SUMMARY POINTS

  • Getting demoted triggers all sorts of bad emotions
  • Stay calm at work and give yourself a mental timeout
  • After work, let all of the emotions out to start healing
For some time now, things just haven’t been jiving at work. And it’s not because you’re doing it on purpose. It’s because of all sorts of factors internally within yourself and externally from your working environment.

On good days, you’re getting by and doing just enough not to attract negative attention from your boss and coworkers. In other words, you’re kinda “quiet quitting” on the job.

On bad days, you’re dragging ass at work because you hate your fucking job or boss. Those are the days when the mere act of getting out of bed is a monumental task. And because of this, you just haven’t been performing at work.

Unfortunately, there’s been more of these bad days than good and it’s finally caught up to you. You’ve been written up at work for your subpar performance and have had several meetings with your boss and HR.

It’s finally culminated in a demotion. And now, you’ve got all of these emotions racing inside you.

Ugh - now what?

Dealing With The Emotions Of Demotion

You can’t say that you didn’t see this coming. Even if you had a sense that things weren’t going well and that you’d eventually be reprimanded at some point, getting the official word in writing and via a CYA email from HR that you’re being demoted still hits you like a ton of bricks.

It feels like a personal attack. And to some degree, it kinda is because it’s a reflection of how the company sees you. They don’t value you as much anymore. They don’t have confidence in you. You feel rejected and it sucks.

Right now, you’ve got a crazy mix of emotions boiling inside you. Part of you wants to go ape-shit postal on your boss, HR and all the fucking backstabbers that did you wrong and threw you under the bus. This is mixed with a debilitating combination of anxiety, fear and depression.

This roller coaster of emotions changes from minute to minute. At one moment you’re angry as fuck but then seconds later it morphs into deep worry and sadness about your future. It’s mental torture.

The key thing to do at this moment is to get your head in order. And, the first step you need to take is to calm the fuck down - like now. You can’t be losing your shit at the office in front of everyone. You still have a personal brand to uphold and maintain.

However, you can’t keep these emotions all bottled up inside you - that’s not healthy. You have to let them loose. In other words, you gotta feel it to heal it. And these are the ways to do this.

Let Loose Away From The Office

If you feel like you’re about to explode, then take it outside and get away from everybody. Head to your car and if possible, go drive to another area nearby out of sight from the office. Then, sit in your car and scream your lungs out, yell out all the bullshit and get everything out of your system.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a car to escape to, find a secluded place in another part of the campus or building. Anywhere that’s safe and secluded where you can cry, sob, yell and do whatever you need to do to let loose for a few minutes. It’s essential to vent at work to get some immediate relief.

When you’re done, get yourself together before heading back to your desk. Do another final check in the restroom and freshen up if needed. Maybe, even do a toilet meditation. This should get you back to a normal looking state.

Take A Mental Timeout 

If you’re not about to explode, but in more of a state of shock. Then you can give yourself a timeout by stepping away from your desk and going for a short walk outside. Getting some fresh air helps in moments like this.

While you’re taking this walk, breathe slowly and deeply. Focus on breathing if you can. If that’s too hard, then focus on the immediate surroundings. Look at the shapes of the clouds. Listen to the birds chirping. Feel the air and sun on your face.

This mental break aims to help your mind not think about the demotion for the next 5-10 minutes. This will allow you to destress and lower your heart rate and blood pressure. You want to calm down to lower your cortisol levels.

You can also use “It’s just a job” mantras to help you reset your perspective on this. When you look at this moment from the bigger picture of life, it’s pretty insignificant. There are other things in your life and in this world that are far more important than this stupid bullshit.

When you feel more at ease and back to a somewhat normal state, then head back to your desk and do your best to finish out your grunt work for the rest of the day. If you can’t muster up the motivation, then coasting at work is an option to get across the finish line on a rough day at work.

Let It All Out After Work

After the work day, you need to process all remaining emotions racing in your head and heart. It’s important to keep processing and working through all your emotions because it will allow you to release all that bad mojo.

On your way back home, you gotta keep calm and commute on. But once you get home, it’s time to unload all of the emotions that you had bottled up from the day. Be sure to give your spouse or significant other a heads-up that you need to vent and that you just need them to listen.

You can and should vent to your BFFs too. Having other close friends to talk to will give you more outlets to release. Not only can they provide additional consolation, but they can also provide some alternate insights.

Don’t forget about any furry four-legged family that you may have. They are some of the best damn listeners in your life. Talk to them. Share your thoughts and feelings. Then, pet them lovingly in gratitude via a dog meditation or if you’re on the feline side, a cat meditation. All of this will work wonders to clear things out and make you feel so much better.

If you have pent-up anger, then a couple of ways to release this is to throw balled-up socks against the wall or slam your fists down on the mattress. Do either of these with all your might and release all of that pent-up anger.

Keep Your Head Up & You’ll Get Through This

Getting demoted at work sucks big time. No matter the circumstances surrounding the demotion and whether or not it was justified, it still puts you in a shitty mood. Now, you have to work through these emotions first before doing anything else.

The first and most important thing is to take care of yourself. This is priority number one. If you can’t heal yourself mentally, then you won’t be in any position to climb back out of the rut you’re in. This is one of the secrets to getting through a rough day.

A lot of people will say that you need to control your emotions and stay sane. In other words, you gotta keep it all under control, all the time. This is the worst fucking advice - ever. This is not the way to manage work stress.

Yes, you can’t be losing your shit at work. You gotta remain professional. However, when you’re not at work, you gotta let it all out. You can’t keep this kind of shit bottled up and suppressed.

The goal of all this is to process all of your thoughts, feelings and emotions. You have to get it all out of your system. This will allow you to begin the mental recovery and healing process.

Remember, you gotta feel it to heal it.

Then, once you get past this first stage, you can get in the zone and start drawing out your plans to bounce back. And when you regain your mental strength and clarity, it’s time for those peeps to watch out because it’s payback time, biotch!

Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]

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