I sit next to an angry person

dbanks80

I am a confrontational person when it comes to nonsense. So I probably would have confronted her and told her to get some help or shut the F up. There is no way you should have to deal with a person like that. Just because she is that unhappy and angry doesnt give her the right to take it out on everyone else. Quite frankly, I am surprised the manager hasnt addressed it. Doesnt he/she see the person lashing out?

lemon629

You need to report this behavior to your supervisor. You should not have to tolerate that kind of behavior at work. Any retaliation would just get the person more in trouble, so don't worry about that too much. You need to stand up for yourself. I think you will feel better if you do. Part of why situations like this cause stress is feeling powerless which you are not.

I also agree about the suggestions regarding finding ways to tune out the person and de-stress. There will probably always be something or someone like this in your life to some extent. Learn ways of coping with it, and how to assert yourself.

I was in a situation like this once, too. Not only was he incredibly loud with a horrible temper, but the person in question was my supervisor! So I had to talk to my supervisor about his yelling. (He loudly argued with his wife on the phone EVERY SINGLE DAY-- sometimes more than once a day!) It was unpleasant to say the least. He was a real jerk who liked to say something nasty about nearly everything I did or said, but he did not retaliate against my complaint. In fact, after I talked to him he did try to lower his voice and sometimes would even apologize to me when he had been unusually loud. (He was still very loud, though.) So maybe the angry person in your life won't be as nasty to you as you think.

When he was at his worst, I just left my office, but you may not have that option. (I worked at a university library, so it was easy to go do something in a different part of the building.)

I did eventually get a new job. You will, too! Just don't let this situation bring you down.

Genette38

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all of your comments.

Headphones might be possible if I'm careful when I use them. They are a bit of a contentious issue as we are a customer facing office.

I also like the idea of chewing on straws and getting a stress ball.

I can reduce my caffeine but I already sleep more than anyone I know! I hate getting out of bed lol.

I lol'd at setting up a Youtube channel.

There's only 5 of us in the office and my manager has a separate office which doesn't share any walls with us. As my colleague is usually complaining about work or my manager, she is careful not to let my manager hear.

That's at least 5 things (including talking to my manager) that I can try. Hopefully these will help me to find a way to cope with stress without food.

Thanks everyone!