The Bitter Winds Are Coming In...
I took this past week off as a staycation. Things at work have been increasingly busy (and subsequently stressful), which is to be expected with the holidays fast approaching.
As much as I've loved my time off and thoroughly procrastinated - sorry, to do list! - I've had a lot of anxiety lately. It stems from the fact that 2 years ago this month the provincial government took over control of the women's shelter I was working at and I was being forced to either quit or be fired. The fancy terminology for that is constructive dismissal whereby the higher ups make your job so difficult (whether that be new assignments, different hours, etc) that you're setup for failure. Either they'll then have grounds to terminate you because you're not meeting their expectations or you'll quit because the environment is so toxic. Considering my position was one of two which were the only ones not unionized, you can see why our government overlords, who are pro-union, had a field day with my role. This time 2 years ago, I was on staycation and subsequently went on stress leave for several weeks while I tried to find a new job. Unfortunately, in this day and age it is not that easy to find employment. Thanks to overpopulation and a myriad of other reasons, finding a job can take months as opposed to days or a few weeks.
It really bothers me that after all this time I still get stressed out thinking about that from 2 years ago. Even now if someone tells me they're looking for a job and how tough it is out there, I can feel my anxiety levels go up because I know they're right. So then I start thinking about what if I lost my job or had to find a new one for whatever reason. What would I do? How long would it take for me to find employment? If the person telling me their difficulties has more education than me, then I get even more stressed out because how can they not find a job. My mind conjures up every scenario until I'm on the verge of crying and throwing up. Hell, this has even happened when I've watched a TV show and a well educated character can't find a job!
How do you manage past stress that creeps up?
As much as I've loved my time off and thoroughly procrastinated - sorry, to do list! - I've had a lot of anxiety lately. It stems from the fact that 2 years ago this month the provincial government took over control of the women's shelter I was working at and I was being forced to either quit or be fired. The fancy terminology for that is constructive dismissal whereby the higher ups make your job so difficult (whether that be new assignments, different hours, etc) that you're setup for failure. Either they'll then have grounds to terminate you because you're not meeting their expectations or you'll quit because the environment is so toxic. Considering my position was one of two which were the only ones not unionized, you can see why our government overlords, who are pro-union, had a field day with my role. This time 2 years ago, I was on staycation and subsequently went on stress leave for several weeks while I tried to find a new job. Unfortunately, in this day and age it is not that easy to find employment. Thanks to overpopulation and a myriad of other reasons, finding a job can take months as opposed to days or a few weeks.
It really bothers me that after all this time I still get stressed out thinking about that from 2 years ago. Even now if someone tells me they're looking for a job and how tough it is out there, I can feel my anxiety levels go up because I know they're right. So then I start thinking about what if I lost my job or had to find a new one for whatever reason. What would I do? How long would it take for me to find employment? If the person telling me their difficulties has more education than me, then I get even more stressed out because how can they not find a job. My mind conjures up every scenario until I'm on the verge of crying and throwing up. Hell, this has even happened when I've watched a TV show and a well educated character can't find a job!
How do you manage past stress that creeps up?