u/dmkraus

I’m struggling to figure out whether I’m burned out by my current work environment or if I’m just in the wrong field entirely. I’ve been in the same general career path for several years. On paper it’s fine: decent pay, stable, reasonable growth. But lately I feel drained before the workday even starts, and tasks I used to handle easily now feel weirdly heavy

The problem is I can’t tell if this is a “take a vacation, change companies, set better boundaries” problem or a “you picked the wrong career and ignored the signs for years” problem.

I’ve talked to people who changed employers and got their energy back almost immediately. I’ve also talked to people who kept switching companies only to realize they hated the actual work itself.

For those who’ve been through this, what helped you tell the difference? Did you test it somehow before making a big move? Side projects, informational interviews, time off, therapy, internal role changes?

I’m trying to avoid blowing up a stable career because of temporary burnout, but I also don’t want to waste years convincing myself things will magically improve. Curious how others figured this out

I'm looking at switching jobs and trying to compare health plans partly based on mental health coverage. I see a therapist weekly and it adds up fast. The summary of benefits all say something like "mental health outpatient services covered" but when I dig deeper the details get murky. Some plans list a copay per session. Others apply it to the deductible first and then coinsurance kicks in. A few have session limits per year even though I thought that wasn't allowed anymore. I asked HR for the full plan documents and got blank stares.
For those who've had to compare plans specifically for ongoing therapy, what numbers actually matter? Do I just look at the out-of-pocket max and assume I'll hit it? Or is there a way to estimate real costs without calling every insurance company and hoping the rep gives me correct info? Also curious if anyone has been burned by narrow networks where technically mental health is covered but no in-network therapists within 50 miles actually accept new patients.

I have been working on a packaging project for a small skincare brand. The client keeps giving me feedback that makes logical sense. Move this logo up for better shelf visibility. Increase the contrast here. Make the ingredient list larger. None of these notes are wrong. But every time I apply them, the design loses the character that made it interesting in the first place. I am ending up with something safe, readable, and totally forgettable. I tried pushing back gently on a few points, but the client says they trust me on the creative stuff, they just want these practical changes. Now I am stuck. If I ignore their requests, I look like a difficult designer. If I follow them all, the work feels like a soulless template.

For designers who have been in this loop, how do you preserve the soul of a project when the client keeps chipping away at the parts that actually worked? Do you pick one hill to die on and let the rest go? Or do you find a way to meet the practical needs without killing the vibe entirely? I am trying to figure out where to draw the line between listening to good feedback and watching a project get flattened into nothing.

I am a graphic designer working in house for a mid sized company. Most of my day is spent on clean corporate layouts, blue buttons, white backgrounds, the kind of work that pays the bills but does not exactly fill a portfolio with anything I am proud of. I have noticed lately that my personal work is starting to look like my job work. The experiments I used to do with texture and typography and color just feel harder to access now. It is like my brain has been trained to make things safe and readable and nothing else. I still paint and take photos on weekends, which helps, but when I sit down to design something for myself I freeze up or default to the same grid I have been using all week. I am worried that years of playing it safe at work will permanently sand down whatever made my style interesting in the first place.

How do other in house designers keep their creative voice alive outside of work? Do you do daily prompts, sketchbook exercises, personal rebrand projects? Or do you just accept that your job style and your real style are two separate things and let them coexist? I want to stay sharp and weird and I am scared of becoming the kind of designer who only knows how to make things look professional.

just tried to rotate my king size hybrid mattress by myself and im pretty sure I tore a shoulder muscle.

It is actually ridiculous how heavy beds have gotten lately. You pay two grand for a massive slab of polyurethane and springs, it weighs a ton, and the "revolutionary cooling gel" they market still makes you sweat through your sheets by 4am anyway. It’s just greedy mattress companies stacking 10 useless layers of foam on top of each other so they can justify a ridiculous price tag

Im completely overhauling my room setup and going back to basics. Getting rid of the bulky upholstered frame that just collects dust and putting in a simple low profile wooden platform. Also giving up on foam entirely. I ended up getting a wool mattress from home of wool because it actually breathes and I wont need to hire a moving crew just to flip it over

Still need to figure out pillows though. every down pillow I buy just flattens into a sad pancake after a month and the memory foam ones give me neck cramps

I have booked three cruises now, always through an online travel agent that specializes in cruises. I get onboard credit, sometimes prepaid gratuities, and the price is always exactly the same as what the cruise line website shows. But whenever I talk to people in cruise groups, a lot of them say they always book directly with Royal or Carnival or whoever. I am trying to understand if I am missing something. Are there disadvantages to using a TA that I have not run into yet? Do you get better upgrade offers or customer service when something goes wrong if you booked direct? I have heard stories about people having trouble changing things when their TA is unavailable, but I have not needed that yet.
I also wonder if the onboard credit and perks from TAs are actually worth it or if the cruise lines quietly treat direct bookers better in terms of room assignments or waitlists. For people who have done both, did you notice any real difference in how things went or is it just personal preference?

