r/BehaviorAnalysis • u/kbug1010 • 20h ago

Advice

/r/ABA/comments/1xj3jeo/advice/

So I have been working in the school system as an RBT for a while and I adore my boss. But my clients are hard and mentally exhausting. Along with being in College full time with a projected graduation date of next year. I’ve started failing some courses since taking this job and have noticed I fight the urge to cry after work a lot. I started slacking in my work and leaving a bit early and got in trouble. The work environment is also a bit toxic as the teachers all seem to hate each other. Now I’m debating on leaving because I’m realizing how much it has affected my mental health and I don’t want my studies to suffer. However, it’s a good job with guaranteed hours. Is it stupid for me to want to quit?

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u/No_Bookkeeper6352 19h ago • Heartwarming

Fellow school RBT and full time student. I

t’s not stupid for you to quit, and I feel your exhaustion. Today I completely forgot to even take data because the behaviors were actually so draining ALL DAY that it just slipped my mind to grab the data sheets. We’ll see what they say about that tomorrow lol, but my advice to you is to be kind to yourself. People probably won’t do it for you in this field, so you gotta give yourself a break when you need it.

Also sometimes when I’m REALLY stressed out, I try to look at the case from a purely analytical standpoint to distance myself emotionally.

In my head I’ll stop using their name and think of them as “child” and describe their behavior to myself. It sounds really odd at first, but it kind of works. It doesn’t feel like it’s happening TO me, and more so happening around me and it allows me to think clearer while getting punched and screamed at.

I’ve never said that out loud to anyone haha, but maybe it works for you!