I’ve been having a hard time dealing with work these days.
I’m snapping at people, I freaked out on someone this past Friday, and I’m generally not into being there.
so my question is - how do you deal with work stress?
sorry if this is a repeated topic, I didn’t look for another thread.
I am forever stressed whilst working…there are two ways I tend to deal…
thanks.
any suggestion as to how to deal with it while at work?
my days of doing that at work are long since passed.
It was mainly just a joke, obviously I don’t toke “at work” 
Seriously, when it gets to be too much, just get up and walk outside…take a breather. It’s always best to blow off that steam when not around co-workers if you want to keep the job. People get spooked pretty easy these days with office shootings and whatnot.
If that doesn’t work, maybe a short vacation is in order to get “your mind right”.
If none of that works…the only thing I would have left to advise would be monster.com 
Start smoking. I’m really only half joking. Since I can’t smoke joints at work cigarettes are a nice replacement 'til I get home. My job can get really stressful, but I just power through and deal with the stress when I get home by…well mostly drinking a lot and smoking dope, but we all have our own ways of unwinding at home. I’ve never really lost it on a co-worker, but my boss/dad loses it all the time and maybe that’s why I know how to cope with my stress a bit better while at work.
I’ve found from working at other jobs that it helps if there is someone else you work with that you like/can relate to and go vent to when things get hairy. It’s better if you don’t directly work with that person, but can go over and talk to them when need be.
Eating is another good and unhealthy way to deal with stress, but again I don’t usually have time to even think about eating at work so I just overcompensate when I get home usually.
In short, I haven’t really helped you at all probably, but I would recommend not taking it out on your co-workers as they are all stressed too and it just makes for a very unhealthy workplace.
get a less stressful job.
if 8 hours of your day, 5 days a week are stressing you out too much, then the simplest solution (which I can think of) is to find work that you actually enjoy doing.
^^wow… smoking and eating… drinking to cope with stress… there are better ways… here’s a short list (some may seem obvious but we tend to overlook the obvious):
get a good nights sleep, atleast 8 hours. If you simply can’t do this try some of these things: 2 hours before bed begin to wind down, don’t eat at this time as you want your body to go into sleep mode and not use energy digesting food. an hour before bed turn off electronic devices and allow yourself to relax, read, gently stretch, take a warm bath… pamper yourself somehow. I wouldn’t recommend getting high before bed either… such things are crutches and will never give you real rest. a daily bedtime routine of some sort assists in a good night’s rest.
stop eating refined sugar. yes cut out cookies, cakes, candy, chocolate. if you’ve never done this, after a couple of weeks to a month of no sugar you may find your mood and ability to cope with stress COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than anything you’ve experienced in your life. don’t take my word for it, try it yourself.
3)in addition to stopping sugar, eat better. more whole, real food (fruit, vegetable, potato, sweet potato, lean meat, rice, whole grain, olive oil, avacado = good fat) and less junk food (anything from fast food joints, chips, doritos, fried foods, rich sauces, processed meats, freezer aisle pizzas, hot pockets, bagels, wonder bread…) If you cut out refined white sugar you will cut out 75% of the foods that are bad for your body and mind already… read labels.
so theres a few things you can do and if you do them I’d be willing to bet that a month from now your work stress will be much better… and if there is a particular problem with a person or two then deal with them directly, don’t go bitching about them behind their back, gossip never helps… and get the boss involved if needed… which is what I typically need to do… have someone there to mediate between me and the person I’m having trouble with.
my list only goes to 3. 1,2,3,3,3,3. 
thanks for the suggestions.
the eating right and exercising one always gets me, becuase I know it’s the way I should be living, but damned if I can get motivated enough to do it all the time.
I do have a job that I love, so switching jobs isn’t something I’d consider, and I do have the co-workers to speak with. trouble is, as supportive as they are, nothing seems to be getting me out of this funk I’ve been in lately.
edit to add that I do smoke cig’s as well.
I just think “It’s only a job”, it’s not the end of the world.
Jeff is right about diet and right thinking and feeling. But you also have to look at every job you ever have as unnecessary when it comes right down to it. Faith in yourself to be just fine no matter what situation you find yourself in is very important, not just with work, which is a relationship you have, but with all relationships.
Right living, or balance, is essential to achieving this. If you can’t achieve this right away, Matt is right, you need to find a less stressful job. These types of impact to your body aren’t good for long periods. You’ll start having seconday symptoms stemming from the stress. And if you can heal the symptoms and not affect the cause, then you can’t heal the symptoms.
Sometimes I dig a whole in the backyard and lay in it.
I’m with you though. The last two years have been rock bottom. It’s harder to take the “it’s just a job” frame o fmind when you’re married with a mortgage. The stress has turned me into a different person. It’s weird.
It may be useful to consider the polarities of stress.
