The workplace, a melting pot of diverse personalities and viewpoints, can often become a source of stress when we find ourselves triggered by a colleague. Whether it’s a clash of opinions, an uncooperative attitude, or an inability to stand each other’s presence, these conflicts can severely impact our productivity and well-being. However, bringing these issues into therapy can offer valuable insights and solutions. Let’s explore how therapy can help when workplace dynamics become challenging.

Recognizing the Trigger

First, it’s essential to identify what exactly is triggering you. Is it a specific behaviour, tone of voice, or attitude of the other person? Or is it a deeper, perhaps subconscious, reaction rooted in past experiences? Recognizing the trigger is the first step toward addressing it.

Understanding the Emotional Impact

When you’re triggered by someone at work, the emotional impact can be significant. You might feel anger, frustration, anxiety, or even sadness. These emotions can cloud your judgment and affect your performance. Therapy provides a safe space to explore these feelings, understand their origins, and learn how to manage them effectively.

Bringing Workplace Issues into Therapy

When you bring workplace triggers into therapy, you are opening up about a significant part of your daily life. Here’s how to do it effectively:

• Be Honest and Specific: Share specific incidents that trigger you. Describe what happened, how it made you feel, and the impact it had on your work
• Explore Personal History: Sometimes, workplace triggers are connected to past experiences. For example, a domineering colleague might remind you of a controlling figure from your past. Therapy can help uncover these connections
• Reflect on Your Responses: Discuss how you typically respond to these triggers. Do you avoid the person, confront them, or internalize your feelings? Understanding your reactions is key to changing them

How Therapy Can Help

Therapy offers several strategies to manage and resolve workplace conflicts:

• Building Self-Awareness: Therapy helps increase self-awareness, allowing you to understand why certain behaviours trigger you and how your reactions may be influenced by past experiences
• Developing Coping Strategies: A therapist can teach you coping strategies to manage your emotions in the moment. Techniques such as deep breathing, mindfulness, and cognitive reframing can be invaluable
• Improving Communication Skills: Effective communication is crucial in resolving workplace conflicts. Therapy can help you develop assertiveness and active listening skills, enabling you to express your concerns constructively and understand others’ perspectives
• Setting Boundaries: Learning to set and maintain healthy boundaries is essential. Therapy can guide you on how to establish boundaries that protect your well-being while maintaining professional relationships
• Practicing Empathy: Understanding that everyone has their struggles can foster empathy. Therapy can help you see your colleague’s behaviour from a different perspective, potentially reducing your negative reactions
• Conflict Resolution Techniques: Therapists often provide tools for conflict resolution, such as mediation techniques, negotiation skills, and problem-solving strategies that can be applied in the workplace

Feeling triggered by someone at work can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be an insurmountable obstacle. By bringing these issues into therapy, you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself, develop effective coping mechanisms, and improve your interpersonal skills. Ultimately, therapy can transform your workplace experience, turning conflict into an opportunity for personal growth and improved relationships. If you find yourself struggling with a difficult colleague, consider reaching out to a therapist to explore these valuable tools and strategies.