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Subject Expert
Please—and I say this in love and with all seriousness—seek help and take care of yourself.
It sadly comes and goes for me. I’ve had a particularly bad case of that lately… it is a complete pressure-cooker environment we’re in. We’re asked to produce perfect deliverables for very complex work at breakneck speed and be responsive around the clock. The amount of unnecessary ASAP requests we get from clients has never been higher, and our firms can never be the hold-up. That would make nearly anybody want to d13.
Are you okay?
Mentor
I mean sure. That’s why I knew I needed therapy. And a divorce. And a personal trainer. I took some time off. And then I went in the house. And then after taking a step back and making sure I was healthy and happy, I went back into the big leagues. Now at the top of my game. But this is your sign that you need to find a way to get the best help you can.
It’s very normal. I spent over 20 years in large firms and that feeling never really goes away entirely. Best decision I ever made was leaving private practice.
Put your health first.
If you need help, go for it.
You can ALWAYS earn more money.
But you only have one life.
No, of course it’s not normal. Get help! Get medicated! And get some therapy! And if you still feel like you’d rather die, then QUIT! There are a million things to do with your degree. It’s not worth being tortured.
Mentor
When I was in Biglaw full time, I regularly daydreamed about getting into some sort of accident that would not cause any permanent damage, but would make people leave me alone for even just a week. Instead I ended up experiencing things like being on a deal call with the managing partner while waiting for a CT before an emergency appendectomy and being staffed on a new deal the next day.
Take care of yourself because no one else will.
Do you really mean it? I will often think it but it’s more of a verbalization of my inner feeling of “ughhhhhh why do I have to work today” than anything else. Or at least that’s what I tell myself!
Enthusiast
Everyone's situation is different. For me, I was miserable in big law. I went to therapy and got on meds which helped, but I was still very unhappy. I felt like a failure for putting all this time and money into law school only to realize I hated being a lawyer. But then I got an opportunity to go in house and that was the best decision I ever made. Obviously it is a pay cut from big law, but for my happiness and sanity, it is absolutely worth it. I'm not saying in-house is the solution for everyone, but I do think it can help to try something different. I'm sure there are plenty of people feeling the way you are in this job, but that doesn't mean you have to suffer through it. I hope things get better OP!
Every damn day. Wish it’d happen already but alas I’m young and healthy.
I’ll definitely just say you’re not the only one. From me and from others. Sending hugs.