<p>My H gets really stressed at work. He finds listening to audio books when he’s trying to get to sleep helps a lot! He downloads simple mysteries and sets the sleep timer, usually he can fall asleep within minutes. It helps his brain turn off and stop obsessing about work. If he wakes up in the middle of the night he will put the audio book back on and that also helps him get back to sleep. </p>
<p>His brother has the same problem and he listens to podcasts. </p>
<p>I find NPR and history podcasts are great to fall asleep to. A nice calm voice usually lol!</p>
<p>Try journal writing about your feelings 10 minutes each day…don’t edit, just write and write and write. Research tested three groups; folks who didn’t write, folks who wrote information and fact, and folks who wrote feelings. At the end of the study, folks who wrote about their feelings were much less stressed and felt more emotionally healthy. I am giving it a try to deal with a difficult work situation - that and visiting a short term therapist, covered by my workplace employee assistance program. :-)</p>
<p>While it might be a difficult task, try not to make work your whole world. If your life outside of work is fulfilled and positive, the work slice will be more manageable. I also think if it is making you this unhappy that you should be updating your resume and exploring other options. If this bully has the power within your company that you describe, it could just be one of those no win situations. Why continue to torture yourself? See if you can create opportunities that will allow you to move on. LIfe is too short.</p>
<p>Take control. If only as a life lesson.
Is there an HR department?
Start logging incidents. Time of day. Who was present. What was said. Results.
When she bullies you immediately take out your small notebook and write it down. Let her see. Tell her to stop. Tell her you are recording very time she bullies you.
When you have 5 or more go to HR.
If no HR go to a supervisor. If that’s the boss so be it. </p>
<p>I think the best way to handle something that is affecting your health is to tackle it and let the chips fall where they may. </p>
<p>Keep looking for another job as it also is a way to take control. It gives you back your power. If she has done this to you, she has done it to others. The nice part is she feels threatened by you. So congrats because she thinks you are better than her at the job.</p>
<p>Good luck. Your personal health and well being, physical and mental, are whats important here. </p>
<p>If she witnesses you logging events she might just stop.</p>
<p>OP-
Does your situation meet the criteria of a Hostile Workplace Environment? <a href=“How to Know If You Have a Hostile Work Environment”>http://humanresources.about.com/od/workplace-discrimination/g/hostile-work-environment.htm</a>
If so, go talk to HR. You dont need to wait until you have a certain number of situations. The fact that they’ve already moved her due to a past situation has set a precedent. When you have another specific example, go to HR. But I strongly disagree with making a point of documenting it in front of her face. That is not in your best interest, and could make her more angry. If she does something that is directly harassing, politely asking her to stop, and privately documenting it may be helpful. But trying to play a power game with her may likely backfire. Also, she is sabotaging your work that is damaging to the company. Might there be a corporate policy she is violating that you can cite? Take a look at your employee handbook and see what specific complaints you can document. And let HR handle it, if they will. Hopefully you wont need to hire an attorney, but that is also your option.</p>
<p>I was in this situation 2 years ago. I decided to ignore them. Yes they can fire me but highly unlikely. Plus the 2-hour weekly massage does help to reduce stress.</p>
<p>Haha, I’m not even using flex plan. In the past I’ve used flex plan but not lately. Luckily my situation has improved, 2 new bosses. And I was home for most of this week and the guy I was reporting to said to come back, they missed me. But he also asked the name of the broker I use so he can make money on the side, he seems to be not into his job.</p>
<p>So many thoughtful and helpful comments: my thanks to all of you. While I’m looking for another job, I’ve been working on my work - making sure I can defend it, if I need to. I’m also trying to increase collaboration with a superior who seems positive about my stuff. It’s all part of, as sax wisely puts it, taking control. I’d love not to have to include HR mostly because I’m cynical about HR - it seems more of a protectionist entity for the company than the workers. </p>
<p>My stress reducers are digging in the garden, playing piano, reading, and iPad solitaire. At night I read in bed or play solitaire to focus my mind on one thing- otherwise my mind starts the list making and I can’t relax.</p>
<p>Oh I can relate! Am also going through stress at work (have to learn totally new technology in order to justify my salary, PLUS maintain all of my previous responsibilities, PLUS take on the tasks of my assistant who had to be let go.) I have found that what really helps is physical activity such as playing tennis really hard so I have to focus. That keeps out the negative thoughts.</p>
<p>The best way is not to have it. Frnakly, I have no idea what stress is. When I did not like situation at work, I simply found another job. When they did not like me, they simply let me go. I did not experience stress, but I do not like to be at home at all. So, mine was not stress, but rather close to depression situation, which I will probably experience when I retire, it is inevitable.
i would say that the biggest reason that I never experineced stress in my life is that I exercise for 2 - 3 hours every day, no days skipped, not even vacation. it clears mind very effectively, there are certain chemicals that elevate the mood, for sure. If I have some technical difficulties at work, I do not push thru, I know that solution will come naturally during my exercise routine (primarily during swimming).
Cannot advise you on sleep as I sleep for about 3 - 5 hours / day and it is getting worse with age. However, it does not bother me at all, which has nothing to do with somebody else and how they would feel sleeping that little. Most people cannot tolerate it. </p>
<p>I used to think I had successful solutions for stress, and they got me through teenagers, job loss, and a terrible workplace.</p>
<p>Looks like I may need more practice, though (or new tactics). I just got home from an overnight in the ER to rule out stroke - CT scan, MRI, doppler ultrasound on my carotid artieries. On the plus side: no cerebrovascular abnormalities (and my brain looks fabulous). On the downside: it’s looking like acute stress/ panic attack. Good grief.</p>
<p>No, it wasn’t Bell’s palsy, but the doctor didn’t know what it was. Weirdly enough, I temporarily lost my ability to read…It’s okay today, but it was scary. Because almost everything else was ruled out, the neurologist thinks it was either a “transient episode” (?) or an odd stress reaction.</p>