In this post, we’ll cover the following:
- How anxiety can affect us at work
- Causes for feeling anxious at work
- How to beat your work anxiety
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How anxiety can affect us at work:
Sweaty palms. A heart beating so fast it threatens to explode. Shallow, quickened breathing. Unable to relax. Shaking hands. Tripping over words. Wanting to run away. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Getting anxious at work and experiencing any of these symptoms happens a lot more than you may think. It’s estimated that one out of every nine employees at a company suffers from anxiety, and if you’re one of them, it can make work a lot more difficult, and a lot less productive.
At one of my previous jobs working in entertainment, I was anxious nearly every moment of the working day, as a result of the toxic working conditions. Backstabbing, rumor spreading, being belittled, and others undoing/undermining my work were all things that I experienced on a daily basis, and it definitely took its toll from the start.
For one, I always felt like I was unable to relax, no matter what I did. This made it so that I was distracted when I was doing my work, and compromised my abilities to focus completely on tasks. I would spend more time than needed completing these tasks because I needed to check and recheck what I had done. Some days the anxiety would settle in my stomach, making me so nauseous that I came close to vomiting several times. On other days, I would have a persistent, blindingly awful headache that couldn’t be fixed with any amount of pain reliever medicine. Gone was my confidence, only to be replaced by constant, sickening self-doubt. And the evenings and nights offered no respite from reality. Sleepless nights spent tossing and turning in bed would leave me even more anxious and jittery for the next day at work.
Worst of all, I’m not an anxious person by nature. I’m actually very calm and collected. Feeling severe anxiety like this was both incredibly foreign and frustrating to me. However, I had become a by-product of the working environment I was in, making it exceptionally difficult to accomplish what I wanted to in my role.
Severe anxiety at work can be developed for a number of reasons. Below are some of the most common causes for feeling anxious at work.
Causes for feeling anxious at work:
- The environment is toxic. If you work in an environment similar at all to the one I described earlier, it may be that the toxicity of your work culture has created your anxiety. Rumor spreading, backstabbing, high turnover, low job security, colleagues that bully, and the inability to trust anyone are all factors that contribute to a toxic work environment.
- The actual work is stressful. Does your job require stressful tasks that seem to only get harder as time goes on? Stressful work can also engender anxiety on the job.
- It’s a high-pressure job. If your job has long hours, demanding supervisors, or intense workloads (or a combination of these factors), it’s more likely that you’ll experience anxiety at work, as a result.
These common causes for feeling anxious at work can all contribute to anxiety, and unfortunately its effects will most likely bleed into your personal life, as well.
One thing to keep in mind as you tackle your anxiety is that it is up to you as to how much importance you place on your work. Work isn’t meant to be the sole purpose of your life, so you shouldn’t treat it that way. Often (and as was the case with myself), those who become extremely stressed or anxious at work tend to place too much value on what happens at their work. While work should be important and something to work hard at, try to remind yourself that there is so much more to life than work, and if you can adjust your priorities to place less emphasis on your job, you’ll experience a significant decrease in your anxiety.
With this in mind, there are a few tactics you can utilize to help combat your anxiety at work. Read on to find out how you can effectively deal with your anxiety at work, and make your job both more enjoyable and productive.
How to beat your work anxiety:
1. Practice slow, deep breaths. The moment you begin to feel panicky and anxious, slow your breathing down. In through your nose, and out with your mouth.
While it may seem like an obvious thing to just breathe, there’s a reason why patients get oxygen at the dentist’s office. By slowing your breathing, you slow your heart rate, and if you can slow your heart rate, your feelings of anxiety will dissipate. Shallow breathing increases your muscle tension, tightening your blood vessels and increasing your blood pressure, thereby making your heart work harder (hence why you feel tired faster). It also results in your brain receiving less oxygen, making it harder to think clearly when you’re anxious. When you provide extra oxygen to your system when it’s under stress, you’re allowing your heart to relax, and your brain to receive the oxygen it needs.
2. Break up your tasks. Separate your tasks into timeframes to fill up your day. Often when you struggle with anxiety at work, you’re checking the clock constantly to see how much time has passed, and when you can get the hell outta there and head home. By breaking down your to-do list into smaller windows of your day, you’ll find that your day is actually manageable and that you’re capable of being productive enough to not have to check the time as frequently. Prioritize your projects and work through them. Not only will you feel less overwhelmed, but you’ll also feel more accomplished knowing you’re making progress.
3. Reassure yourself with positive thoughts. When we’re anxious, we tend to focus on that anxiety, and what exactly is causing it. This only worsens the anxiety though, and can lead to both inefficiency and lost productivity. Talk yourself through your more anxious moments, and choose instead to think more positive thoughts. Remind yourself that anxiety is merely a temporary feeling, and feelings go as quickly as they come. Focus instead on what you’re looking forward to. Maybe you have plans to see an old friend this weekend. Or maybe you’re going to see a movie with your significant other. By changing your thinking into a more positive stream of thoughts, you’ll feel more optimistic and reduce your anxiety.
4. Find ways to be active throughout your day. If you can squeeze in a walk over your lunch break, or take a 15 minute break to take a brisk walk, you’ll be able to actively combat your anxiety. By being active, you’ll release endorphins that will help to settle both your body and mind, and refresh your perspective. Can’t get away from your desk, though? Try muscle tension and relaxation. Focus on specific sets of muscles throughout your body (e.g., your biceps, your quads, etc.) Tighten them for about 20 seconds, and then relax the muscles. This will help you to dispel the anxiety your body is carrying, and ease any tensions you feel.
5. Keep yourself busy when you finish work for the day. Work stress and anxiety tend to follow us home, tarnishing our personal lives and making it difficult to rest. Typically when we finish up for the day, we go home and try to rest off the stresses of the day. However, doing next to nothing after work keeps the day’s memories of anxiety alive and well in our minds. Spend time with friends or family after work instead so that you can replace the feelings and memories of the day’s anxiety with more relaxed, happier thoughts. Your whole day shouldn’t be just about your job.
6. Exercise before or after work. Exercising before work can actually reduce the stress you experience throughout the day, while exercising after work can diminish any stress you feel when you get home. How? Exercise releases endorphins, which boosts your mood and reduces any tension you may feel. There’s also evidence that suggests exercise reduces levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.
7. Turn work tasks into challenging games. Learn to make your work tasks into games that challenge your mind. Use your creativity on this one, and find ways to turn more menial tasks into ones that make your brain more active. This will not only help to pass the time quicker, but it will also make your work more enjoyable and stimulating.
8. Fake it until you make it. This is probably one of the more difficult tactics, but it can be very successful with continued practice. The next time you feel anxious or upset at work, pretend you’re not anxious or distraught with what’s going on at work. The human mind actually has the ability to reflect the way you act, so if you act like things are going ok (even when they’re not), and you exude confidence no matter how badly you may feel, your mind will start to mirror the positive emotions that your behaviors exhibit, which will help to effectively diminish your anxiety.
9. Keep your support network strong. When dealing with any kind of anxiety, it’s important to keep your support network strong. Reach out to a close family member or friend and talk to them, explaining your feelings about what exactly is going on. It isn’t healthy to keep your emotions bottled up. Your family and friends can provide you with a healthy outlet, and also provide you with the support and reassurance you need to keep going.
