I just can't take anymore...

[EvilEmpryss]

Or keep a mirror at your desk and make faces while on the phone. It may make your coworkers laugh if they see you, so be careful!

[RootedPhoenix]

Or keep a mirror at your desk and make faces while on the phone.

I used to do that all the time. It helped immensely when someone was being dense.

[Jester]

...use the tip of your tongue to write fuck you , or whatever else you want on the roof of your mouth.

Alternatively, while you are talking to them, use your hand to write "Fuck you." Or something else. Or "type" it in the air. Or do something else. At at least one gig I had as a mobile DJ where kids were pissing me off, I mentally "reached" for my ".45," pulled it out of my waist band, and "shot" them dead. I of course owned no such gun, nor would I have used it on children (no matter how deserving), but the very thought of it kept me from doing or saying something that might have caused job insecurity.

And the reason I suggest pantomiming typing or writing is that, apparently at your job, actually doing such might cause problems. But just wiggling your fingers or your hand without the bosses knowing what it is can just be written off to stretching.

[bainsidhe]

There are no easy answers to this one, and there are a lot of good comments. I'm lucky that I never worked with such a-hole management. I have however, experienced anxiety attacks and burnout, which is why I just quit my p/t job.

What is your safety net? Do you have nearby support from family/friends? Is your fiance living with you? Can he/she assist with the financial aspect of things? You need to quit your job. Period. Your burnout has reached epic size and you need to relieve yourself from this horrible stress. That's why I ask if you have a support system to aide you on the financial side until you get back on your feet both financially & emotionally. As it is, you're going to literally make yourself ill to the point you can't function let alone work. How will you support yourself then?

Please know that there is financial help out there. If you attend a church, please speak with your pastor. Contact local aide agencies for support. Food pantries are available to feed your family. If rent is too high, can you stay with family for a couple months? There is no easy solution and things may be uncomfortable for a while, but You Are Worth It. And you can't shoulder everything alone. Please reach out and get the support you need.

We're rooting for you.

[Kristev]

I understand you, Spawned. A lot of people, including me, are facing very similar problems. I feel for you, and if you need to vent, I am available to listen without judgment. I know what it is to be trapped in a job where everything is against you, left in a state of unstable rage/grief, with no help from family and no way of finding financial help or a better job. And what diabetes is. I understand. You have all my best and my good wishes.

[Lots42]

Your bosses have to give you pee breaks, they do not have a choice.

[hobbitt97]

burned out too!!!

Spawn, I worked customer service/sales for almost 20 yrs. I did have a nervous breakdown and tried suicide. It is not worth it. Get another job, in a year or 2 you will be back up to a good level of pay. I am now going on disability since I am unable to work anymore without horrible anxiety attacks. Best of luck.

[fireheart]

Most of it has already been answered, but I'll add my own 2c.

-Use some of those bathroom breaks to take a few deep breaths. I doubt they're being timed and I would be really surprised if they were being timed. I would sometimes call for a bathroom break back at my old store (which was extremely difficult due to how busy we were) just so I could sit down for about 5 minutes and calm down from a panic attack that was about to spring forth.

-Document everything that is affecting you at work-both mentally and physically-and take it to anyone outside of work that can help you. Don't pass it on to HR just yet, try and get some official notice from the labour board that states "you must have bathroom breaks, you must have breaks in general etc."

-When you do have some time off, do things that you enjoy doing most....watch some movies. Write a story (I do that a lot...it's a good way for me to invent the bullies as enemies that I shoot down with my magical powers ). Play Rise of Nations or Age of Empires-again, the whole "striking down the bullies" concept. Come on here and laugh at the stories....there's about 400+ pages worth in the Sucky Customers forum and lots more in the other forums. There's a lot you can do if it helps relieve the stress.

-Look up clinics that may be able to help you with your problems-especially helping to manage your medication. See if they have counsellors or psychologists available as well.

-Look up free counselling services-there are a LOT of them available out there.

Don't hesitate to talk to us otherwise....I went through a bit of a difficult time last year (and I'm sort of still going through that) and these guys here helped me out a LOT. Some gave me advice, others helped me out indirectly by making me laugh through the stories they'd share on the forums (Kara's Prison Guard stories are definitely worth checking out).

Don't give up.

[Jester]

There are no easy answers to this one...

You need to quit your job. Period.

I would like you to re-read your first comment. There ARE no easy answers to this one. So please don't make it that easy. I have no doubt that the OP would quit in a heartbeat if they thought they could. It is obvious from their post that they don't think they can. So please, people, don't make it so simplistic. If anything, the thought of being without any job, or with a lower paying job, seems to be stressing the OP out as much as, if not more than, their current job situation is.

There are no easy answers. Remember that.

[Kristev]

No, there aren't.

