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Handling stress at work

H

HarleyMama

Member
I'm wondering what everyone else does for this. My job is definitely not aspie friendly and sometimes I have issues coping.

Sorry if there's already a thread, I'm new and couldn't find it.
 
Hi,

I've never been able to get along with coworkers. I was miserable and stressed ALL THE TIME. I realized that no matter what I did it was always the same. I wouldn't last more than 6 months in any job.

One day I decided that I needed a job to fit me. I work as an investigator now. My life is so much better when I work outside of the office. I think the best advice I can give is to find a job where you feel good.

We all deserve to feel good about our job.

But I have to admit I have really bad days such as "Holiday office parties" and birthday lunches ... Ughhh. I start to prepare weeks in advance! I take my prescribed xanax and I try my hardest to fit in.

I hope you find something that works for you!
 
My job isn't very aspie-friendly either, i'm a cashier. I learned to cope with specific issues as time passed. Anxiety and shutdowns related to being oversensitive to noise, I learned to cope with that by using hyperfocus to my advantage and focusing purely on the customer in front of me. Otherwise i can't tune out the million other sounds competing for my attention and it gets overwhelming.

I learned to cope with being socially awkward and not knowing what to say with customers by taking advantage of my good hearing and listening to what other cashiers a line or two away were saying to their customers and copied that. Eventually i was able to script entire transactions with customers; there's no small talk involved but it gets me through the transactions and i've been called friendly once so it works i guess.

I guess the running theme is that when certain aspie traits are causing me issues, I take advantage of another aspie trait to make the problem easier to bear.
 
I have the same issues with my job, but luckily, today I learned that since moving to a new shop, my desk area is all the way in the back so I won't be as bothered. :) I've learned to (partially) get over my embarrassment with myself and ask for reasonable accommodations at times.
 
HarleyMama said:
I'm wondering what everyone else does for this. My job is definitely not aspie friendly and sometimes I have issues coping.

Sorry if there's already a thread, I'm new and couldn't find it.
Click to expand...

HarleyMama,

I have had many jobs which did not utilize my strengths as much as they revealed my shortcomings. I never found a solution prior to burning out completely, so I have spent much of my working life depressed.

However, every time I failed at a job, I took the time to write down what I liked about the job and what I did not like about it, and I took the list with me to my next interviews. If I struggled with team assignments, I asked how much of my job would be team work vs. solitary. If I was too slow at certain tasks, I asked how productive I would need to be in a day to succeed. If I found it hard to face customers day in, day out, I asked how much of my job would be direct interaction with the public.

So my advice would be to keep a journal of all the things which are difficult for you in your current job. If you wish to continue in your current position, you could make an appointment with your supervisor to discuss ways to help you meet your work goals without undue stress, and in ways that don't highlight your weaknesses. If you would like to move on to another position, use the list as a means of assessing whether other job options will be a good match for you.

It is always fair in an interview to state the thin
 
...Sorry, my WiFi cut me off...

I meant to say that it is always fair in an interview to state the things you struggle with, while noting that you wish to do the best job possible and will make every effort (within your abilities) to deliver a quality service to your employer.
 
Naturalist, those last two posts were so insightful and analytical. I'm going to try your suggestion of sort of cataloging the ups and downs of my employment life. I think that could really help me make sense of some things.
 
JCPHN said:
Naturalist, those last two posts were so insightful and analytical. I'm going to try your suggestion of sort of cataloging the ups and downs of my employment life. I think that could really help me make sense of some things.
Click to expand...
Thanks JCPHN, it has definitely helped me to keep the list. I went through a lot of jobs, added to the list each time, and each successive position got better for me. Before my current job, I was at an art supply store and worked there eight years, mostly happily. My present job is quite suited to me in most ways. But I had a lot of awful jobs before those
 
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