Audio
[Friends Filter**]
I need to sort a few things out, so forgive me if I ramble. Maybe a solution will present itself. Or maybe someone has some insight that would be useful.
We're all working in a high-stress environment. Even on our most relaxed days, there's always the threat of something coming along and blindsiding us. I've been here for six months now, operating under these conditions and trying to behave professionally, which is really all any of us do, right?
I wonder what kind of psychological impact it has on us, to work and struggle to keep control in a high-stress environment. Does it inevitably lead to shorter tempers? Escapism? More importantly, self-abuse:
Have any of you noticed yourselves or others actively engaging in dangerous behavior? Excessive drinking, promiscuity, risk-taking, extreme sports, use of narcotics? Were you like that before you came here? If so, has the Barge enhanced these tendencies? Do you assess a given situation for the level of danger and find your interest is directly influenced - you are more engaged, the more hazardous the situation?
What's the solution? Do we just dismiss these patterns of behavior, or turn a blind eye to them because they're a byproduct of working in this environment? Do we confront them? If this is what happens at the boiling point of a difficult situation without any other emotional outlets, what else can we do?
[Sarah lets out a heavy sigh.]
It's not the incidents that get to me, here. The floods, Amanda's outbursts, the ports, the breaches. I thrive under those conditions.
It's the moments in between. This damn...waiting. The anticipation. The change from hypervigilance to a sudden expectation of normalcy.
It's as though I'm looking for ways to move from situation to situation so I don't have to think too hard about what just happened.
[A long pause follows this. In a businesslike tone, she continues:]
...I'm thinking about taking a week. Going home, getting my head on straight, and coming back with a fresh perspective. It's irresponsible, obviously. I just don't know if it's more or less irresponsible than staying and continuing on like I have been.
[**OOC: Sarah's 'friends filter' is not discriminating: Martha, Loki, the Marquis, Thursday Next, Neil Howie, Wanda, Parker, Una, Cissie, Steph, Wally West, Trip, Agent Kay, Tim Drake, Frances Owens, Rose Tyler, Barron Sharpe, the Fourth and Seventh Doctors, Armand St. Just, Luke Cage, Mark Hoffman, Rayne, Spike, Dick, Rex.
I might have missed someone. If you think you're on it, you probably are.]
I need to sort a few things out, so forgive me if I ramble. Maybe a solution will present itself. Or maybe someone has some insight that would be useful.
We're all working in a high-stress environment. Even on our most relaxed days, there's always the threat of something coming along and blindsiding us. I've been here for six months now, operating under these conditions and trying to behave professionally, which is really all any of us do, right?
I wonder what kind of psychological impact it has on us, to work and struggle to keep control in a high-stress environment. Does it inevitably lead to shorter tempers? Escapism? More importantly, self-abuse:
Have any of you noticed yourselves or others actively engaging in dangerous behavior? Excessive drinking, promiscuity, risk-taking, extreme sports, use of narcotics? Were you like that before you came here? If so, has the Barge enhanced these tendencies? Do you assess a given situation for the level of danger and find your interest is directly influenced - you are more engaged, the more hazardous the situation?
What's the solution? Do we just dismiss these patterns of behavior, or turn a blind eye to them because they're a byproduct of working in this environment? Do we confront them? If this is what happens at the boiling point of a difficult situation without any other emotional outlets, what else can we do?
[Sarah lets out a heavy sigh.]
It's not the incidents that get to me, here. The floods, Amanda's outbursts, the ports, the breaches. I thrive under those conditions.
It's the moments in between. This damn...waiting. The anticipation. The change from hypervigilance to a sudden expectation of normalcy.
It's as though I'm looking for ways to move from situation to situation so I don't have to think too hard about what just happened.
[A long pause follows this. In a businesslike tone, she continues:]
...I'm thinking about taking a week. Going home, getting my head on straight, and coming back with a fresh perspective. It's irresponsible, obviously. I just don't know if it's more or less irresponsible than staying and continuing on like I have been.
[**OOC: Sarah's 'friends filter' is not discriminating: Martha, Loki, the Marquis, Thursday Next, Neil Howie, Wanda, Parker, Una, Cissie, Steph, Wally West, Trip, Agent Kay, Tim Drake, Frances Owens, Rose Tyler, Barron Sharpe, the Fourth and Seventh Doctors, Armand St. Just, Luke Cage, Mark Hoffman, Rayne, Spike, Dick, Rex.
I might have missed someone. If you think you're on it, you probably are.]