Alleviating Stress At Work: A Decision Leads to Incredible Relief

This past week, I have done a lot of thinking about why my anger is getting harder and harder to control.  After a lot of deep thought and talking to my individual therapist, I have examined my life at home and at work to try to narrow down where the increasing stress is coming from.  This past Monday, I got pulled aside at work and was talked to by the management trainee in our department.  While I don't recall exactly what it was that I did (which is problematic as well), it suddenly became crystal clear that the vast majority of my stress stemmed from stressors at work.  I realized that the more stressed I became, the more forgetful I became, the more distracted I was, and I was substantially easier to anger.

With this in mind, I evaluated what about my job was making me so stressed, so miserable and I realized it was all of the management tasks.  I was stressing about finding the time to write reviews, talk to employees, train and develop subordinates, improve merchandizing, writing accurate orders, maintaining maximum product freshness, product rotation issues, etc.  The list went on and on and the more I thought about those tasks, the more worked up I got.

It couldn't be that simple, could it?  I had promised almost a year ago that I would do everything in my power to maintain a healthy work-life balance.  Could stepping down from the management team and assuming a role of less responsibility and accountability really be the answer?  I talked to my wife about it and she agreed that the stress that work was causing me in my current position was not worth the bump in pay.  So, I approached my boss and his boss and asked to sit down and talk.  I let them know that I was stepping down and had a desire to be a plain old full-time employee with no management responsibilities.

Neither one was surprised and both were relieved.  They told me that they had talked about offering to let me step down as an option.  They noticed that I had become more and more distracted and much more irritable at work.  They knew that with my current levels of stress, that I wan't happy.  The were concerned about my welfare.  They knew what I was capable of.  They also knew what a toll my PTSD and events over the last two years have taken on me.  They understood why I was stepping down and understood my reasons for doing so.  They approved it and a great weight was instantly lifted from my shoulders.  For the first time in a long time, I felt a moment of peace.  While I took a pay cut, it is more than worth it to come home from work without the stress that had been weighing me down.  I swore I would never put work before family ever again and I knew I was getting close to breaking that promise to fulfill duties at work.

So there you have it.  I wanted to share that because it's food for thought.  Many of us take on more than we can handle.  The more stressed we are, the harder it is to cope with our PTSD.  If things start getting away from you, try to identify why.  It was one hell of a relief for me.