Flashbacks from corporate world is causing intense anxiety...

Hi All,

Once upon a time I worked a corporate job and was very good at it.

It was my natural paranoia and obsessiveness that was actually a bonus to the company, as I handled a lot of complicated cases and handled them very well.

Unfortunately, it was the type of job that I took home with me and I eventually burned out.

No one knew how much I had been affected and negatively impacted by the corporate world and my response to it. It was dog-eat-dog, and quite frankly I cared. So, I left by quitting to move home to be near family.

Now, my cousin is in a situation where my work-knowledge is very helpful to her. And there's no question that I'm going to help her. I care.

The thing is is that helping her has brought back my feelings I had at work.

I am currently grinding my teeth, experiencing dry mouth and lower back pain. My anxiety is back and it feels like life or death... I'm really so freaked out.

I thought I left all that stress behind me...

I feel as though I'm right back in the corporate world again and I am so stressed...

My cousin needs help and I, too, need help in dealing with these flashbacks of different cases I worked on and so forth.

It feels as though I was at "work" today... the adrenaline is rushing and it feels like everything is going out of control.

I'm scared...

I need to feel safe again....

Thoughts?

@TheGal I am sorry you are having symptoms of the anxiety you faced in the corporate job. It was very stressful for me. I had to have creative outlets like music, art and writing to keep me from ruminating on the job when I went home.

I am not able to diagnose what may be the problem, but it seems from what you said that all this talk is bringing back trauma you experienced related to the job you had. So you could set a boundary and tell the person you are helping that you need to cut back on the amount of time you spend on that topic. It does not mean you have to drop talking altogether, but you may want to limit their venting and dumping all their problems on you.

One way to create distance is to have them email you their questions and you can reply as you are able. Not knowing what happens between you two, I suspect they may be using you to vent on. That is just very stressful for me and I do not believe very helpful. That is my best guess.

Hope you find a way to avoid this stressful situation from expanding and triggering past traumas.

Oh Thank you @CANDC !!

I really appreciate your response.

And I like your idea about emailing me the questions so I can answer in my own time, though this is time sensitive.

Keeping focused on other activities (such as creative pursuits, as you mention) is important.

Thank you. It means a lot to know someone else has experienced the corporate world, as well.

@TheGal yes I felt the pain of the corporate world. Fortunately I met up with this website after I retired and I got to respond to people in a caring way instead of always having to worry about the "bottom line." @CANDC

And you do so well helping us as moderator, @CANDC!

Thank you so much!!