RichoC,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, and welcome to the forums.
I can understand your frustration, job-related stress can take a serious toll on the rest of our lives. I'd take a look at Fair Work Australia if you haven't already, and you can have a browse through your entitlements and what you may be able to do in situations that you feel you've been unfairly treated. They're really good and prompt, I've had to go to them a few times now.
Do you have the time/opportunity to engage in anything relaxing or stimulating outside of work? Even just ten-fifteen minutes or so to yourself? Perhaps if the weather permits, do you ever go on walks or see friends socially, or do you have the opportunity to do any hobbies? Provided we can find the time and motivation, these things can be really helpful if we're struggling in other areas of our lives. They can offer a bit of an escape or sense of freedom that's helpful in preparing us to deal with stress and frustrations.
It sounds like your wife may be trying to offer you support, but not in the way that you had hoped she would. What exactly do you need from her during this time? Is it her encouragement, her listening, her validation, perhaps just her company and a moment where you don't have to think about work?
If there's a point where both of you are free at the same time (maybe on a weekend or less busy weeknight), you could try opening a gentle conversation about what's giving you the most frustration, and the kind of support you may require from her. It's very easy for these kinds of conversations to be overrun with stress, so it may need to be at a time where both of you have a good window of opportunity to sit down and have a chat with no time pressure or other commitments/activities to attend to. Communication about these life stressors is so important, particularly for people who live together.
I hope this helps, please feel free to reply back if you'd like to. We're here for you.
SB
