Anxiety is something most of us have experienced at some stage of our lives and career and it’s no joke. Anxiety can make you feel distracted and restless, put strain on your relationships at home and at work and have a seriously negative impact on your mental health and performance at work.
If work is making you feel anxious it’s important not to ignore the signs, if you feel your anxiety has become debilitating then definitely seek professional help, but there is a lot you can do alone to help address the symptoms of anxiety and doing so will help you feel more confident, happy, and fulfilled and improve your experience at work. You can begin to feel less stress and more success in your professional life with the following tips for managing anxiety at work.
Stay Organised
Anxiety can make you feel like you have no control over where you are or what you’re doing. One way to regain that sense of control is to stay organised throughout the work week. Whether you rearrange your files or invest in a detailed planner, better organisation helps the days feel less cluttered, chaotic, and overwhelming. Staying organised gives you a calmer space to work in, which in turn leads to better efficiency and helps you feel more confident and in control of your work.
Take regular Breaks
One of the most important tips for managing anxiety at work is to create a healthy work-life balance. Fixating on your job outside of working hours makes each day more stressful and leads to burnout. Work-life balance should be a priority every single day.
While it can be tempting to keep working through your breaks, stepping away from your desk will help you reset, relax, and refresh your mind. Take advantage of your breaks by going on a quick walk, do a yoga pose, or practise some conscious breathing. Spend the time away from your screen and do something that takes your mind off work for a little bit.
practise mindfulness
Mindfulness encourages you to stay with and accept your feeling without trying to analyse or suppress them. When you allow yourself to acknowledge your worries and other difficult thoughts and emotions, it often helps them dissipate. The practise of mindfulness can help us to deal with stresses and even the stress of living with a chronic illness. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an 8 week course designed to help people change their relationship with their stress and suffering and can be a very effective way to manage stress and anxiety.
speak to your manager
If work is the true source of your anxiety, you should speak to your manager, most managers will want to help and together you maybe able to remove the source of your anxiety. Highlighting what’s not working for your may in fact help your colleagues and the organisation over all. We often stay quiet thinking we are at fault for our stress and anxiety but often the fault is inefficient processes or other team members not pulling their weight. A lot of the sources of anxiety at work can be easily tackled if management are aware of them.
Now if your manager is the source of your anxiety, speak to someone in your human resource department or you may have to go to your managers’ manager, if you don’t feel you can do either make sure you speak to trusted colleague or at least a friend to help you navigate your options and support you in getting through this difficult phase.
Seek Professional Help
If you have tried all of the suggestions without getting results you may need to seek professional help. Seeking help for your anxiety takes courage, but the results can be invaluable. If you have a mentor or coach start there, but you could also look at CBT or Counselling which would help you to face the root of the issue and work through your symptoms in a healthy, effective way. Working with a professional gives you the tools you need to overcome symptoms of anxiety and feel more confident in the workplace and beyond.
Anxiety doesn’t have to hold you back in your career. Anxiety is usually a temporary reaction to what’s going on in our environment and is very treatable. By taking care of yourself and seeking the help you deserve, you can overcome symptoms of anxiety and continue to excel in the job you love.
