When stressed in work, have you ever gone into the loo, put the lid down and then sat on it?

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

Just curious. This seems to happen all the time in films/tv (usually female characters for some reason) and I can't imagine doing this irl. Our work toilets aren't terrible, but they're not particularly nice, and I wouldn't feel better after a good long stint sitting there (especially if some poor soul was trying to have a stealth poo in the next cubicle - another thing that never happens on TV).

Clearly someone has decided that this is what career women do when in crisis. Is there any truth to it? Am I handling workplace stress all wrong?

Really surprised by how many people cry at work.

Yes. There's one not used often, and if things are getting hectic and I need a break I have retreated there.

I have cried in the work loos. But always stood in the cubicle 😊

Yes

Many times! Nowhere else to go if you are feeling upset or overwhelmed etc. If you don’t have your own office no other option!

I used to 'escape' to the (gent's) toilets to get away from a visiting chair (woman) thinking, quite rightly, "she can't get me in here".

I also used to pour a G&T as I got in each evening.

Am now in a much better job, thankfully.

Yes. Every couple of months. I’m an NHS consultant. We don’t even have staff loos. It’s a public loo, but one with walls so no-one can hear.

I go to the toilet, have a piss and do my pelvic floor exercises when I am pissed off or need to get away from my desk.

I hated work all through my 20s, and I used to sit cry in the loos of three different work places on many occasions. The jobs weren't bad but they were all wrong for me, I have since changed career so now I only go and hide in the loo very occasionally, to escape for five minutes if I need a break from my work mates and can't leave the building.

I will normally go fir a wee but then sit there for a little while afterwards. Ours aren't cubicles though we have 3 individual toilet with sink rooms. When I'm starting to get teary it helps stop me from fully crying! The only time I've actually fully cried was on Friday but that was because I was having n argument with DP over text and with it being totm I ended up on floods of tears over something quite minor .

for basically everyone on here. I genuinely believed this was a TV cliche!

Yep. Always refused to cry in front of colleagues but had a fair few crying fits in the loo, fixed myself up in the mirror and walked back in (faux) confident.

I have yet to do the what I call "eastenders bad news slide - get yourself inside the back of a hastily slammed bathroom door, hands clasped over mouth and wide eyes crying. Cue slide down the door and the and slump when on the floor. Often in a bath robe. Sonia was the absolute queen of this.

I cry in the toilet due to the stress, my team mate (Male) always says "dont be crying in there" he sits with his head in his hands groaning due to the stress!

I have. Used to do it for a bit of an escape from first trimester tiredness too. Sit on toilet rest head on cold tiles to try and wake up...

I’ve done it. In one job there was a kind of low tiled counter in the bathroom. There was no sink in this counter and the room was a small one with just one toilet and a separate sink. I used to lie down on the counter and have a micro nap if it really got bad.

I used to share an office with a colleague who literally never stopped talking. If there was nothing to say she said out loud what she was doing "open a new email, I'm starting to type, Dear mr so and so, comma". It drove me nuts a few times a day and I went to the toilet every hour or so to have some quiet. She concluded that I had some kind of stomach issue. Which suited me fine.

I'm lucky that I have a cupboard where I can go and hide. I used it a few times...

Yes but not with the lid down, I might as well have a wee while I'm in there!

Yep, for a cry! Bloody hated my job.

Yep, handful of times. Generally gone in, loo seat down, reel off toilet roll to sob into, flush it away and crack on with the day. I can have a good cry and get back to my desk in the same time it takes to do an actual wee.

In vv early pregnancy set a 5 minute alarm on phone and put loo seat down to have a quick power nap mid afternoon....

Yes, more than once (not in current job though). Also yes to a sneaky power nap to cope with first trimester exhaustion! I used to go to another floor in the office which had mostly men working there, as the women's toilets were nice and quiet

Yes, a few times - silent scream, deep breaths, counting to 10 to calm down, crying have all been done.

Yup.
But we have a big cubicle with a chair in it so I hide until I have to come out or I'll be blamed for the smell that seems to sporadically emanate from the Ladies.
But I cry all the fricking time. Anywhere. I don't give a crap. I'm human.

yes, frequently. to be alone and quiet and unwatched!

No, but I did last week when I was suffering from period pain cramps & feeling dizzy.