Dear Kiantha: Rest is a necessity, too

Dear Kiantha,

I am ashamed to say that I fell asleep at a stop light on my way home from work last night. Thankfully I did not cause an accident, but the incident has me anxious. I work a fulltime job and a part-time job. Due to my finances, I cannot quit either job although it is starting to affect my health. I don’t know what to do.

Dear Friend,

Rest is not a recommendation it is a requirement. Working two jobs takes a toll on your body and your mental health. Falling asleep at the wheel is both scary and extremely dangerous – and it is your body’s way of taking the rest it needs, in the moment that it needs it.

I read an article in USA Today that said roughly 5 million Americans hold one full-time and one part-time job, so you are definitely not alone. In most cases people don’t work two jobs because they love to work. Instead, they work two jobs because they need to live and make ends meet.

The impact of inflation is significant and has caused the cost of nearly everything to skyrocket. The cost of housing, food and basic needs have stretched many folks to the point of needing to secure additional resources just to survive but the tax on our minds and bodies is high.

Increased financial stress forces us between a rock and a hard place. While sleep and rest is critical, neither of them pays the bills. The quandary then becomes how do you survive when you need to earn money for the basic necessities of life and you need to rest?

Quitting one of your jobs is likely not a viable option for you. It is also not sustainable to continue to work in a way that does not allow you to get adequate rest. The solution lies somewhere in the crevasse of the two. We must give what we can and take what we need.

Not getting proper rest puts you in the line of fire for situations that can ultimately cost you much more than money, it could cost you your life.

May the resources and rest you need be afforded to you.

Soul to soul,

Kiantha

Dear Kiantha can be read Fridays in The Spokesman-Review. To submit a question, email DearKiantha@gmail.com.