Stressed at work but cant leave for 9 weeks

[Mak]

Bee84 - it is horrible to be stressed out about work. Is there anything you can do on the way home to unwind? Some meditation, music, walking when you get home for 30mins - whatever helps you relax?
I have had to work really hard to detach myself from work before I walk in the door at home or to pick up my kids.
I also have tried to stop worrying about what might be....IYKWIM. It has taken lots of practice but honestly I look back at my time before and wish I had not given work so much of me. I do a great job still but I don't pay a personal price for it.
I hope things settle down soon for you - good luck!

[GlitterMum]

Thanks Mak,
What a great idea. I will try that. I live across the road from a beautiful park. Before I even step through the door I might go for a 15- 20 minute walk.
Might shift the focus and help me to forget for the night.

Thanks so much. will let you know how I go
xx

[fionas]

Yep, try some relaxation techniques but also have a think back to when you were worried about something else, maybe last year. I bet it seems like a long time ago and I bet the situation didn't turn out anywhere near as badly as you thought.

I'm not trying to say you're silly for being stressed - not at all - I can be the biggest stresshead you've ever met so know how awful it feels. But sometimes a bit of perspective helps. It IS only nine weeks and although nine weeks can drag and feel like absolute hell, if you try to approach it as only nine weeks, then yay you're on maternity leave, you can kind of change your thinking around to this being like 'playing' at being at work because you'll be gone soon. Hope that made sense. Try to think of ways you can have fun at work. D'you know your colleagues very well? Chances are they think the targets suck too. Sometimes a good gossip session works wonders and it helps when you're all in the same boat.

And if all else fails, what I do when I'm worried I'm not doing a good job is to compare myself to someone I know who's doing a terrible job! I'm sure that's not a very healthy way of building my self-esteem but hey, it works!

[Taurean]

I'm not trying to say you're silly for being stressed - not at all - I can be the biggest stresshead you've ever met so know how awful it feels. But sometimes a bit of perspective helps. It IS only nine weeks and although nine weeks can drag and feel like absolute hell, if you try to approach it as only nine weeks, then yay you're on maternity leave, you can kind of change your thinking around to this being like 'playing' at being at work because you'll be gone soon. Hope that made sense. Try to think of ways you can have fun at work. D'you know your colleagues very well? Chances are they think the targets suck too. Sometimes a good gossip session works wonders and it helps when you're all in the same boat.

Fiona has raised a really good point here. I totally understand where you're coming from hon (I was over work at the 20 week mark!) but taking each day and each week at a time will definitely help. I know it's hard to believe but your maternity leave will come around sooner than you think. Everyone said that to me and I thought the time was dragging but it really wasn't. Be sure to give yourself something to look forward to each weekend and don't be disappointed when Monday comes around again, just think "I'm a week closer to finishing work and a week closer to meeting our baby". That really helped me.

You should be entitled to stress leave so definitely discuss that with your GP and your manager. Stress is nasty for both you and bubs so yes, best avoid it. Lighter duties is a really good option too. I had a few random days of very nasty braxton hicks about 4 weeks before I was due to finish work so in the end my boss suggested I just take it easy and work from home until I finished! I couldn't believe it although I knew I had an understanding boss. It was so much better as I didn't have to worry about getting all dressed up for the office or the drive to and from (approx 40 mins each way). So if you can work from home at least one or two days a week then definitely suss that out too.

Hang in there and know that you're not alone. It's so tough to push on but the end is in sight and I honestly promise you that it won't seem like it now but it really does come around before you know it

[satya]

Stop doing the extra hours. You've already said the targets are not achievable so don't bother working extra hours as you wont be reaching them regardless of the amount of hours you do.

You need to be careful with taking stress leave in the work place. In my experience most people who go on it never return to the company.

I was under a lot of stress during my pregnancy & I did some research & found that everyday types of stress including work stress are not dangerous to your baby. The kind of stress that is dangerous is the loss of a partner (death) or a traumatic experience of some kind like a car accident or being attacked etc.

Try to not stress, but I know that's hard. Once you've had your bub your job just wont matter like it does now. By the way, your brain does not always go back to "normal" after giving birth. My brain is almost as befuddled as it was when I was pregnant & I find my job harder than I did before being pregnant. My mind is just on other things now.