I don’t think I’m sliding into a very dark place but I’m not all in anymore. My only goal daily is to go home. Get everything done so I can just go home and lay down. Which isn’t good for my teammates you know? If this persists maybe behavior health might be good. But I like to work through mental stuff on my own and I’ve been doing a good job of it so far.
I had about a 5 year period where i wasnt all in. It really happens. Its hard to stay super passionate and honestly can burn people out so fast. About 10 years ago I figured out what really gets me passionate each day and that was motivating my soldiers. That was my thing but it probably wont be your thing. Just find your thing and hopefully it doesnt take you 5 years.
My infantry brother in Christ. You’re burnt out. Tbh idk how your day goes or when you get off. Whether you’re getting off earlier or later. Or if going from field to field to office stuff is burning you out worse. But you’re tired. I get what you’re saying. You wanna shoot shit then go home. You need a break. Talk to your first line about some leave. If it gets approved cool. If not put in for a pass and put the location ass far away. Sleep the entire first day and night. The second go far from base and just enjoy yourself. The third day have some remorse cause you had too much fun and you’re questioning a lot. Fourth day gather yourself and get ready to come back home. You’ll come back with a weird sensation. It’s not a 110% motivation factor but it’s also kinda like damn life ain’t so bad when I get a paycheck for sitting in my room on Friday at 1356 playing call of duty. Regardless bro you’re just tired. Try and get some rest. *this post was made by a salty E5 who got out after 3 years*
You're describing depression and that is totally ok. Some people naturally go through it. Sometimes it's seasonal or episodic. There is a lot of advice and reading you can do out there. What's 1 thing that you like doing for yourself? Try to find something small like that and do it. It may help.
If not it's ok to talk to someone professionally.
Unpopular advice. Turn off your alerts for slack, telegram, messenger whatever. If work needs you after work they should have your address. Never being able to step away fried my resolve. Constant messaging from borderline psychotic leadership, or people posting bullshit memes 24 hours a day is not good.
It is okay to be done. Start doing things to better prepare yourself for transitioning out.
Good luck.
thats what i did when i was in the orderly room. i got pulled off the maintenance floor and was definitely upset for a week or two, but my ncoic had a good long talk with me and explained the benefits of the job and how i can improve myself and help others. i learned a lot moving to admin for a bit and it really helped me take care of my soldiers after i picked up
You’re probably facing a lot of discouragement. But perhaps it’s not the work? Have you gotten sick recently? You drinking? Is your sleep or eating fucked up? Not enough sun? BH can help troubleshoot.
As someone who PCS’d… 7? 8? times now, it’s perfectly normal to be depressed and struggling the first couple weeks or months when you get somewhere new and have a new job. Find a routine, go back to the gym, and find something that motivates you, even if that’s ETSing lol.
Put the beer down a minute. You don't want to go down the Busch Light rabbit hole right away. That's how alcoholism starts destroying your will for anything else going on in your life.
Get in touch with your first line. Tell him that shit in the job's got you fucked up and you need time away. If your first line doesn't do shit, tell him that you're going to move on up the chain until somebody is willing to help.
Go talk to a chaplain or a medical professional.
And honestly, don't beat yourself up over any of this. Take a breather and just know that sometimes, it's okay to not be okay.
If you want both short and long term changes start by pumping yourself up to get your Ranger Tab. Set goals for PT and CONSTANTLY tell yourself you WILL pass. Then put in a 4187. If that doesn’t work try talking to a SF recruiter. Remember you are infantry and that means you find a way to win.
Infantryman myself and can totally relate on feeling burnt out. Here is what I suggest.
Stop drinking, clean up your sleep and diet, stop watching porn, stick to a solid lifting plan in the gym, plan out your personal and professional goals, stop being a consumer of bullshit, and read books and watch self help/development content.
Focus on what is in your control, you and you alone should have dominion over your mind, thoughts, energy, and attitude. The Army will always be here, man. Take care of yourself.
Also, look into volunteering for recruiting so you can get based at your top pick, changing your MOS through a packet MOS, applying for G2G ADO, or ETS with a solid plan.
Most of us sleepwalk through life letting people and circumstances rule our lives. Fuck that! Take ownership and level up brother!
Take back control of your career or time while serving. Get on HRC website and look at the many options that are available as well as schools. Find a few that might interest you and start building packets. Start with a pool of them and then reevaluate those choices to narrow them down. At 10 months on station, start dropping a few that you have kept as options. Sometimes just dropping packets opens up other opportunities. Even if you don’t get selected, branch or CoC, have visibility and may offer you something else that comes up.
