Does anyone else ever feel this way?

[AngelRose81]

I have just been miserable & hopeless lately. I’m in tears nearly everyday at work because I’ve got so much on me and my boss keeps piling more on and then getting on my case because things aren’t done. I’ve tried talking to him about it but it didn’t do any good so I just gave up. Work has just begun to consume all of my life. I think about it at work, at home, before I go to sleep, all the time. It seems like I can’t even find time to pray anymore. I made a visit to the Blessed Sacrament yesterday and today and while I’m there I’m mostly ok, although I still find myself not being able to focus and I’m back to thinking about work again. I just feel like I’ve let myself get spiritually empty. I don’t know what to do! I know God is still there but I just feel abandoned sometimes because I’m so miserable everyday. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you been in the same situation?

 

[ncguy]

I have just been miserable & hopeless lately. I’m in tears nearly everyday at work because I’ve got so much on me and my boss keeps piling more on and then getting on my case because things aren’t done. I’ve tried talking to him about it but it didn’t do any good so I just gave up. Work has just begun to consume all of my life. I think about it at work, at home, before I go to sleep, all the time. It seems like I can’t even find time to pray anymore. I made a visit to the Blessed Sacrament yesterday and today and while I’m there I’m mostly ok, although I still find myself not being able to focus and I’m back to thinking about work again. I just feel like I’ve let myself get spiritually empty. I don’t know what to do! I know God is still there but I just feel abandoned sometimes because I’m so miserable everyday. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you been in the same situation?

AngelRose81,

Hang in there! Yes, I’ve been there many times. Usually, I find it’s because I’m trying to do things MY way, and not God’s way. Keep making visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and make sure you clear your mind to listen. Also, keep praying, but don’t find time for it . . . make it a priority and find time for the other things. As long as God is at the forefront in your life, everything else is manageable. Again, hang in there!

 

[Nancyannheath]

OH, I have been there, and in tears and so stressed out I cant sleep. I used to be a secretary for two major directors at General Motors here in Michigan. They had global obligations and sometimes I would host net meetings from my home at 2:00 am. My workday never stopped. I prayed I could keep my sanity, my job, my family, and my health. I asked Jesus to help me get through another day.

Unfortunately, my father-in-law passed away during all of this and my mother in law is disabled and needed care. My husband is a police officer, and my sister in law is a full-time nurse and no one else in the family wanted to quit their job to care for her and hiring someone to come in to do so was the exact amount of my salary. So I volunteered to care for her and the family could pitch in to pick up some of the costs my not working would need covered. So Jesus gave me a window of opportunity and here I am, a stay at home caregiver and no more of the office stress I had, which was tearing me apart…

I hope no death in the family happens for you, but keep your faith and see what happens. Remember Jesus was working 24-7 just before he died. The lame, blind, sick, all were seeking him out and he had the apostles take him out on a boat just for some rest and HE would understand your workload and how hard it is. Ask him to show you how to either handle what you have, or ask him to show you a different job you may enjoy with less stress. He will answer you…

I will say prayers for you too…

 

[Coreopisis]

I have just been miserable & hopeless lately. I’m in tears nearly everyday at work because I’ve got so much on me and my boss keeps piling more on and then getting on my case because things aren’t done. I’ve tried talking to him about it but it didn’t do any good so I just gave up. Work has just begun to consume all of my life. I think about it at work, at home, before I go to sleep, all the time. It seems like I can’t even find time to pray anymore. I made a visit to the Blessed Sacrament yesterday and today and while I’m there I’m mostly ok, although I still find myself not being able to focus and I’m back to thinking about work again. I just feel like I’ve let myself get spiritually empty. I don’t know what to do! I know God is still there but I just feel abandoned sometimes because I’m so miserable everyday. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you been in the same situation?

We don’t always have to go to Jesus, we can ask Him to come with us.

I am in this same boat you are talking about now. I hardly have time to think. So each morning I ask Jesus to have mercy on me and walk with me through my day, hold my hand during the tough stuff, and just be there with me filling me with peace. It works. I am in a similar mess as you and yesterday even had a co-worker yell at me and disagree with me.

Despite all this though I felt a definite peace all day long.

I suggest you try this too. Hopefully you will also be filled with peace.
Love,
Sarah

 

[Exsilium]

I think it comes down to not letting this world pull you in and weigh you down. I forget the passage but it goes something like this dessert all concerns in this world for it shall all come to pass. someone please find this verse

Trust in the lord and he will provide and make things straight for you. Try to put yourself in a position where you whole heartedly trust in the lord. Money isnt everything and God will provide. Remember you cant serve God and money. Theres no use in letting mammon bring you down. Their is more to life and God wants us to live!