On one hand, stress is a natural occurrence; a biological process. If a certain situation arises, my body will respond accordingly. For example, if I spot a spider crawling, an alarm reaction may cause my heart rate to increase. Even beyond humans, stress can be observed in animals of lower consciousness, and even now in plants. I think it’s important to remember this - stress is a biological process which can occur regardless of one’s consciousness.
On the other hand, stress can be very much related to perception. If I have an image of what my life should be, and am constantly struggling to make that ideal a reality, that is self-perpetuated stress. If I am always striving to become this, to impress that person, to accomplish this task, it’s self-perpetuated stress. That process occurs only in the human mind; it’s not a natural occurrence.
So stress can be looked at in two different ways. It’s something that’s intrinsic to nature, but it’s also something which the mind can create, perpetuate, and worsen. Two sides of the equation: one being the situation, the other being the response of the human mind.
I think many times in attempting to deal with stress, a person creates additional tension for themselves. For example, if I realize that I am stressed, and think “No, I shouldn’t be stressed. That’s not right. I need to relax”, that creates a new tension. Now you are not only stressed about something, you are stressed about being stressed! It’s a neurotic process, if you ask me.
My advice is to be a little watchful of yourself and not to create extra tension. Instead of thinking “I’m stressed, this is bad”, observe how you respond to a stressful situation. You’ll notice that not only does your mind react, but your body does too. Your jaw may become tense, your fist might clench, whatever it may be.
And let that be a reminder to you of the polarities of stress. Your jaw might become tense - you are not thinking about it; it’s a natural response. But your mind might react in a thousand different ways. It may think that this is the end of the world and now you’re ruined. It will make the situation worse. If you watch, you’ll see that the extent of stress a person feels largely depends on their own perception.
Your body and mind are an organic unity, so you may also find that relaxing physically is helpful to feeling relaxed inwardly. Taking a few deep breaths, letting the tension slip out of each body part - you may find a little serenity.
well then you’ve got your work cut out for you… if you can point to cigs, bad diet and lack of exercise then you really not need to initially look elsewhere. if you cleaned yourself up a little not only would you generally feel better but you’d also feel better about yourself… all of which helps to cope.
Let me give you an example. My sister has battled depression for quite some time. We had many chats and have talked about how sugar can lead to depression and/or decreased coping ability etc. Eventually she found a book about it, did a little reading and stopped refined sugar (this includes those disgusting soft drinks ya know 
) 2 months later she is completely free of depression… she says that she will have these spontaneous feelings of optimism thruout the day… for no reason. she recently lost her job and apt… stressful for anyone… not only did she handle it with grace but she found and new job and apt. see stopping sugar will find you a new job! 
there are chemical reasons why getting your diet straight will help… one of which is serotonin is manufactured in the gut… bad food destroys the serotonin factory… less serotonin = bad mood, more stress, unhappy person. I know when I eat daily sugar I’ll get depressed 2-3 times a week… when I don’t eat it I rarely get depressed… and I deal and cope with life much better… just passing on the info.
good luck, were on your side 
Some real good stuff here… 
I’ll be brief as this has been mentioned…Just getting away from the Job for even a brief moment every so often really works for me, just go outside for 5min and stare at the sky…Very relaxing…
I agree. some good stuff in here. I won’t be looking for a new job, so as I said that’s not the answer.
Deep breathing is something I learned in yoga. It has an actual name, but I can’t remember it. You may feel sully at first, but I swear it works. If you are self-concious, go to your car or an isolated area where you can relax.
All the breathing occurs in your nose. No mouth breathing.
Exhale blowing all your breath out. Cover one nostril allowing air to pass through just the uncovered nostril. Take in a slow deep breath. Hold it for a second or two. Uncover the covered nostril and cover the uncovered nostril and slowly exhale all your breath.
Repeat this several times making sure you vary the nostril you inhale and exhale from. For example, if you inhale the right nostril 3 times, make sure you balance it out by inhaling the left nostril equally.
Shut your eyes and focus solely on your breathing. Imagine all the oxygen coursing through your bloodstream, reaching your brain, and calming you. Even 5 minutes will help. I promise!
Have sex with the cleaning lady on your desk…oh wait that got Costanza fired!
Go to the bathroom and rub one out! Major stress relief right there!
Seriously though, I am on board with just getting up and taking a walk outside. There have been plenty of times when the stress of work got to be too much, so I would just go outside, and take a couple of laps around my building. The fresh air, deep breathing, and just being away from my desk give me the best escape that I can find. It also allows me the clarity to find small ways to cope, and get through the next hour or two. Then, just repeat this process.
Next thing you know, the work day is done, and you get to deal with a whole new level of stress at home! 
I LP or OKP. Not very productive way to use my work day but it works. You feel like being an asshole, come on over to livephish (address below) and yell at Chuck. . .it’ll make you feel better.