[protege]

Perhaps not AT work, as your company sounds like the First National Bank of Douchebags. But there are several ways to release your stress FROM work OUTSIDE of work. One obvious suggestions is this very site: we come here specifically to bitch about our biggest asshole customers. It is very therapeutic for a lot of the members. Perhaps you should try that a bit more. And once you have told the particular story that bothered you that day....let it go. Just release it. Do not allow it to bother you any more after that.

I'm sure my car is tired of having me bitch about work during the ride home. Most of the time, work shit either stays at work, or in the car. But, if I'm still pissed, I have to vent here, or over in my Livejournal. All of that crap is friends-only, so it's not like my boss or co-irkers can read it

Also, consider physical exercise/exertion. Working out, biking, punching a heavy bag, pounding nails into something with a hammer, breaking stuff that you are going to throw out anyway.....whatever you need to work out the shit that is bothering you. It is physically impossible (or at least damn difficult) to be angry and pissed off when you are exhausted. Plus it would have the added benefit of addressing your weight gain.

Seconded. There's nothing better, than going into the garage...and beating the ever living shit out of a former 'office' computer. Of course, I'd first remove the drives and boards--I don't know about the rest of you, but I really don't want to get hit with shattered circuit board But, once that's been done, you can get a serious workout. I've taken old computer cases, and reduced them to a crushed mess in a few minutes with the 40-pound fence maul It's therapeutic as hell

Lately though, I've been doing less of that, and more of going to the gym or taking the MG for a spin. Not sure why, but in that car...all problems seem to go away.

[ShootMePlease]

Seems to me you should call the labor board on these folks "anonymously" and report them. I'm sure they would be VERY interested to learn of their practices. You cannot deny someone a bathroom break. Also, whenever you have any free moments at all, explore every opportunity for other employment. It may take some elbow grease and knocking on doors, but it will be worth it for your sanity.

[HYHYBT]

Not sure why, but in that car...all problems seem to go away.

Funny, that's very nearly the opposite of their reputation

[aurelemsrealm]

I agree with everyone about making up stories to serve as personal connections if you think you must share a piece of your life with the customer. However, you don't really have to go to that much trouble to make it seem like you're relating to customers. In my case, I concentrate on bantering with the few customers I actually like. I joke around, engage them with friendly wisecracks, and make up nonsense stories to share. I don't volunteer any deeply personal details of my life, but I still make them feel like I'm offering a personal touch. Plus, I have a knack for passing off more serious insults and jibes against sucktomers as sounding like the playful ones that I normally dispense. You'd have to really know me to see the difference. The bonus is that other customers I don't know so well will sometimes join in that atmosphere, and I end up developing a rapport with them as well.

I realize that may not work so well since you work in a call center environment, and I work face-to-face with my customers in a retail environment. When I don't spot my favorite customers in the crowd, I generally just quietly go through the motions while daydreaming about things I consider more pleasant than work since I can pretty much do my job in my sleep. I also keep a list of piddly busywork chores to which I can escape when dealing with the worst of sucktomers. So, I ring them up quickly, collect payment, and go back to whatever I was doing before, virtually ignoring their attempts to dig at me. If I can think of way to put off, ridicule or insult them without loosing my cool, I take full advantage of the opportunity to strike back at them. It's especially good if I can enlist the help of another customer or coworker to help me deflect a sucktomer, and it has happened that way before.

So, essentially, as others have said, it boils down to compartmentalizing the workday into a separate box from everything else in your life. I've learned to act mostly indifferent about what happens at work because it's just a few more hours toward my paycheck. When I clock out and leave, I leave all that mess behind until I clock in for my next shift.

On the rare occasions that I'm still irked when it's time to leave work, I put my deviously sadisitic sense of humor to work. I imagine the various ways in which I would torment, torture, and ultimately kill sucktomers, coirkers, or moronic managers if it was legal to do so. For instance, I imagine them as ants in a colony that I'm roasting with a magnifying glass or a flame thrower. I imagine them as giant hemorrhoids that are being force fed tube after tube of Preparation H. I imagine them being turned into firewood on a bonfire. I imagine them as mobile homes, and I'm the tornado tossing them around like debris. You get the idea, I imagine the most off-the-wall scenarios I can think of at the time. I also play games like Doom or Destroy all Humans which involves killing the enemy or destroying everything in my path.

Other ways to wash away the stress of the workday: a hot shower as soon as I get home, a beer or two before bedtime, time with family and friends, computer/internet time, movies, music, other hobbies, or sleep.

[Andara Bledin]

Since it's obvious that your work is stressing you out to the point of being notably detrimental to your health, you might also consider taking disability leave.

My mother actually did that once while working in a particularly stressful office.

Unfortunately, you won't get nearly the same amount of money as a regular paycheck, but how much of what you're making now is going towards your deteriorating health and sanity?

^-.-^