In most cases I restrain myself from passing a judgement on obsessive eaters.
In recent weeks though, I have become severely agitated when I go to my classroom which has a sign right on the door reading "NO FOOD OR DRINK" and people insist on bringing their dinner or their snacks in and eating them in front of everyone while people are trying to do their work and socializing while they eat. The classroom should not be treated like their living room.
They almost seem to be testing their limits. The teacher lets them get away with it and the school has ignored the complaint I sent to them.
I find the sound of them chewing their food revolting, offensive and distracting. Sometimes the sound of the food sloshing inside their mouths gives me chills down my spine.
The cafeteria is just right in walking distance, a place where if I see them eating, I refrain from evaluating them.
They also have option to take their food outside, a place where I can easily mind my own business.
Not only do people insist on bringing food into class but also continue to eat for extended periods of time. They go get more food after they finish what they have.
Unless it's a small class with a mutual agreement about food, eating in front of people is disgusting and disrespectful.
If you are uber sensitive to smell and sound, you better pick a new career. Nursing is a noisy and smelly environment. If you can't handle the snap, crackle and pop of chip bags and the smells of food, how are you anti-eating people going to handle a job on a nursing floor?
Alarms going off, intercom codes, machines and of course the smells of urine, vomit and poop---- how annoying..
one has little to nothing to do with the other. this is a fairly obvious example of self-centeredness, "I MUST be allowed to eat, no matter what, because I WANT to."
If you are uber sensitive to smell and sound, you better pick a new career. Nursing is a noisy and smelly environment. If you can't handle the snap, crackle and pop of chip bags and the smells of food, how are you anti-eating people going to handle a job on a nursing floor?
Alarms going off, intercom codes, machines and of course the smells of urine, vomit and poop---- how annoying..
If you are uber sensitive to smell and sound, you better pick a new career. Nursing is a noisy and smelly environment. If you can't handle the snap, crackle and pop of chip bags and the smells of food, how are you anti-eating people going to handle a job on a nursing floor?
Alarms going off, intercom codes, machines and of course the smells of urine, vomit and poop---- how annoying..
That's a little different if you think about it, look up misophonia. This can be centered around specific sounds while other sounds are ok.
I'm personally ok with people eating, unless I have to watch them eat, then it's disgusting, but I can always look away. Now if they're loud eaters, such as lip smackers and finger suckers, then I cringe. But the worst for me are loud drinkers, people that gulp, uggh, I can't stand that sound, even when I accidentely do it myself. I also hate the smell of italian pasta dishes, it's nauseating.
Other sounds and smells don't bother me, beeping I can deal with, same with feces and urine, it doesn't sound like it makes sense to most people, but when you live with it, it makes complete sense.
It seems to be the common thing in the OPs school to ignore the rule about eating. This is a cultural shift. I'm trying to think back to when I was in nursing school over 20 years ago. I can't recall if people snacked in class or not. But American culture, in general, has become more permissive, and more boorish and rude in a lot of ways. Like one person said early in the thread, libraries used to have silence rigidly enforced, and now talking and eating are tolerated. Hospitals used to have strict rules as well, and now visitors come and go as they please, kids run in the halls, and take out food litters the pt's room.
I do think the culture tolerates too much uncouth behavior. Loudly snacking on junk food in the classroom isn't exactly either good health habits nor very polite. In fact, a lot of nursing students report gaining weight in nursing school. A lot of us in America have a big problem with our eating habits, and frankly our manners are often rather rough around the edges.
Look at how the OP was attacked for saying it gets on her nerves, that she would like the posted rules enforced because people are abusing it and it's distracting to her. All the snackers on this thread are up in arms against the OP who merely has a preference for what actually used to be a cultural norm, of eating at meal time, in designated areas, and being able to make it through a lecture without snacking and drinking pop.
It actually doesn't personally bother me, we snack at work a lot and it's officially against the rules. But, in the ER it's hard to predict when you will be able to get a break. I do advise the OP to try to desensitize herself, because the culture we live in is very lax about this sort of thing. As you can see here, the folks who want permissiveness regarding this seem to outnumber those who would appreciate a more structured society
I wouldn't bring food with raw onions, garlic, or curry, but I usually brought something non-stinky to a classroom since the classes were 4 + hours long.
By all means please bring your curry! Just know that I will likely be in the back corner burning with jealousy and bugging you at the end of class to know where you got it!
I don't so much mind eating in class as a whole rather what you eat! If you want to bring your full course meal fine but be quite about it. What I hate is chip bags, or noisy drinks with tons of ice...anything that rattles, shakes, or makes noise. That is disrespectful to me.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
- If I see a 'don't eat/drink' sign, I don't.
- I wouldn't be reporting the eaters. That's just unnecessary.
- Other people eating in class? I wouldn't call it 'rude' but I'm very anal about dining etiquette/table manners and I really can't tolerate the sound of people 'eating'. So long as people are 'seen and not heard'? I'm fine. I probably won't notice it. In fact, I never notice people eating in class.
Gum-chewing is another story. If you want to see me get irrationally hostile? Sit next to me in a quiet room and start popping your gum. I've had words with a woman over it, once. I, literally, despise people who 'snap' their gum. LOL
It's just a disgusting habit.
I want to rip the lips right off the face of a person who cracks gum.
I attended an evening and weekend part-time program, so my classmates and I were often eating in class. In my case, I left my full-time Monday through Friday job at 6 pm, hopped in my car and drove thirty to forty minutes to school and prayed traffic didn't make me late for class. We had class that would last until at least 9 pm, sometimes 10. While I was in school I also had the responsibility of two children, a husband, a dog and a home with a large yard, so I think I figured out the whole 'time management' thing. But I do agree that people should make every effort to be as quiet as possible. (My sister suffers from misophonia, as a child it became a family joke, she couldn't even stand to hear anyone breathing!)
I think it's petty to worry about what someone else is doing in class. Who cares if they're eating? How does that have any affect on anyone else? We're all adults and busy and trying to do multiple things at once to try and fit it all into one schedule. I see nothing wrong with it and could care less what anyone else is doing so long as it's not loud and distracting. But eating? Just as noisy as someone taking notes. Are they just eating or making a bunch of noise? Are they just taking notes or clicking their pen over and over until you want to smash their pen into a million pieces? I would argue that it's not the activity but how it's gone about.
MidLifeRN2012
316 Posts
If you are uber sensitive to smell and sound, you better pick a new career. Nursing is a noisy and smelly environment. If you can't handle the snap, crackle and pop of chip bags and the smells of food, how are you anti-eating people going to handle a job on a nursing floor?
Alarms going off, intercom codes, machines and of course the smells of urine, vomit and poop---- how annoying..