Leaving Work at Work

[swgrl09]

Anybody else have trouble with this? I do social work, and it does get very stressful at times. But I find myself worrying about if I did something the right way, wrong way, or missed something all night and even during the day when I am still at work. Any techniques for calming down at work? I try breathing deeply, but when your mind is set on something it is very hard to stop it.

[Gemma T]

My mum brings her work home with her like you do. I must say I think she dont even try to forget about it.

But im the same with my health anx. I carry it around like my blackberry and think about it whether I am. Its the first thing I think of when I wake up.

I know how you feel. Have you tried theraphy?

[lenore]

It's a real b*gger when work dominates every waking minute, I've been there myself. I think it's a great job you're doing, to be in a profession as demanding as that takes a lot of guts.

I think it's good that you're looking for help now, as I use to wait until I couldn't cope anymore, freak out and quit with no warning.

Is therapy a possibility, like Gemma said? In the meantime (this sounds silly but worked for me), I'd write on a piece of paper whatever it was that was bothering me. Then I'd list all the reasons why I rationally knew my fear was only a fear and couldn't possibly be the reality. I really don't know why it worked for me, but it did.

[Chuffed2Bits]

Hiya!

All I can say is - Please Please be very careful about bringing work home. I did the same - practically on call 24hrs a day if needed - It ended in a bit of a breakdown and it gets to the stage that the body, the mind, heart and soul can not take anymore. I have been there, done it and worn the tee shirt for months! And, yes, I know its hard not to care, not to give a damn, worrying at night if all is going to be well. Just BEWARE!

I learned a very hard lesson - so so important to make YOU time. Take the holidays, switch off the phone, take your breaks and look after yourself - physically, mentally, emotionally and every way. It just might save your life.

Take care, hope all works well

All the very best to you.

C2B

[Tyke]

I can relate to this. I often take work home with me mentally. Things just crop up in my mind long after I've left work. It is so busy, I often forget things, then remember them at home when I am not under so much pressure. I am also a perfectionist and hate getting things wrong. At the moment I am agonising over a silly mistake I made at work that has led to a problem. Nothing serious, but enough to make me feel like a failure for the rest of the day! I think the high workloads we often are faced with means we can never really do the job properly. Everything seems to be a rush from one thing to another with huge backlogs and so much scope for errors. I'd love to be able to switch off better, but I just don't seem capable of doing it.

Tyke

[swgrl09]

I know, I totally agree. It is just exhausting. My boyfriend does not suffer like this at all and he expects me to have like a light switch in my head and tells me "Just don't think about it." It's not that easy! I have tried therapy, and you know sometimes I do better but it is really really difficult sometimes to just forget. I am a perfectionist too, Tyke, which does not help!