Post #169 - Managing Stress and Building Resilience Webinar

So ... to dig myself out of this slough of despair and by that, I'm not referring to the Berkshire commuter town, although my paternal grandfather's funeral was held in Slough Crematorium back in 2006.  It wasn't that sad, because, despite him being reversed into whilst purchasing a copy of the Daily Express in a petrol station forecourt, he was a completely selfish old git and almost certainly bullied my late father into an early grave.  See what I did there - that's displacement activity if ever there was.

Anyhoo - managing stress and building resilience - I am probably one of the most stressed and least resilient person that I know, well, apart from Sophie Whiskers, but she doesn't get judged as she's a black and white budget low excess moggie cat.  Apparently the sore neck I used to suffer from at work is quite common, but if left untreated can lead to some pretty nasty muscular skeletal issues in the future.  Let's give you an example:

Setting: 2015 - open plan Civil Service HQ offices - my perception.

[The hot desks are the smaller size - I'd guesstimate that they're no wider than 60cm across, therefore your neighbour is incredibly close ...]

Annoying loud-voiced weirdo curly-haired EO to his Grade 7: "why isn't Faspie allowing me to sit beside her?"

G7: "I don't know."

EO: "Well, I want to sit there and be fucking annoying by braying, eating loudly and SHOUTING down my phone.  I am a twat; I almost certainly live with my parents in southwest London/Surrey and, like many civil servants, I'm a completely annoying over-educated arsehole."

Faspie: [exits stage left, not pursued by a bear and then goes to the basement toilets to cry.  Her brand new Samsung S6 phone is in her back pocket and proceeds to drop down the toilet, rendering it completely useless.]

Sitting in close proximity to annoying loud awful and often smelly colleagues causes me physical neck pain.  I am glad that I'm out of it all really. I am kind of bitter in some ways though as what was the point of studying for a degree when the civil service is still populated by people who aren't particularly dynamic?