Stress

You probably know stress can come from numerous sources. However, you may not realize your rehab counselor job can bombard you with stress from opposite ends of the same spectrum.

On one hand, you might get hyped up from trying to squeeze too many things into too little time. For example, on any given day, you might need to check in with ten current clients, meet three new clients, and call five employers. Oh, and we forgot to mention it's the end of the month, which means your monthly summary has to be on your boss' desk by the end of the day. And the office computers have just gone down.

Now here comes the other kind of stress. Your agency is running low on funds since you lost that grant you were counting on. That means you've got reduced operating funds, which partially translates into fewer office supplies and takes away the water cooler. It might also mean a client needs ten rehab sessions, but you've only got funding for five of them.

You may have to perform a kind of client triage; you have to decide who gets the services and who goes without them. There's no good answer here; somebody always loses. Do you best, and then lock up your desk and burn off some stress at the gym.