"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar." - Drew Carey
"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
Hello my name is Walt, and I'm a soul crushing job survivor.
Have you ever had one? They are SO common. Tragically so. I'll cut right to the chase, you are not crazy. Perhaps you can take some solace in the fact that the bigger the group of humans gets, the more likely you are to find dysfunction. We as a species have an essentially perfect record of screwing up organizations over the long run. It may not help you feel more sanity in the near term, but remember this fact: your common sense is probably correct.
So, how to handle them?
Compartmentalize - in my jobs that have been like this I've learned how to compartmentalize in order to survive, sometimes to an extreme degree. Just don't stay in this state forever. One silver lining for me from learning this skill however, was that it gave me an ability to summon incredible focus that I am still able to draw on to this day. As alluded to in this post and this post, it is always the times of adversity that give us the greatest growth and super powers.
Make It Your Mission In Life To Get Perspective - Practice your faith if you have it, learn about human nature as much as you can, talk to someone who has been though those situations to get their perspective and advice, and in general stay confident about who you are and what you have to give. Believe in those gifts, but also acknowledge your need to adapt and stay flexible in life. The ascent of any one person is never straight nor smooth. And, just because someone or something is making you feel small today does not mean that you are small. In fact, I guarantee you are not. You have big gifts to share -- so defend your gifts and purpose by strengthening yourself with the hits you are taking in your job today.
Practice Gratitude - cliche, but true. It's a privilege to be in these meat suits, alive with talents & capabilities to offer the world, and to be having this human experience. Again, faith can help too. Practicing acts of service to minimize obsessing over yourself is a good one as well.
Be A Strategist & Incrementalist - this means start chipping away at your next move now. You will have to be patient, usually more patient than you want to be, but always be thinking about and exploring what you can do next. Keep a list. This is therapeutic in and of itself to do. Take tiny or big steps to toward those things right now. You always have options and this exercise will help keep those things top of mind which will provide hope and energy.
Why is this important for me? Don't punch me for saying this, but you may be proud of yourself one day for figuring out a way to get through a horrible job. Gasp, you may even become grateful for it. Acknowledge the miserable energy of your job today, but don't let it stick. Know that your time will come, that you have talents that will find a home, and that you always have options. Other doors will open. You are not crazy for feeling how you do about your current situation, but you will likely have to be flexible and adaptable in order to get through it. Use these obstacles to forge yourself into an unstoppable weapon, ready for when the time comes for your gifts to shine. Oh and one last thing, if you are of age and can practice moderation -- Drew Carey's advice (top) is pretty good :).
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