Dealing with Criticism and Feeling Overworked

[sarah0924]

I just needed a place to share my difficulty at the moment. I have returned to work after a little over a year of debilitating depression. The work I love, but I am starting to think the workload is too much for me. I am teaching and it has been a workload during the semester that is 10 hr days and at least 1 day most weekends.
I got one of those, " I need to give you some student feedback" emails this afternoon and it has me down.
Last night I worked into the night and was back at it at around 0530. It is hard to face any criticism for me. I have a highly sensitive personality & have often been over critical of myself (I am getting better, have worked hard in therapy, etc.). So I feel confused, am I over-reacting to the upcoming criticism due to my workload? lack of personal time, etc.
Does anyone have tips to deal with these types of things without falling apart emotionally? I want to acknowledge my feelings (not bury them since setting boundaries and feeling things is something that has been contributing to my depression and TMS). I may have to get a new work situation, but sometimes I also wonder if I can ever tolerate the brutal hours most companies ask these days.
sigh...
thanks for listening out there. I have a therapist but am running out of $$ for the rest of the year, so I have cut back. I have also been feeling better. ...
cheers,
]sarah

 

[Sita]

Hi,

Is the criticism correct? Or not? If the answer is "yes", you can make changes, correct yourself. And learn something, improve. So it's a blessing in disguise. If the answer is "no", then it doesn't matter, you can just ignore it and continue with your life. No need to get depressed about it. Why would you?

Just my opinion. Take care!

 

[sarah0924]

I felt better just writing it out too. The Corvid has been isolating even for me the introvert...

 

[Baseball65]

deal with these types of things without falling apart emotionally?

A lot of our TMS comes from RAGE masked as depression, fear, anxiety etc. Our over-conscientious type of personality's will turn that into a lot of other stuff. If I were you I'd be PISSED... that is the 'correct' emotion for being criticized anonymously.

Recently I got an anonymous (I knew who it was) complaint at work that we were making too much noise doing our job. I was Livid. I am miserable, sanding and plastering in high heat and humidity, no air flow ,confined spaces and NOW we can't tell jokes and sing and listen to music???? I came Unglued angry.... I had a good old fashioned punk rock , tourettes style meltdown in my Van by myself, cursing the people who complained..... and then shut up and finished the job, but it was important to let that anger be acknowledged or I might have gotten back pain, knee pain, something????

I turned my Boss onto Sarno and his back pain went away so he understands that I need X amount of time to process that stuff. I am lucky.

I kept that anger at the side of my mind as I continued the job, lest my very creative unconscious make something out of it. Yes, from a high minded spiritual place it's an admission of how very shallow I am, but that admission is what has kept me pain free.

Acknowledgement of the emotions actually helps them pass through... like a digestive system. That way I don't have to hang on to them and let them build up. In fact, some of the fatigue your feeling could be older resentments unaddressed backed up? That's why I find regular inventories useful.

Eckhart Tolle's work helped a lot. I am Not an angry person. I am just a person who is feeling anger right now. When It's OK, no resistance kicks up and cements in place and it finds the back door.