How do you keep a positive attitude when working closely with someone who is constantly bringing you down?

I suppose the remaining questions involve the duration of the nightmare and the intensity of the “supervision”. I mean if this is a torture you must endure for a few weeks? And as a supervisor, does she loom over you during interviews with clients?

Why do you let them bring you down? You’re in control of your own feelings. Basically, counsel yourself.

Try to employ humor, laugh to yourself when they start going into their negative routine, think ” Oh, here we go again.” haha
Easier said than done sometimes but I have employed this on a fairly regular basis with some I have worked with. It is really important as @elbanditoroso says to not allow others to emotionally control you.

Print out a picture of Eeyore and hang it near your desk as a reminder to keep a sense of humor, or, if you’re bold like I can be at times, you could actually approach them with the picture and say, ” Look what I found, a picture of you!”
Eeyore, Hitler, another dictator, a child throwing a tantrum. Might help them lighten up or, at least, they know how you feel about them.
I love having inside jokes with myself about those that drive me nuts, you can also play a game and see how good you become at predicting their behaviors.

Whatever it takes to preserve YOUR sanity.
I once named my daughters pet rat “Nancy” after a boss I had that I hated, made me laugh every time I thought about telling her she had a rat as a namesake. lol

Always picture them getting run over by a bus, that should bring a smile to your face even though you really wouldn’t wish them any harm but one can always dream.

@hug_of_war: When you say she has a negative personality and makes you feel like a child, can you please provide more details as to what she does, specifically?

In addition to some of the above suggestions, try to rewire your brain to think of this as a valuable learning experience. Throughout your career you’ll have to work with/for people like this—and worse.

It is understandable how you feel, especially after working with some managers who you consider good, and possibly mentors, in their own way. Most people have been in your situation at one point or another.

What we often find is that there are three basic options: Get out, ignore it, or confront it.

Get out: This requires quitting or a transfer. It may bring immediate relief from the current problem, but there is the risk of going from a bad situation to a worse one. It doesn’t provide a feeling of resolution. It is worse if it is a job that you really enjoy.

Ignore it: There may be people who can do this, but I haven’t met one of them. They tend to vent to those that have no power to make changes. If they want a solution, they would either move on or confront it.

Confront it: I don’t know why people are so afraid to do this. For every supervisor I have reported to (~25), it was worth the risk to meet with them privately and share my concerns. Not once have I been fired, and this is coming from someone who is nothing special. If you are interested in a tried and true formula for doing this, just let me know. If it’s not your cup of tea, I understand.

Avoid their company where possible. Headphones and listen to music to avoid overhearing negativity. Other than that, unless you’re prepared to ask them to cut the negativity, not much you can do.

I used to work with a woman like this. She could bring the mood down in an instant. Those of us who were more up gravitated to each other. I remember her telling us all not to say hello to her when she came in. It irritated her. She needed time to settle into her day. I can understand she’s an introvert but it wasn’t very collegial.

If you’re a lady, you pick out the prettiest underwear you can find and wear it whenever you know you’ll be meeting them. Even if you get chewed out, you can smile inside, knowing you have something they don’t.