I have been working on a branding project for a local bakery and I am stuck in that endless loop of tiny adjustments. Move this logo a few pixels. Try a different shade of cream. Adjust the kerning on the subhead for the tenth time. I know at some point I just need to call it done and send it to the client, but I keep finding things I want to tweak.

Part of me thinks this is just perfectionism getting in the way of progress. Another part worries I am missing something obvious that they will notice immediately. I have tried setting deadlines for myself and stepping away for a day to get fresh eyes, but even when I come back I still want to change things.

For experienced designers, how do you actually know when something is finished? Is there a mental checklist you run through? Do you wait until you hate looking at it? Or do you just accept that nothing is ever truly finished and ship it anyway? I am not talking about client revisions or feedback loops, just the internal moment when you decide to stop moving things around and let the work exist.

 I love the idea of cruising and have been on two short trips. But both times I spent the first full day feeling terrible from the motion. I used the wrist bands and took ginger chews. The second time I tried meclizine but it made me so sleepy I could not enjoy the ports. I want to book a longer cruise to Alaska or the Mediterranean but I am afraid of being miserable for a week. Does your body eventually just get used to it after a few days at sea? Are certain cabins really that much better? I was on deck 8 midship both times and still felt everything. Would a larger ship make a difference? I see people posting about transatlantic cruises and I cannot imagine surviving that many days moving. Looking for real advice from people who get sick easily but still cruise. Not looking for people who say they never feel anything.

Alt titles: Do you ever actually get used to seasickness or is it always there | Best tips for cruising with severe motion sickness | Will a bigger ship or specific cabin help with seasickness

I have owned my 1910 foursquare for about three years now. During renovations I have found the usual stuff like old newspapers from the 1940s, a few rat skeletons, and some ancient wiring that made my electrician shudder. But yesterday I found something genuinely weird. I opened up a wall in the pantry to move a pipe and there was a child's leather shoe tucked between the studs. Not a pair, just one shoe. It looked like it had been there for decades. I looked it up and apparently hiding shoes in walls was sometimes a superstition for good luck or to ward off evil spirits. Now I am wondering what else is hidden in places I have not looked yet.

For other century home owners, what is the oddest thing you have discovered? Not the charming finds like vintage bottles or old photos, but the stuff that made you say huh or why would someone put that there. I want to know about the mysteries. Also curious if anyone has ever found something that made them genuinely uncomfortable or if you just left it where you found it. Part of me wants to tear open every wall now and part of me is afraid of what I will find.

I’m trying to figure out the smartest way to assess my market value before deciding whether to push for a raise or start applying elsewhere. I’ve seen people suggest using sites like Glassdoor or Payscale, but the ranges there feel all over the place and sometimes outdated

For context, I’ve taken on significantly more responsibility over the past year (leading projects, training others, handling work that used to be split across multiple roles), but my compensation hasn’t really changed. I don’t want to walk into a raise conversation with unrealistic expectations, but I also don’t want to undersell myself

How are you all determining your actual market value in a practical sense? Are recruiters a reliable source if you’re not actively job hunting yet? Is it better to just interview elsewhere and use offers as leverage? Or are there other ways to benchmark (networking, industry groups, etc.) that have worked for you?

Also curious how much weight you give to internal company pay bands versus external market rates when deciding your next move

Would appreciate any strategies or personal experiences that helped you navigate this.

Had a meeting this morning with a local coffee shop owner. She sent me a Pinterest board full of one specific brand from Portland. Not inspiration, like literally wants their menu layout, their color palette, their illustration style. I tried explaining why that's a bad idea legally and creatively but she kept saying well theyre successful so just do that.
I get being inspired by something you love. But lifting someone elses visual identity feels wrong. Plus that brand has years of equity built up. Copying them wont give you their customers.
How do you talk clients off this ledge without losing the project? Do you walk away or try to steer them toward something original that still gives them that same vibe? Curious how other designers handle the we want it exactly like this conversation.

