To want colleague to stop talking to me?

[fotevers]

She keeps talking to me about her panic attacks, her anxiety, how she’s scared to do things alone etc and it’s reached a point that it’s too much for me and I’m not a professional.

She already has a therapist and from all accounts she has friends, lives with her family.

I would never want someone to feel like they had no one to talk to but she clearly does have others and it’s getting me down.

Colleague - I'm not sure if you are sharing this personal information with me because you think I might be able to help but I'm sorry I can't. If you are telling me because you think I might be interested, I make it a strict policy of my own not to blur the lives of home and work, I don't get involved with colleagues private life and I don't share mine.

I love to chat about music/tv/weather but apart from that I don't engage.

Soz, it's not you it's me 😬

'I've bought my headphones today because I really need to get my head down and do x, y, z' - only works in an office based role. Plug them in or don't but it signals you are busy.

If you can't do that just keep changing the subject and don't engage.

It is perfectly fine to say "I am sorry you are struggling, but your sharing of this is too much for me. I think you need to lean on your friends and family for support."

'Brenda, I need to concentrate on my work.'

Then turn your back and get on with your job.

She may feel hurt for a minute but then she'll have to suck it up and get on with her job.

It's irrelevant what she's bleating on about, you're there to work.

Sorry you're having a tough time. Talkm to HR about the EAp. Sorry but I'm not qualified to help you. And I. Finding it triggering, please stop