Posted by Mitch on August 11, 2001, at 13:41:10
In reply to Re: workplace stress and complex PTSD? » Mitch, posted by Elizabeth on August 11, 2001, at 13:10:38
> > I checked the website and it was very informative, thanks.
>
> Cool. Which one?The PTSD.org "complex PTSD" webpage.
>
> > I am (with many others) currently in a workplace situation with a boss who is a total control freak (and diagnosed with borderline and OCD) and we are getting more and more miserable.
>
> I can't imagine that situation being easy.
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> > Half of our area is now taking antidepressants or suffering from psychosomatic illnesses. Could this workplace stress over months/years be actually a complex PTSD symptomology brought on by an abusive boss?
>
> I don't know that it would be posttraumatic stress so much as the type of anxiety that often arises from difficult interpersonal situations. What particular kinds of things does your boss do that upset people at work, if you're comfortable talking about it?
>
> -elizabethSure, we are in a high-tech business and the work we do is very detailed and mistakes can be very costly. Someone I work with made a mistake (transposed ONE number) and it cost $750,000. I liken it to air-traffic control stress. The problems with the boss is a little uncomfortable and difficult to describe. Well, she is a perfectionist (borderline-OCD personality) (and unfortunately so are many of us) and has had "breakdowns" several times over the past few years. It just feels like there is nothing you can do to *please* her. There is always something not quite right. The "rules" seem to change on a weekly basis, and what is worse it seems like she gets a perverse pleasure "changing the rules" and jumping us for it. She likes to play little games with everyone's head that lead you to think that you are going to get fired/disciplined, etc. There is also a big information "shell game" that gets played where she is privy to something important to a project you are working on that she withholds, and then you look stupid later and she looks superior. It's not just me, EVERYONE says the same stuff. But she knows her boundaries and how to keep from getting in trouble for it. I am just sick of it. It reminds me of the Twilight Zone-the movie's, episode where the kid has all the adults in the house captive watching cartoons and eating bad food all day. And if you rebel you lost your ability to speak-you know that girl that didn't have a mouth? I am ready to quit, but it pays well, I just don't know what to do.
Mitch
poster:Mitch
thread:71466
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010809/msgs/74630.html