Anxiety in the Workplace

Today was a pretty good day at work. It's New Year's Eve so it's slow and relaxed. It felt sort of like a few friends just hanging out while getting some stuff done.

One of my tasks today was to empty a drawer on fourth floor and put my belongings down on the ground floor where my team sits when not training or supporting a class. The ground floor is where there have been rodent sightings, so I've been pushing through some anxiety.

When I was cleaning out my drawer I found a bunch of papers that I no longer needed. I had two options:

1. Walk out of my way to go to the lobby and either take the stairs or the elevator to another floor to dump the papers in a secure "shred-it" box, or
2. Walk 20 feet behind me to the door that separates us from HR/ Recruiting and use their box. 

Option #2 is the area where the rodent was just last week. For some reason (braveness or laziness; I'm still unsure) I chose option 2. I opened the door and the room is empty because the ladies weren't in today. I made my way across the room to the shred-it box and dumped my stuff (all the while eyeballing the room). I saw a trap on the floor near the box and I felt sick to my stomach. Is this where the little bastard was last week? I hightailed it out of there, and as I'm approaching the door that separates the two rooms I saw two traps on the floor - one on each side of the door I just walked through and will again have to walk through.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I honestly didn't know if I could walk in between the two traps. It is a secure area so I had to swipe my pass to make things even worse. There is another exit, but I didn't know if I wanted to run in that direction, either. I reached out, swiped the door, pulled and ran in. My heart was racing, the air felt thick. I felt sick to my stomach.

It is about 20 minutes later and I'm still anxious. I hate this feeling. I keep hearing things now; little rustling noises, keyboard-type clicks. I am alone so I'm scared thinking that all of a sudden, now that everyone else has left, the rodents are coming out to play.

My chest feels heavy. Luckily, it's time for me to go home. 

Until next time,

D