Denine,

I have a friend who is clinically neurotic. Not the funny ha ha neurotic kind, but rather the I'm serious, officially diagnosed kind. We've been casual acquaintances for years and I've watched his neuroses just get worse and worse, you know, the world is against him, everything that happens is someone else's fault, asks for then rejects all advice, and in general, "drama drama drama 24/7". Well now something pretty serious has happened, legally serious, and this friend of mine has been victimized and is taking legal action but his behavior is so erratic that his lawyer dropped him as a client. Believe it! Now he's in this cyclone of trying to find another lawyer and while I'm trying to help him---I know some attorneys---it seems he'd rather wade around in the drama than take advice as usual, but the stakes are high and I would like to know is there anything that can be done for a such a crisis oriented person?

Tired of neurosis

I hate to say this 'Tired', but there's nothing you can do. Clinically diagnosed?  Not a thing you can do then, unfortunately.  Do you know if your acquaintance is on anxiety medication?  Let's hope so; if not, he is making his own life needlessly difficult.   When you say he's been 'victimized'.........I believe it, but I also know that people who are truly 'neurotic' tend to like their drama, as you say, and seem to fall into one soap opera after another.  It seems they open themselves up to drama, doesn't it.  If your friend isn't on anxiety meds, try to talk w/him about it.  I'm generally anti-medications, but I've also known high anxiety people and they have a pretty difficult time; those who made the choice to get help had their lives made easier by pharmaceuticals.  Other than that, there's really nothing you can do except make certain you don't get pulled into the constant tornado of your friend's life.  Be a listening ear and give advice when asked {even though it's not followed}, but don't get sucked into the eye of the storm.    

I work with a really great group of people that do technical work, most people are cross trained on most things, and some people had some specialties with smaller groups cross trained to do work no one else can do. In my case, I do a particular critical task that three people are trained to do as well as a monthly 'required' maintenance task. The others know they are supposed to do these things, but something always comes up and I invariably end up having to make the time to do these special tasks myself. My boss knows about it because I have mentioned it, but doesn't really do anything about my suggestion of scheduling people to do this stuff periodically. The other workers seem apologetic but not enough to make time themselves. Now what?

 

 Signed, Overworked in the Lab

             Ok Overworked, first I have an issue with you thinking you work with 'a really great group of people'.  If that were true you wouldn't type 'the others know they're supposed to do these things but something always comes up'............Uh huh.  I'm sure it does.   Secondly, so you've mentioned this to your boss but he/she doesn't really 'do anything' about it.  Uh huh.  I'm sure they don't.  Why would your boss do anything about keeping the larger group of people happy and one who appears ok with shouldering the majority of the work?  One of my peeves is bosses who collect a paycheck without earning it.  This one sounds like they avoid rocking the work boat, and it's at your expense.  Bah.  The best solution is to do nothing, and I mean that literally.  DO NOTHING.  This 'required monthly maintenance task' needs to go undone by you the next time it needs doing.  Get it?  Letting it sit will move your boss to do one of two things: either they will ask you to do it and prove they're a noodle of a manager, which is what I'm suspecting, or 2,  force him/her to actually BE a manager and assign it to one of the 'great' people you work with, who has been so graciously allowing you to take on that should-be-shared responsibility.  Sometimes the best thing to do, is nothing.  Good luck.