Practical Tips for Managing Your Anxiety While at Work
Anxiety disorders can impact our lives in many different ways. It can change how we behave and how we feel and can hurt our relationships and our day-to-day lives.
But what about our working lives? How can anxiety impact our careers and our development in our jobs?
Symptoms of Anxiety
It is important to note that no two people experience anxiety similarly. There are, however, common symptoms that may occur if you suffer from anxiety. These are:
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Feeling on edge
• Feelings of nervousness or worry
• Physical symptoms like headaches, body aches, nausea
• Difficulty sleeping
• Panic attacks
• Trembling
• Feeling weak
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Not being able to focus on anything but the present worry/concern
• Hyperventilating
• Increased heart rate
Do You Have Anxiety at Work?
We all feel anxious or stressed out at work from time to time, but when you notice you feel stressed or overwhelmed constantly at work, you could suffer from an anxiety disorder.
With workplace anxiety, you may begin worrying constantly, avoiding friends and family, crying often, or even passing up a promotion to prevent yourself from progressing because you’re anxious about speaking publicly or managing a heavier workload.
While it’s common for people to be nervous about big work meetings and presentations, having workplace anxiety involves feeling crippling fear and anxiety around work-related matters. So, how can you manage your workplace anxiety?
Tips for Managing Your Anxiety at Work
Having anxiety at work isn’t the end of the world. You can manage and overcome it.
Get Organized
The first step is to keep yourself, your workspace, and your headspace organized. Try organizing your desk and workspace. When everything around you is cluttered and disorganized, it can quickly make you feel overwhelmed and unable to tackle your workday tasks.
Praise Your Achievements
Don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back from time to time. Give yourself some praise for your successes or in between completed tasks to feel good about what you’ve accomplished.
Progress Yourself
Try to educate yourself about workplace anxiety to help you understand it. You can also learn what your triggers are and start to manage your anxiety in more healthy ways before you get overwhelmed.
Practice Self Care
If you don’t look after yourself, you’ll set yourself up for failure. Make sure you get ample sleep, eat a healthy diet, and exercise frequently to keep yourself mentally and physically fit. You should also be taking care of yourself by having enough downtime or time to yourself away from work so that you can rest and recharge.
Speak Your Mind
Don’t forget how important communication is. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with work, let your line manager know. They may not realize how you are feeling or that your workload is too much. If you communicate, they can help you out, or lessen the load. If you don’t it may look like you’re simply unable to get work done. It’s important you let someone know if your plate is too full.
Step Away from Toxic Workplace Drama
Finally, workplace drama and gossip can really negatively affect morale. Try to stay away from gossip, cliques, and toxicity in the workplace and only speak to colleagues you trust and whose company you enjoy.
Work can be overwhelming for the best of us. Sometimes, we may even experience workplace anxiety, which can halt our careers in their tracks. To avoid this, make sure you take breaks when needed, set boundaries for a better work/life balance, and speak to your manager for support. Additionally, if you are concerned about your mental health, reach out to learn more about anxiety therapy.