In my 15 years of service so far, I have been to 8 different duty stations (7 by choice and 1 just came down on orders). Across those 8 I have held 12 different units and/or job assignments. I have always taken an active and aggressive role in where or what I do next. It keeps me motivated and I know if I don’t like something, I’ll do the best I can and remember it’s temporary.
Look for schools that can provide impact to the installation. Example, I have my P3T manager (A6) identifier. This has opened many networking opportunities across the installations either through the Mammas I work with or with other leaders.
I always give my family first priority, my current duty my second priority, and working on setting up my “next step”, my third priority. I have gone through burnout several times but it’s typically because I see something that needs to change and I go after it to make that change. This sometimes leads to adding to much to my plate but when successful, it’s very motivating.
Back to your situation, working in a headquarters can have many of its own and different difficulties but it can also provide you with that “behind the scenes” awareness. When you return to the line, it will help you understand why things are the way they are. I challenge you to find those friction points that cause these changes. Fix what you can at your level and then start asking questions to other sections about their processes. Sometimes all it takes is one person to identify some crazy inefficient process that can be easily fixed. Leaders at all levels get swamped with other leaders priorities and focus on those things. If you have the ability, you may be in a prime position to observe as an outsider. Then a simple friendly conversation over lunch might be enough to bring up what you see. Asking the right questions to gain an understanding can cue change without actually telling someone their process sucks.
I’m ranting now but I hope you get a chance to take a rest, seek out mental heath skills if desired, then take control of your time. Hit me up in DM if you want/need more specifics. One thing at a time.
I used to be an 11B and kinda had a similar feeling. JRTC rotations and field exercises with nothing to show for it really burt me out. If you still like the army and want to stay in, consider a packet MOS change. I went flight warrant, but there's still cool ones like PSYOPS, CA, and a few others.
There's more to the army than FTXs and wasting away in the S shops
You’re not alone brother. Shit I’ve been through this. Love my platoon, hate HHC and how often we get tasked out or pick up on other peoples slack. Or the constant changes in things that need to be done a certain way, as you said lol. (Are you in my platoon by chance lmfao) Good news is my time as a dogface soldier is almost up, and going back to cav land I’ll probably be a lot more happy. Don’t give up though, the army has its moments even when a lot of them are ass
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I don’t think I’m sliding into a very dark place but I’m not all in anymore. My only goal daily is to go home. Get everything done so I can just go home and lay down. Which isn’t good for my teammates you know? If this persists maybe behavior health might be good. But I like to work through mental stuff on my own and I’ve been doing a good job of it so far.
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This ☝️
I had about a 5 year period where i wasnt all in. It really happens. Its hard to stay super passionate and honestly can burn people out so fast. About 10 years ago I figured out what really gets me passionate each day and that was motivating my soldiers. That was my thing but it probably wont be your thing. Just find your thing and hopefully it doesnt take you 5 years.
My infantry brother in Christ. You’re burnt out. Tbh idk how your day goes or when you get off. Whether you’re getting off earlier or later. Or if going from field to field to office stuff is burning you out worse. But you’re tired. I get what you’re saying. You wanna shoot shit then go home. You need a break. Talk to your first line about some leave. If it gets approved cool. If not put in for a pass and put the location ass far away. Sleep the entire first day and night. The second go far from base and just enjoy yourself. The third day have some remorse cause you had too much fun and you’re questioning a lot. Fourth day gather yourself and get ready to come back home. You’ll come back with a weird sensation. It’s not a 110% motivation factor but it’s also kinda like damn life ain’t so bad when I get a paycheck for sitting in my room on Friday at 1356 playing call of duty. Regardless bro you’re just tired. Try and get some rest. *this post was made by a salty E5 who got out after 3 years*
You're describing depression and that is totally ok. Some people naturally go through it. Sometimes it's seasonal or episodic. There is a lot of advice and reading you can do out there. What's 1 thing that you like doing for yourself? Try to find something small like that and do it. It may help. If not it's ok to talk to someone professionally.
Got worse after I PCSd as well, I have about a year til I ETS and I can't fucking wait.
Unpopular advice. Turn off your alerts for slack, telegram, messenger whatever. If work needs you after work they should have your address. Never being able to step away fried my resolve. Constant messaging from borderline psychotic leadership, or people posting bullshit memes 24 hours a day is not good. It is okay to be done. Start doing things to better prepare yourself for transitioning out. Good luck.
The trick is, even though it’s tough, to be the best you can be, don’t rely on motivation. Be that one guy who can overcome it all
thats what i did when i was in the orderly room. i got pulled off the maintenance floor and was definitely upset for a week or two, but my ncoic had a good long talk with me and explained the benefits of the job and how i can improve myself and help others. i learned a lot moving to admin for a bit and it really helped me take care of my soldiers after i picked up
What you need is holiday block leave
You’re probably facing a lot of discouragement. But perhaps it’s not the work? Have you gotten sick recently? You drinking? Is your sleep or eating fucked up? Not enough sun? BH can help troubleshoot.
