one really wants to do (so it’s easy to pass off to interns). I have no idea how anyone does that long term - a few months was more than enough for a lifetime.
Image credits: djmax101
#27
Corrections Officer. Nightmare all day every day.
Image credits: Specialist-Pomelo769
#28
Not the worst, but working in a high kill shelter would be awful. Underpaid, understaffed, and you have to watch innocent animals die everyday just because there’s no room. Like every day. Can’t get close to any of them because there’s a high chance they’ll be dead three days after they get there.
I worked in a no kill shelter and it was still heartbreaking when one of them passed. These animals felt like mine, as I couldn’t responsibly have my own.
Image credits: Think-Plan-8464
#29
My wife is a nurse on a labor and delivery floor and for being touted as "healthcare heroes" they sure do get mistreated. She constantly goes an entire 12 hour shift without restroom breaks or eating or drinking anything, all while taking care of not just mom but baby. She constantly mentions this to her bosses and they give her lip service and empty promises. All while taking verbal abuse from egotistical doctors and the occasional patient. Not sure how you can deliver top of the line patient care without being able to take care of your basic needs.
#30
Therapist. Listening to people's problems for 8 hrs everyday will be extremely taxing.
Image credits: lolaa_bel5
