Hi janieg

All the best for your new job tomorrow. Taking care of the financial & health insurance stress will be a huge weight off.

Re the work stress - just remind yourself that you've dealt with worse throughout your illness and work stress is just gonna have to take the back seat for once.

If I might make an indulgent suggestion - print out a copy of that photo I posted on my 'great day' posting - you know the beach one - tape it to your work station and when you find things getting to you at work just switch off for a moment and imagine yourself sitting in the sun in a beautiful location away from all the hassles.

Take care - bluesfan

You can do it. I think that picture is a great idea too!

I like that it is a modern workplace re: attire and work space- it should be a boon for your comfort.

Good luck tomorrow at work Janieg. In work (and life) situations I try to remind myself of my priorities and not get sucked in to the politics of wherever I am. Taking my lunch outdoors is a help for me. Sometimes I even got in a 10 minute meditation during lunch.

Thanks for the responses and encouragement. So far, so good, but the "fun" has yet to begin. The work environment was everything I'd hoped it would be too.

Regarding the photo, I think what I'll do is print a couple of photos printed of my favorite places I've visited so I can return there at a glance. Very good idea.

I got my first dose of work-related stress at the new job today. Yowza. It was like the SFN monster was standing at the control panel turning up a dial.

I know in the past my intestines were always a good measure of stress load, but NOTHING as quick and immediate as this. I'm really going to have to work on figuring out a way to deal with better. The good news is that they're all used to people doing weird things to deal with it. The owner himself does two things..

1. Takes a baseball and just paces back and forth in the grassy area in the back occasionally tossing it in the air

2. Goes into our "ping-pong room" and hits a ping-pong ball against the wall.

It seems like all the women just eat chocolate.

Hi Janieg,
Glad you've kept your sense of humor! I'm not sure what you like to do to relax but it sounds like no body would fault you. I definitely would stay away from the chocolate!

Working while having this condition is the absolute worst. I can manage my body so much better every time I take a week off from working.

Can you eventually work from home, on occasion, once you learn your job? I work from home about once per week and that really helps. Roll out of bed, don't comb the hair, pour the coffee, and fire up the computer!!! I love it.

I also have a sit-stand work station at the office, which is lovely to change up positions when I'm burning from sitting too long and I sometimes take 5 minute walks outside the building to break up the day (and break up the burning).

I work at a place that generally doesn't value work-life balance and they have no problem giving you more than 60 hours worth of work each week. No thanks!!!

I've found a way to mostly side-step this nonsense for now. I get along with well with my co-workers, I'm known as a problem solver and drop whatever I'm doing to help someone out, I do good quality work, and on occasion, I will put in a 18 hour day to help someone close a project. In my free time, I create tools that make my co-workers lives easier - screenshot instructions for working with various pieces of software or write macros to help them automate various tasks. I make sure everyone around me is generally happy and in exchange for that, I don't take ownership of big stressful projects, I forgo getting a promotion and I work 40 hours each week. And I'm going to ride this wave until it crashes...

They generally want you at the office because of all the interaction that takes place due to the nature of the job. The other thing is the set-up I have there is AMAZING. I have two 30" Dell monitors vs. my one 21" monitor here at home. I also think I'll have the option of getting sit-stand workstation once I get in my permanent office.

This is a start-up high tech company, and just like the last one I was at, everyone is flying arses over elbows all day every day. I knew that going into it because I actually like being crazy busy, but I think this situation will put that to the test.

Music will help once I can get to the point that I don't need to be talking to my officemates all the time while in learning mode. Certain singers/albums have a real calming effect on me.

Pinkynose, the unlimited chocolate and candy everywhere doesn't present a problem, but the ever-present boxes of Cheez-its in the kitchen are horribly tempting. Orangey/cheesey food-like substances are my one of my favorite evils, and it takes every ounce of self-control to stay away from them.

Yeah, I totally get why they want you to come into the office - that whole human interaction thing. Hahahaha - at my work they don't understand the concept. My set up is different in that I don't work directly with many people in my office. I love having large monitors. I'm jealous, I only have a 24 inch monitor at work and at home, with my tiny laptop serving as screen number 2. I have an Ergotron sit-stand and it is fantastic. They have models that accommodate 2 monitor set-ups.

I just bought an iPhone 6S, beats wireless headphones, and a subscription to Apple Music. I'm preparing for the fact that the next 5 months of my life are going to be super busy.

Sometimes I'll work a full day in the office, then if I have extra to do, I'll finish it up at home. This helps mitigate a ton of stress also and I don't have to miss dinner with the husband, which keeps the home front on the happy side!