I recently had a claim partially denied by my insurance, and it got me thinking about how others deal with this process. The explanation of benefits wasn’t super clear, and after calling, I got a pretty generic response that didn’t fully explain why part of the service wasn’t covered.

I know appeals are an option, but they seem time-consuming and not always successful. For those who have gone through it, how do you decide when it’s worth appealing versus just paying the bill and moving on? Are there certain denial reasons that are more likely to be overturned?

Also, any tips on how to approach the appeal itself? For example, is it better to get documentation from the provider first, or start with the insurance company? And how detailed does the appeal need to be to actually have a chance?

I’m trying to figure out a repeatable approach so I don’t feel stuck every time this happens. Would appreciate hearing how others navigate this, especially if you’ve had success getting a denial reversed.

I'm trying to decide between my employer's two plans and could use some outside perspective. I'm generally healthy but I have one specialty medication that costs about $3000 per month before insurance. Both plans cover it but differently.

Plan A is a PPO with 200monthlypremium,200monthlypremium,1000 deductible, 20% coinsurance for specialty drugs, and $6000 out of pocket max.

Plan B is an HDHP with 80monthlypremium,80monthlypremium,3000 deductible, 0% coinsurance for specialty drugs after deductible, and 5000outofpocketmax.ItalsocomeswithanHSAthatmyemployercontributes5000outofpocketmax.ItalsocomeswithanHSAthatmyemployercontributes500 to.

I ran the numbers and if I hit the OOP max, the HDHP costs less overall. But what worries me is the first few months of the year before I hit the deductible. That 3000drugmeansI′dbepayingfullpriceuntilIhit3000drugmeansI′dbepayingfullpriceuntilIhit3000, which is a big upfront hit even though I know it balances out later.

Is there any way to negotiate or use a copay card from the manufacturer to help with that initial deductible period? I've heard some specialty meds have programs but I'm not sure if those work with HDHPs or if they cause compliance issues. I don't want to accidentally mess up my HSA eligibility.

Would love to hear from anyone who takes expensive meds and has made this choice. Thanks.

I’m trying to choose between two employer plans and keep going in circles. One has a low premium but a pretty high deductible and out-of-pocket max, while the other has a higher monthly cost but much lower cost-sharing when you actually use it

I’m relatively healthy, no ongoing conditions, and I don’t go to the doctor often beyond annual checkups. So on paper, the high deductible plan seems like the “cheaper” option most years. But then I start thinking about worst-case scenarios (accidents, unexpected diagnoses, etc.), and the numbers get intimidating fast

I understand the general advice about looking at total annual cost (premium + deductible + out-of-pocket max), but I’m struggling with how people actually weigh risk tolerance in real life. Do you mostly optimize for the most likely scenario (low usage), or do you lean toward more predictable costs in case something big happens?

Also, for those who’ve been in a similar situation, did your choice end up matching how much care you actually used that year? I’d appreciate hearing how others approach this decision beyond just the math

i cant count how many accounts ive blown. seriously. not because my setups were bad. i actually have a decent win rate when i stick to my plan. problem is i cant take a loss. every time i lose i feel this fire in my chest and i HAVE to win it back immediately. same day same hour sameminute. and every time i dig myself deeper. bigger size. shittier entries. no stops.

last month i lost one trade in the morning. by lunch i had doubled my size revenge trading. by market close i was down 3x what i started with. sat there staring at the screen feeling like the biggest idiot on earth. again. same story different month.

bro said just use a demo for a month . i literally laughed at him. but i was desperate so i did it. started trading fake money. felt stupid at first. pressing buttons with no real consequence. whats the point right? but something happened around week two. i revenge traded on the sim too. same dumb behavior same tilt. but watching myself do it with zero pain on the line made me see how insane it is. like why am i doing this? its not even real money and im still acting like a maniac.

im back on real money now. small size. like really small. i still lose sometimes. thats fine. but i dont revenge anymore. when i take a loss i just close the laptop and walk away. sometimes i go make coffee. sometimes i just stare at the wall. anything but clicking that buy button again.

question for you. what do you do immediately after a loss to stop yourself from revenge trading? i need a concrete rule because my brain still wants to fight back sometimes.