 

[InLight247]

… It seems like I can’t even find time to pray anymore. … I just feel like I’ve let myself get spiritually empty. I don’t know what to do! I know God is still there but I just feel abandoned sometimes because I’m so miserable everyday. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you been in the same situation?

Don’t find time to pray. The Holy Spirit dwells in you. You can pray at any time, at any place. During the stressful time, you ought to let Jesus carry the burden with you. He is more than willing. Once upon a time, my computer job was so stressful. I prayed while working, and usually the problem would soon be solved. That is true, I am not exaggerating. Every time I ask for God’s help, the complicated logic problems are solved. Combine your faith with every details of your life. Practice the presence of God, pray all the time and you will see the difference.

God bless!

 

[Mark_Robert]

What is it with our American Culture? In Europe, many employees get a month off a year and have reasonable work hours. Here, it’s corporate policy to work people to death in order to maximize the bottom line by exploiting the workforce. We don’t have real personal time anymore to relax and spend time with our families. It’s all about raising the stock value a few more dollars/cents or whatever for investors. It’s all about the rich getting richer at the expense of the poor. We are overworked and underpaid in our culture and I’m sick of it. Your situation is symptomatic of a return to the enslavement policies of the industrial revolution. Blame it on rampant social and economic injustice not yourself. DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF if you no longer have time for a spiritual life. Corporate America has taken it away from you. Like sheep we just accept the abuse. Instead of rising up and banding together in peaceful resistance (a la Martin Luther King Jr.) to the inexcusable social injustices of today (low wages, ever increasing gas prices, etc.) we just feel sorry for ourselves. What is needed is action on our part to correct the social ills that face us.

 

[AngelRose81]

Thanks for all your replies. They’ve been a great help to me. I’m somewhat better today. And I’ll hopefully be even better by the end of the week because I’m taking Thursday & Friday off since its Holy Week and hopefully I’ll have time to settle down and just spend some time with God. Thanks again for all your replies and please keep me and all the rest in this same situation in your prayers!

 

[Belle10]

We don’t always have to go to Jesus, we can ask Him to come with us.

Absolutely! Sometimes I picture Jesus sitting next to me at my desk during the workday, or in the car on my long commute. I also have a picture of the Divine Mercy at my desk. Remember too that Jesus told St. Faustina that when we receive Him in Holy Communion, He remains with us until the next time we receive Him.

I know how hard it is to work so much and feel like there’s no time to do what you want to be doing. Just keep doing your best and He’ll help you. :hug1: Have a blessed rest of Holy Week and a joyous Easter!

 

[Miserissima]

Thanks for all your replies. They’ve been a great help to me. I’m somewhat better today. And I’ll hopefully be even better by the end of the week because I’m taking Thursday & Friday off since its Holy Week and hopefully I’ll have time to settle down and just spend some time with God. Thanks again for all your replies and please keep me and all the rest in this same situation in your prayers!

Let me throw out some ideas, and hope one helps:

You have a great idea for Triduum: refresh, recharge, and let your focus be on God instead of work. Lift up your sorrow and frustration and just place it all in His hands so you can focus solely on Him.

Remember, your actions/tasks/duties at work ARE prayers. I remember reading several books about nuns/sisters and with each task (menial or important) their charism instructed them to believe that:

a) there is a time and a place for everything. A stopping point for formal prayer at an appointed time (even if you have to run to the ladies’ room) will do wonders. And it works for me! At exactly 10:00 or 2:00 (usually when the smokers take thir breaks) I would disappear for 5 minutes and offer up an informal prayer to praise God, and thank Him for the opportunity to serve Him. It’s also ok to say, “God, this is overwhelming - this sucks!” He knows.

b) I have read from the same books to believe that there is nothing more important that doing the work in front of you (worked for me in Basic Training and subsequent deployments), because the act itself is a prayer unto God. You’re not meeting a deadline for your boss, you are working thoroughly, methodically, and doing it for God. Take heart.

It’s not from Scripture, but from the Desiderata: be gentle with yourself. Your home is your sanctuary, in which only God and your family are allowed. All other people and issues need permission to enter. This should help you to leave work at work. Listen to CAL or on your iPod during your commute.

Perhaps you could ask your supervisor for an assistant (even a temp or intern)?

I’ll be praying to St. Joseph, patron saint of workers, for you.

 

[Ilroy]

Another thing to keep in mind is there are other jobs and other companies to work for. I had a time where I absolutely dreaded going to work every day because management in my department had gone in the toilet. I kept an eye on job postings and found a new job in another department of the same company…the dread has left me.