Quote:
Originally Posted by hvert
Is there anything specific at work that's causing the stress?
I've had the same problem with work stress before, where it starts to seem like the only solution is to get out of that workplace. Over the years I've started to realize that I am contributing to my problems by not having good boundaries in the first place. Eventually I get to a breaking point.
These are a few things that helped me with the work stress:
1. Remind myself when I start to obsessively think about work when at home that I am not being paid to think about work when I am not in the office.
2. Work on plans to leave that workplace. Send out resumes, go on interviews. Sometimes interviewing somewhere else makes me realize that my current job is better than the alternative 
3. Develop really encompassing hobbies outside of work that help distract me from the problems. I am not sure if you have this problem as well, but I started to lose self confidence due to one horrible work situation. Finding something I was good at outside of work (volunteering, community projects) made me feel better.
If you figure out how to set boundaries at work, please tell me the secret |
Oh, setting boundaries personally at work is easy, but it's the stress that isn't. I have some "rules" for work.
-I go to work for work and not to make friends
-I keep myself out of gossip
-I keep my personal life personal
-When people would ask what I was up to or did, I'd keep it really generic. I didn't want to share too much because people are nosy and then they can make something small into a huge mountain.
-I was always polite and professional, and made sure I was easy to approach
-I made it known I was a private person and after a while people respected that. I'm also from an ethnic group where it's stereotypical to be known for being private, so I was able to get away with it. LOL
Usually what stresses me out at work is the disorder or someone making my life miserable. Whenever a workplace has been really chaotic-- no structure, lots of disorganization, expected to drop something right away to do something completely different, etc.