How do you handle work stress as an Aspie?

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I usually handle it well.

I can take a lot of pressure.

But this last 1.5 years I am ready to just go find work in another Country! Other than the USA.

It comes down to about two people I work with that I can't work with!! !! !

Anyone else?

How I handle stress at work depends a lot on what the stress involves. I can be distracted, so if I'm doing a lot of mental processing and someone say pops their head in the door to say hi, I find it difficult to get back to what I was doing, it's mostly patterned work, so if I retrace my steps, I eventually figure out where I was, but this is time consuming. I suck under pressure, so rather than work in the office, where I can be the most effective, I've demoted myself to do labor out on the floor. So I spend most of the day with my own thoughts, no pressure, and an easy dollar. Unfortunately, after being considered and trained for several different positions, being on the floor makes me feel like a loser. (Not that the floor people are losers, but because I couldn't keep pace with the other positions)

I try not to worry about the things I can't control (in short - other people.) I work at a computer, so I listen to music most of the day. Also, I get out of the building at lunchtime & take a good book to lunch (when the weather is nice, I walk to lunch - about a mile each way.)

When I get home, I have a quick snack & head to the gym for an hour workout. I spend about 30 minutes on the elliptical - it sort of bounces up & down and my arms swing - this is the way I stim lately.

All these things really help me to get through all social interaction I have to deal with during the day.

(It also doesn't hurt that I love my job & most of the people I work with are good people.)

Mainly by being supremely organised - planning all my tasks the previous day and knowing exactly what is involved. Social interaction is not an obligatory part of my work in general (apart from giving presentations and taking part in discussions which I am fairly good at because its all very work/technical oriented rather than social/politics oriented), although it helps to be seen as a generally pleasant person, particularly when I need to learn how to do a new task. New tasks or collaborations with people are stressful and I tend to put them off, which is not a good trait in a scientist. I do tend to get involved in my work to the detriment of social interaction, and because socialising can sometimes be a real effort I must admit that often don't really try and instead absorb myself in work, which is sort of accepted - well certainly by my boss who has a lot of Aspie traits himself. The people I work with are nice, intelligent and generally open-minded and I'm not aware of any social hierarchies or unwritten rules that I am breaking apart from my inability to remember to greet people. I guess I'm lucky in that science is an area which tolerates eccentricity and absorption in work to detriment of social skills, and generally focuses on merit (although I may have a problem if I want to climb the career ladder as politics and management becomes important higher up).

something like merriemadscientist above...

I just sort of buckle down and work on one thing at a time. Since I do tech support, my job is defined by accidents and bad luck. Also I have a very weird sense of humor...

i work at home and for myself. aside from WP that is about all i do - fixate on work/special interest stuff.
I am pretty well hyperactive. i just go all the time and my low stress is probably someone else's heart attack material.
the only area of my life i keep things vaguely together is my career/spcial interest.

The last 20 years of my full-time working life were spent producing instructions for scientific spacecraft on a fairly tight timeline. As long as I was not distracted or redirected, I did fine. I was very lucky to work in an environment that was professional and had a high number of aspies as well. The only two workplace stressors that habitually distracted me were the proliferation of utterly redundant status meetings and one drama queen of a boss (all my others had been terrific). I simply skipped as many meetings as I could get away with. I rarely said anything anyway, other than reciting what I was working on. I never came up with a good plan for the boss, but he exasperated most others on the team. I also tried to avoid him at all costs, making me feel like some juvenile, sneaking around. So I guess you could say that my coping strategies were pretty poor and not creative, although they worked well enough.

Usually I can handle it well enough, but lately I have been put in the middle of several political wars, and I have been feeling a tad overwhelmed. Today I came very close to breaking down into tears (okay, more than close, but managed to hold it until I could get out of there) after one uncomfortable confrontation with a boss, with regards to one particular war going on in the office which I fear is hopeless unless a few people just freakin' well grow up, sigh . Luckily it was lunch time by then, and I bought some emergency chocolate, and walked the long way back to work eating a portion of said chocolate, got some cold air on my face and did some deep breathing. It is second best to meditating, but I had no where quiet to sit and not be bothered by people buzzing around me. For some reason, eyes closed, deep breathing means "time to talk".

I just want to be left alone to do my job, is that so wrong? (apparently, yes - it is, sigh). Ah, so nice to be home, all alone, with just the gentle ticking of a clock on the wall...

just want to be left alone to do my job, is that so wrong?

Grinning Cat - totally - I am there. Just let me alone.

Unfortunately I have to interface with many people, luckily I get on well with almost all.

But when one turns the screws in on tighter it just makes normal job stress worse, but I am learning to deal with it in an unconventional manner - that works for an Aspie.

Walking is awesome - I do it every noon and listen to music - also listen to it lightly at my desk.

Worst part is I am a stickler for detail and never like to bend rules, you know always and never, no maybe's or perhaps exists for some of us - I am learning to flex more.

I have become a much better speaking and communicator thought and that helps a lot, omo

I work at home

I just bash at Culture Club while humming to myself 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-go'...

I came to the conclusion that what was causing me stress was getting too emotional about things I couldn't control .It seems strange that emotions come into it,because we're supposed to be logical and detached ! The work itself no longer gives me stress but I understand how
getting along with colleagues can be difficult. I've learned to allow for the fact that nobody's
going to live up to our expectations and I try to compromise when it comes to participating in chat.I look on interaction with colleagues as being a part of the job itself,not separate from the
workload.

And don't forget to say things will get better if I concentrate my things on it...