Pan Pipes Every Time

Just coming out of a dark mood period. Lasted about a month and I've been pretty ineffective at work. Not been able to concentrate so am currently behind on my paperwork. It's been hard to even contemplate posting much here. The plus side is, I've managed some foot patrolling out by myself. Not much going on work wise, usual seasonal problems with kids loitering in stairwells annoying residents in the blocks. I missed Halloween and firework night but the yobs apparently ran riot. My self enforced time out has done the trick and I can plough on till New Year.

I'm much better at dealing with it now. I will never need counselling again. If any of you stressed people popping in are wondering what it's like. I envisaged chilling out, laying down on a raised bed with essential oils massaging my nasal channels. I believed the counsellor would then tell me where I was going wrong, as pan pipe tunes relaxed me into a near slumber.

It doesn't work like that. You'll be stuck in a waiting area with leaflets about premature ejaculation and bad posture. I don't think the two are linked. You're there so you might as well get it sorted. My counsellor was a lovely lady but didn't say a lot. The first session is just an assessment and I talked for an hour. She just nodded and prompted but didn't give me the answer to life.

She told me weeks later she initially thought I might be on drugs. Of course I wasn't - but you do display similar characteristics.

The answer to your problems lies with you. If you've overcooked it then you need to make a few changes. Work therapy does not work. The bosses will love you as you toil away producing and performing minor miracles - but will they pick you up when it all goes wrong? Women prefer retail therapy, which is a more expensive consequence of the same problem.

Ultimately if it's home stuff affecting you, face up to whatever it is and try and reach a conclusion. That's what they do, making you understand that your unusual behaviours are just a reaction to your particular situation. The worst thing to do, is to do nothing.

I had a thing about my toilets. I'd been working really excessive hours and one thing that had been annoying me was lime scale around the toilet bowl. It wasn't minging but I'd scrub for ages with bleach trying to remove it. It was really obsessive and I only resolved this by discovering Harpic. It really does remove limescale 100% and as an added bonus kills 99.9% of germs. This was because I needed to work all the time and couldn't switch off.

I would also, not cut corners at work. My systems that I ran at the time had to be be just perfect. A bit of OCD never hurt anyone did it? - annoying if you've got a touch of it. A perfectionist personality is a bind. You find it hard to delegate because who could do it better than you !!

I've mentioned previously the stress rants and other stuff I went through. I believe you can actually come back stronger from this. Don't think me weak - if you knew me you'd be surprised about all this. I'm seen as an achiever at work - I think the term is a "goal scorer". Unfortunately I'm no longer going to be in the running for the golden boot. If you're in the job look at your "performers" and build in some down time for them. They won't want it - but give it anyway - see it as an investment.

And remember there's always somebody who's got more reason to be down than you. Let them be your inspiration.

Ben Parkinson - Inspiration