Work and Stress!!!

I work in IT and it can be extremely stressful at times. You are responsible for the daily function of the business and almost everything is technology related. If something goes down your phone is ringing off the hook and people are yelling at you to get it fixed. Anymore I can't handle the stress. It is a trigger for anxiety and depression. On the very stressful days I want to walk out the door and never look back but I can't. I have a mountain of bills from being hypo and a family to support. Is there anything I can do to cope? I'm at my breaking point. I went on a rant to my wife this morning about how I can never work in a stressful job again. I'm broken and I don't know how to fix myself. Help!!!

I don't even have a constructive reply I just know dem feels

It sounds like you need a break hun, is there some other line of work that you can get into? I deal with customers too, but at times it's more than I can handle. Fortunately for me, I'm self employed in interior design, so the days I just can't, I don't.

Because of bipolar I can't work with others, so I started working like this.

Once I had a nice 2 week stay in a psych hospital...like locked in which made all the stress melt away. It was a nice one, so it wasn't too bad, of course it's like jail, but with the freedom to roam and socialize. They also adjusted my meds for the better.

I hope that you find a way before you break and do something that you'll truly regret. Hoping for you!

Thank you AlwaysChanging2! You have such kind words. You seem like a real sweetheart!

Working in IT can be really awesome... If you're not the one dealing with tickets or with people directly. It is eternally frustrating arguing with someone who thinks they know how it works. People think there is a magic switch we can flick and fix everything. No sir, I cannot unsend your email. No ma'am I can't find your personal email password for you. Sorry boss I can't fix a server that's 1000 mikes away from us. No sir I don't know why Time Warner shut off our service while fixing their boxes. Pffft. Hey IT guy, I'm locked out of windows because I can't remember my password, can you hack me in?? I feel you on this.

Are you on call even outside regular work hours? Are you short staff? Or is just the work itself, the nature of the day-to-day demands as you describe that are getting to you? Are you in a position to be able to do a job search in your "off hours" to find a position that is more manageable? Computers are everywhere. A different business or organization might be a better fit. Or, are you just tired of IT period? Maybe you could use transferrable skills and looking to different career options. I've worked at and current do work stressful positions. But there are aspects of my job that I still like. I guess I try to make sure to have outlets for the stress (exercise, punching bag, fixing non-work things, do fun activities, etc.). Sometimes, I find myself in a Catch-22 with work stress and my bipolar cycles too. The work stress and bipolar issues almost always exacerbate each other and I know tend to escalate the hating on my job and everyone associated with it whenever I am cycling, but I don't necessarily realize it at the time. Sorry if I haven't helped much. These are just some thoughts. I hope you find something that works for you.

If something goes down your phone is ringing off the hook and people are yelling at you to get it fixed. It seems to me that all you can do is your best and I expect your best is, looked at objectively, pretty good. Is it possible to have a sense of detachment? People often get arsy with me, but ultimately I just do a job and am part of team with joint responsibility.

In fact I take wry pleasure in remarks like, "well now what seems to be the problem here?", "I am sure it cannot be as bad as it looks, let me have peek at the log files", and "ah yes, this is a difficult matter indeed, but happily we have the expertise to find a solution (i.e. google for an answer) although it may take a little while".

I worked in IT for twenty years and the most important thing I did to cope was compartmentalize. When I was on the job, I was ON THE JOB and home stuff didn't exist -- I lived for the job. When I was home, the job didn't exist. Period. It was the only way I could manage to survive. It might work for you.