13 Traumatic Jobs That Have Some of the “Worst” Impacts on Employees' Mental Health

Jobs With the Worst Impact on Mental Health

Every job has its ups and downs, but there are some that carry more emotional weight than others. Redditors discussed some jobs that hit employees' mental health the hardest. Some of their remarks were general commentaries on the nature of some types of work while others provided specific and often lurid anecdotes .

Therapist

This commenter argued that any profession where you're constantly listening to the traumatic experiences people have endured day in and day out can become mentally exhausting after a period of time.

Child Protective Services

Seeing the abuse and neglect children are subjected to can trigger mental health issues in CPS workers. The "highly stressful work environments" of these individuals have been analyzed by the National Institutes of Health , and post-traumatic stress disorder has been associated with the nature of CPS work.

Inner-city public school teacher

One Reddit user broke down why they ended up leaving the profession after hearing about the domestic violence children were exposed to. Teachers deal with so much strife, including the threat of violence, on a daily basis.

FBI evidence sifters

Crime evidence, including things like CSAM (child sexual abuse material), needs to be sifted through by evidence reviewers who piece together proof for prosecution. To have to constantly sift through these images, this Redditor stated , must be a horrifying vocation to pursue.

Payday loans

This commenter stated that working at a place that gives loans to folks who need to be carried over until payday, felt "like legally working for the devil." Presumably because of the interest/cut of money that's taken from workers until their paychecks arrive.

Oncologist

Having to break the news to someone that they have cancer isn't an enviable job. This Reddit user stated that their father was tasked with this very job. While they said that their pops handled it well, having to determine whether or not the "toxic treatment" they're administering to their patients is either helping or killing them can't ever get easier.

First responder

As this Redditor pointed out and people who responded to their comment as well, eventually, those who work in emergency medical or any type of first response unit will watch someone die before their very eyes.

"Definitely have seen multiple die, as well as plenty of already dead, brains on walls, etc. None of it was nearly as bad as responding to a dying infant, then having to stand around while EMS is going through the motions for the sake of the parents."

Crime scene cleanup

Having to witness the aftermath of traumatic murder, abuse, and neglect, not to mention potential exposure to blood-borne pathogens and other fluids left behind by other members of one's species will mentally affect a person, according to this user .

Detective in a special investigations unit

This retired detective detailed how they would be left "seething" with "white rage" after seeing some of the abuses people subject children to. So much so that they would get up and punch an inanimate object. "There is no redemption for people who abuse children," they wrote in their post.

Social work

Seeing the type of conditions that families are forced to live in on a daily basis, and, as a worker of the state, having to follow bureaucratic procedures in order to extricate otherwise helpless people from these situations, can do a number on one's mental health.

Caregiver

One Redditor wrote that they've constantly dealt with "racist" patients who hurl slurs at them on a daily basis. Then, having people die suddenly after you've developed close bonds with them at the end of their lives is a lot to deal with.

Psychiatrist in a state prison

Another user discussed how a family friend would routinely have to cancel dinner plans because they couldn't get the stench of human excrement "that was hurled at her at work" off of her. Other times she was told to stay home because a plot had been found to kill or "sexually assault" her.

Veterinarians

Veterinary professionals purportedly have a high level of suicide — having to routinely put pets down and see signs of neglect/abuse from owners weighs heavily on those in the field.