Pen-Elayne on the Web

Panic Panacea

A bit of a delve into the personal today, sorry. I'm trying to figure out how to deal with my mid-level panic attacks. I have a knee-jerk panic reaction to sudden uncomfortable situations; it's not severe, in the sense that it doesn't last too long or hang over my entire day or appear out of nowhere. It's induced by specific circumstances, often involving work tasks. I went through about five short tantrums today, most involving things people wanted me to type that they couldn't do themselves because they involved complicated things like duplicating a PDF form into Word using tables with all different cell sizes, or reformatting a Quark page that should have had a table but didn't... well, it's not important. What I'm trying to figure out is how to calmly react to my coworkers' assumptions that these things will take me no time at all to do, rather than to fly off the handle immediately and try to explain (usually in a loud and whiny and, yes, panicky voice) how hard it all is. How to calmly accept that whatever I do for my boss, no matter how prepared, I need to remember he will always change his plans and make things harder, and I'll get through it the same way I've gotten through it for almost six years now - only without the panic. So please, whatever behavioral exercises or non-pharmaceutical supplements you think might help, leave your suggestions in the comments section. Herbal tea, deep breaths, chocolate, squeezy-balls, looking at the cover to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I'm up for anything. Panic attacks are unprofessional and beneath me at this stage in my life; I neither need nor desire the aggravation they bring.