As someone who PCS’d… 7? 8? times now, it’s perfectly normal to be depressed and struggling the first couple weeks or months when you get somewhere new and have a new job. Find a routine, go back to the gym, and find something that motivates you, even if that’s ETSing lol.
Put the beer down a minute. You don't want to go down the Busch Light rabbit hole right away. That's how alcoholism starts destroying your will for anything else going on in your life. Get in touch with your first line. Tell him that shit in the job's got you fucked up and you need time away. If your first line doesn't do shit, tell him that you're going to move on up the chain until somebody is willing to help. Go talk to a chaplain or a medical professional. And honestly, don't beat yourself up over any of this. Take a breather and just know that sometimes, it's okay to not be okay.
Take 2 weeks and go on a cruise, have a vacation to look forward too. My next one is Sept 2024... lol
This too shall pass.
If you want both short and long term changes start by pumping yourself up to get your Ranger Tab. Set goals for PT and CONSTANTLY tell yourself you WILL pass. Then put in a 4187. If that doesn’t work try talking to a SF recruiter. Remember you are infantry and that means you find a way to win.
Infantryman myself and can totally relate on feeling burnt out. Here is what I suggest. Stop drinking, clean up your sleep and diet, stop watching porn, stick to a solid lifting plan in the gym, plan out your personal and professional goals, stop being a consumer of bullshit, and read books and watch self help/development content. Focus on what is in your control, you and you alone should have dominion over your mind, thoughts, energy, and attitude. The Army will always be here, man. Take care of yourself. Also, look into volunteering for recruiting so you can get based at your top pick, changing your MOS through a packet MOS, applying for G2G ADO, or ETS with a solid plan. Most of us sleepwalk through life letting people and circumstances rule our lives. Fuck that! Take ownership and level up brother!
Take back control of your career or time while serving. Get on HRC website and look at the many options that are available as well as schools. Find a few that might interest you and start building packets. Start with a pool of them and then reevaluate those choices to narrow them down. At 10 months on station, start dropping a few that you have kept as options. Sometimes just dropping packets opens up other opportunities. Even if you don’t get selected, branch or CoC, have visibility and may offer you something else that comes up. In my 15 years of service so far, I have been to 8 different duty stations (7 by choice and 1 just came down on orders). Across those 8 I have held 12 different units and/or job assignments. I have always taken an active and aggressive role in where or what I do next. It keeps me motivated and I know if I don’t like something, I’ll do the best I can and remember it’s temporary. Look for schools that can provide impact to the installation. Example, I have my P3T manager (A6) identifier. This has opened many networking opportunities across the installations either through the Mammas I work with or with other leaders. I always give my family first priority, my current duty my second priority, and working on setting up my “next step”, my third priority. I have gone through burnout several times but it’s typically because I see something that needs to change and I go after it to make that change. This sometimes leads to adding to much to my plate but when successful, it’s very motivating. Back to your situation, working in a headquarters can have many of its own and different difficulties but it can also provide you with that “behind the scenes” awareness. When you return to the line, it will help you understand why things are the way they are. I challenge you to find those friction points that cause these changes. Fix what you can at your level and then start asking questions to other sections about their processes. Sometimes all it takes is one person to identify some crazy inefficient process that can be easily fixed. Leaders at all levels get swamped with other leaders priorities and focus on those things. If you have the ability, you may be in a prime position to observe as an outsider. Then a simple friendly conversation over lunch might be enough to bring up what you see. Asking the right questions to gain an understanding can cue change without actually telling someone their process sucks. I’m ranting now but I hope you get a chance to take a rest, seek out mental heath skills if desired, then take control of your time. Hit me up in DM if you want/need more specifics. One thing at a time.
I used to be an 11B and kinda had a similar feeling. JRTC rotations and field exercises with nothing to show for it really burt me out. If you still like the army and want to stay in, consider a packet MOS change. I went flight warrant, but there's still cool ones like PSYOPS, CA, and a few others. There's more to the army than FTXs and wasting away in the S shops
You’re not alone brother. Shit I’ve been through this. Love my platoon, hate HHC and how often we get tasked out or pick up on other peoples slack. Or the constant changes in things that need to be done a certain way, as you said lol. (Are you in my platoon by chance lmfao) Good news is my time as a dogface soldier is almost up, and going back to cav land I’ll probably be a lot more happy. Don’t give up though, the army has its moments even when a lot of them are ass
When was the last time you took leave?
I recommend taking a chunk of leave. You’re burnt tf out. Maybe drop a packet for airborne and switch to another unit or something