For the last 4 years I have been managing having repetitive strain injuries in my hands and arms caused by overwork. My old job was 60 to 70 hour weeks researching news stories and industry trends, filling spreadsheets with data, managing databases, and generally using my hands and arms non-stop all day every day. At some point I started to lose feeling in my finger tips, I started getting shooting pain in my arms and sometimes all the way up my neck so that I couldn't move. What I didn't know was that I was overworking the muscles and tendons in my arms typing and mousing all day, not letting them rest, so the tendons became inflamed and put pressure on the nerves, causing a lot of pain. I had to take a year off of work (unpaid) to save my arms. It's been a long struggle since then getting back to work, and being able to find some kind of balance in my work life so that my arms don't go back to where they were. I live in San Francisco where there are many tech jobs if you are willing to work your whole life and injure your body. And it's tough to find work that pays the bills that doesn't put that kind of demand on you.

In the US, decades ago, worker unions fought hard for workplace protections. But as the majority of jobs have moved from manufacturing into the service industry, office workers don't have those same protections. Many believe they don't need them and are willing to work 70 hours a week to get ahead--they find great satisfaction in this. I used to think that way, until my body showed me that this system is abusive and wrong. Just because you work at a desk instead of a factory floor does not mean you are not in danger of getting hurt. I strongly believe that we need white collar unions to push back against management that every year makes workers work harder for less, telling you you should be happy you're working when so many people are unemployed.

I suppose this is rambling, but I just wanted to share this to get it off my chest. I have so many ideas and pictures in my head that I want to share, but I often find myself keeping away from the computer so that I don't wake up in pain the next day and so I can go to work.

Take care of your body, remember to rest, remember that you have limits even though your spirit may be willing.