While you only go to work for the paycheck, most people will also develop great friendships and bonds with their co-workers.

What would you do if you had a friend at work who started oversharing and ‘trauma-dumping’ to you every day at lunch when you just wanted to relax.

That is what happened to the worker in this story, so she told her friend that it needed to stop, and now the friend is hurt and upset.

Check it out.

AITA for telling my coworker to stop trauma-dumping on me during lunch breaks?

I (32F) work in a pretty fast-paced office, and lunchtime is kind of sacred for me — it’s the one hour in the day where I can actually relax, scroll my phone, or just eat in peace.

Recently, a new coworker, let’s call her Amy (29F), started sitting with me almost every day during lunch.

At first, I didn’t mind. She seemed friendly, a bit quiet, but nice.

But then she started oversharing… a lot.

Work is not the time or place for this type of thing.

Every time we sit down, she launches into something heavy — childhood trauma, toxic relationships, family drama, even therapy sessions.

At first I tried to be supportive, thinking she just needed someone to talk to.

But it’s become every single day. I leave lunch feeling drained instead of refreshed.

Last week, after yet another intense session where she cried over a story about her ex, I gently told her that maybe lunchtime isn’t the best space for these kinds of conversations.

I said I didn’t want to be rude, but I need that hour to decompress.

She got really quiet, then later sent me a message saying she felt rejected and that I lacked empathy.

Even if she was cold, it needed to be said.

Now I’m getting weird looks from a couple of other coworkers she talks to, and I’m wondering if I came off as cold.

I do feel bad, but I also feel like it’s not fair to dump emotional weight on someone every day during a work break.

AITA for telling her to stop trauma-dumping?

I am sure she was hurt, and possibly embarrassed, from being rejected like this, but the bottom line is this person is not a therapist and has no obligation to listen to her co-worker talk things through.

Let’s see what the people in the comments think about it.

These types of people are annoying.

This person suggests going to the manager or HR.

This was a very reasonable boundary.

She was polite, but firm.

This is a smart way to handle it.

There is a time and a place for talking about difficult personal issues, and work is not either.

She was right to put a stop to this stressful behavior.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.