Good Evening

[Rxcon]

Hi all,

First time I had what I thought was an attack was monday then I started doing a lot of reading. Hopefully in the right places and hopefully getting the right advice.

I had no idea what to do, so I did call my co-worker that had an attack, at which point he talked me through the whole thing. It was the freakiest thing. I've done a lot of fairly scary stuff like jumping out of an airplane but I have to say not knowing what is happening is even worse.

I started freaking out for no reason and started uncontrollably crying. (I'm glad I can do this under anonymity :) )

Now that I have done some research some of the signs were and are obvious that led up to this attach.

Well thats my intro .. that is all. I'll be searching for tips on how to head this off by my self. I'm not really into taking medicine since, first I dont want to rely on them, nor am I good about taking them, and lastly I'm afraid of getting addicted to them.

r

[RabidBadger]

Hi Rxcon

You say in your post that you are "glad you can do this under anonimity". Does that mean that you are ashamed to admit that you were freaked out or crying? Does this mean you hide your emotions and keep them in?

The answers are all within us somewhere. It's not always easy to find them but they are there.

Good luck

Chris

[Rxcon]

I guess not really ashamed as I told a few co-workers that I can trust. I do not think that I can just talk to anyone about it. And that is one of the dilemmas I have right now, I trust these guys and talk to them and they are a huge part of my out-let... but work is one of the things that I think is triggering my stress so I'm going to have to find a new job The stress level wont change anytime soon. Not because the work is stressful, but because my boss is a f'n moron and does not know how to run the business and all my customers are pissed at me and they cant make payroll all the time. Basically not a good situation to be in ...

the tendency is to be more open when you know that people you are talking to have no judgment of you. Maybe ist just my way of controlling who knows for now until I can figure out what the hell is going on.

r

[RabidBadger]

Hi Rxcon

Did you feel better when you told your co-workers about your issues? I'll say you did because half of the anxiety that makes up your anxiety is trying to hide things and maintain a sense of normality.

Everybody has their weaknesses and there is no shame in admitting it - shame on those who can't I'd say.

Do you honestly think any other job is going to be less stressful? The stress is in you, not in the job. Psychologists use this equation... E + R = O. Event plus reaction = outcome. It is your reaction to the events that causes stress, not the events themselves. Events have no meaning to you other than the context that you put them in. It is your perception that makes an event good or bad.

Please don't think I'm criticising you because I know exactly how you feel and I know that it is f**king hard but you will encounter negative situations in any job - it is down to you to deal with it.

Chris

[Rxcon]

Well yes I absolutely did... These are they guys I work and talk with everyday. Two of them have been throught this before and its the only reason I knew what was going on.

"Do you honestly think any other job is going to be less stressful? The stress is in you, not in the job. Psychologists use this equation... E + R = O. Event plus reaction = outcome. It is your reaction to the events that causes stress, not the events themselves. Events have no meaning to you other than the context that you put them in. It is your perception that makes an event good or bad. "

Well I'll have to disagree with you on this one. yes another job would be less stressful. . . But I do understand your point of how a person reacts to a situation creates the stress. Let me fill in the detail a bit so you can see why I believe that a change in jobs would relieve stress. Perhaps I'm not seeing all the options. I currently have two houses and I can cover them both as I'm renting one of them so I'm fine there. Our company is failing and cannot always pay me on time which really screws me up on finances wondering if I'll get that next pay check on time to cover the bills. Since 4 people have left, the work load has tripled and there are simply not enough hours or men to fill the work so the responsbility falls on us. OT has be capped because they cant afford to pay it and 90% of my customers are now pissed at me for not performing, something I have been proud to say I have been able to magange till this new guy bought the company. I have never been under fire like this before.

The only way I've been able to settle my self down in the past few months is by strictly limiting my hours, not bringing my work home with me, and trying to relax with my co-workers by laughing at our current situation. Hell all of us are looking for new work; but thats part of the depression of what is happening.

IDK, maybe I'm not seeing everything I can do in this situation and someone else that has been in my position could shed some light on other options, but right now I dont see them.

There are only so many thing we can do to deal with the stress of this workplace environment, and only so many things we can do to control the situation.

Leaving work is the way I'm controling it and reacting to reduce my stress and improving my job situation and other life situations. Another extreme example I guess would be leaving the NYSE exchange floor to open up a pet store. Stress may not be in the job but it can cause it in a person is all I'm saying; there are a lot of things that a person can do to change how they react to specific situations but once its out of their hands, what can they do.

I realize that there are negatives to every job, but how many are you willing to accept before you change them or change your situation? the previous owner made the place so much more workable to the point where I would stay that extra 2-3 hours to get things done. This guy is just an ass.

thoughts?

r