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Most people who have written in this section say that crying at work is unprofessional and won't solve anything. I agree with this to a certain extent, but on the other hand, crying is also your body's way of releasing negative energy and blocks caused by outside circumstances - and if these outside circumstances include your job, then why are you still there? I know firsthand that staying too long in a toxic environment that is going to make you upset is dangerous for your health.

Work should be a healthy, well-balanced and positive place ... after all, we're there for a great deal of our lives. So if your workplace is anything but those three things, my advice to you would be to get the hell out of there and find something that is as close to your joy as possible. It may not be your dream job but it could be a job with lovely co-workers around you and decent bosses. It could be something with a lot of variety. These attributes help balance your working life, making you happy and relaxed so you don't have any reason to cry!

In saying that though, I realise that no matter how great your job might be, there will always be something that really "gets" you on a particular day - and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, a few tears can be unavoidable.
It has happened to me a couple of times in my current job. It's a great job, with great workmates. But there is a colleague of mine who can turn really narky when it suits her and I am somehow the first in line for her to throw her crap at. Might be because I'm easygoing and I don't fight back very often. But unfortunately I can also be quite sensitive at times and being bawled out by someone doesn't sit with me very well. I am only just starting to develop a toughness!
This is what I do if the rare occasion comes up when I feel like I need to cry at work...
- Go to the toilet, cry if I need to, then think of something happy to help compose myself again, wash my face thoroughly and head back to my office with the ready excuse of "I've got sinus problems" if someone asks about my blotchy face or blocked nose. I also smile as much as I can - not just for the benefit of others, but for myself as well. Smiling releases all the endorphins that make you feel good so it's impossible to feel crappy when you have a big smile on your face. If I don't feel like smiling, I think of my best friends or my cat, and that will usually bring one about very quickly!
- If this particular colleague of mine is in a bad mood or I'm feeling particularly vulnerable one day, I imagine that I'm wrapped in a wall of mirrors, or a suit of armour. The idea is that negativity will bounce off the mirrors away from me, and it won't penetrate my suit of armour either. I then remind myself of all the reasons to feel happy, and that particular person or bad situation at work is only a piddle in life's vast ocean, and if that's all I'm upset about, I'm doing very well.

Learn more about this author, Kristie Theobald.
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