AI: Stressors
By Good afternoon, Internet. I was all set to sit down today and write some really thought-provoking questions that were sure to elicit an informative and interesting discussion. But then I got bombarded with a long series of stressful events. So my brain shut down, and the only thing I can think to ask is this:
What stresses you out? How do you deal with it? Does anyone have some Xanax I can borrow?
The Afternoon Inqueery (or AI) is a question posed to you, the Queereka community. Look for it to appear on every Tuesdays, Thurdays and Sundays, at 3pm ET.
I'm having some work stress right now, which I'm having to take drastic measures to resolve. The biggest problem right now is that, while I've been calmly alerting people to the situation over the last year, it's fallen on deaf ears. As I've escalated, I've been coming across reactions like: "But quietmarc, we had no idea there was a problem," and "Maybe you don't handle stress well."
I've been in tight situations before, and I know that I handle stress okay, but I get frustrated when the people who are in a position to help me or make the situation more bearable all seem to play the "It's not us, it's you," card, on top of the "Gee, it's so surprising that you're bringing this up! We had no idea!"
I'm a newly recovering alcoholic, so there's a huge difference in how I handle stress now compared to, say, a year ago. Because I'm not resorting to chemical solutions, I'm having to practice patience, and it does involve a LOT of self-monitoring and making sure that my support network is in place and that I am being active in handling my stress.
Beyond patience, I'm trying to keep myself physically well, by excercising, eating right, and making sure that I take time for myself to relax. Because my stress is coming from factors outside of my control, I'm focusing instead on the areas of my life where I do have some level of control and I find that that helps a lot.