Stress Center Peer Support

I think our office is jinxed;

2 girls gave their notice in December, we have
2 new girls who are training, One long time
employee is out with Ovarian Cancer, one girl
had a bad migraine attack yesterday EMT's came to our office ;and she won't be in for the rest of the week, another long time employee had a
Stress attack, EMTs came to the office.
ACKKKKKKK! I am about to pull my hair out!!!
We are all taking on these OTHER jobs and trying
to keep ahead thru this all.
On top of it I have A LOT of my own work to do
and deadlines to meet.

PLEASE give me some words of comfort and things
I can do to calm myself and not feel so OVERWHELMED!!!!!

Sounds like the office I used to work in for many years. It seemed to go in cycles depending on who was out on leave, what stress the managers were under at the time etc. It didn't stay that way forever though and things would eventually go back to normal. I had a hard time staying calm. And at one point had to take medication just to get to work. I put a water fountain in my cubicle and had small inspirational books on hand to read over when I needed it, arranged my space according to Feng Shui, took fast paced walks on my breaks, did some slow deep breathing and stretching exercises several times a day, and put some calming photos and pictures up everywhere to break the mental image of me going mad. I also put a sign up at my entrance when I was on break that said "Do not disturb I am taking a break". If it gets that bad you may want to consider changing jobs - maybe closer to where you live so that you don't have such an awful commute. Is that possible?

Thanks SO much for the great tips; I wish I had
my own office-unfortunately I sit right out in
the open area so I can supervise the girls but it would be nice to have an enclosed office.

I have been looking a job(on & off) and have went on a few interviews but nothing has come up yet. I am finding that in my field of profession it is hard
to 'branch out' to an industry/or institution.
Once your 'branded' in a certain field for so long.
Yes you're right, the commute is horrible so by
the time I get here I am already stressed out
b/c I can't be late or else I get fired. So I
worry when I am stuck in traffic and start panicking.
I know this is temporary though, the girls are
sick and will come back;;; eventually, but add
this problem with the commute (which I hate
every day) and it's not a good situation to be
in every day. I am exposing myself to a lot of
stress every day.

The office really isn't so stressful on a normal day.
Usually I just deal with the Commute Hell.

I am going to be positive about it and think of it as an opportunity to brush up on my 'clerical' skills - And at least it looks good to my boss that I am helping out.

I have to be honest-- I HATE dealing with the
commute everyday and hassles of getting here.

I will continue to search for a new job perhaps
something will come up but it is very hard to
find the 'right' job with the 'right' location too.
But do you think it's my anxiety that's making this worse than it is or perhaps I should wait
to make a move until after I finish the program?

Hang in there, you can do it. I found out that my managers were sometimes under more stress than I was due to the fact they were responsible for the entire operation and many many employees. This seems to be a common thing now. A previous therapist I saw told me that her entire practice is now devoted to work place stress.

Thanks Mary

I guess my boss must be feeling a lot of stress too because he is responsible for the functions of the office and I bet his boss is wondering why the
big turnover in the beginning of the year and why
everyone seems to be 'stressed'

Weird but I was just reviewing tape 3. On the coaching video Lucinda says not to make any lifechanging decisions (like ending a relationship or changing jobs) until we finish the program. I don't know though, I may have flung myself out of a second story window by now! Maybe just see this as a challenge, and use it as a chance to impress your colleagues with how effective you are. Good luck!!!

LOL Yes it iss very stressful. but it may just
show him that I can handle it.

You are right I am going to be positive about and
take the fact that it may be my time to 'shine'
with the 'ole bossy. He may even be impressed??
(but I don't have any high expectations)