Heal Workplace Anxiety | Anxiety about going to work

Having Anxiety at work can leave a major impact on your work life. There are situations where people avoid getting into public speaking events or client meetings at work. Avoiding office parties and gathering with coworkers, not attending staff lunches, and declining travel projects are some of the common signs of workplace anxiety. According to a survey on anxiety in the workplace, people with anxiety disorder frequently mentioned that managing staff, participating in meetings, setting and meeting deadlines, maintaining interpersonal relationships, and making presentations are some of the major difficult situations to deal with anxiety at the workplace.

Symptoms of Anxiety at workplace

There are many diagnosed symptoms that help in identifying anxiety disorder. The common symptoms of workplace anxiety include the following-

Of course, you might say that these symptoms are very common, and usually experienced by an individual at some of the situations in life. However, a red flag situation is considered if you are experiencing the extreme form of these symptoms, then it is recommended to consult your counselor or psychologist to overcome this problem for your recovered performance at work.

When Stress Leads to Anxiety

According to the American Psychological Association, Anxiety is nothing but an emotion characterized by feelings of tension. When a person feels stress for an extended period, they may have what’s called Chronic Stress. For instance, people who struggle with meeting deadlines typically experience more failure with completing their task on time than success.  Every time they have to finish a deadline, they feel stressed. They make errors that make them feel “stupid” at work, and the stress continuous.

However, Chronic Stress may lead to Anxiety. People experience chronic Stress may start to think that they just can’t do anything. They develop a sense of fear that no matter what they do, they’ll still fail. That’s Anxiety.

Difference between Stress and Anxiety at the workplace-

STRESS

• Feeling of nervousness, anger, and frustration with work overload or unfavorable work environment.
• Stress results in a positive effect. For example, it can push forward a person to prepare well for an upcoming presentation.
• A stressed person may expect something bad will happen but this feeling is soon overcome when the person dives through that awful situation.
• “The boss is going to get very angry but I will overcome this situation by giving in my best.”
• “I can try” is a common phrase stressed person will say and think.

ANXIETY

• An anxious feeling is often out of proportion to the real or imagined “threat” at work. For example, a person is shivering with terror because he/she is afraid to attend office gatherings.
• Anxiety results in undesirable social and mental conditions which may affect on person’s career and interpersonal relationships.
• An anxious person may think that something bad will happen and not believe that they’ll be able to handle it.
• “The boss is going to fire me, people are going to judge me and I might have to die because of heavy embarrassment.”
• “What if?” is a common phrase anxious person will say and think.

New Job and Anxiety

Starting a new job can trigger those deep feeling of anxiety-like feeling of being an out-circled, constant feeling of being judged by coworkers and superiors, and doubting your skills and talent. Almost every new joiner will tell you the same story and how they gradually overcame that situation. Facing your fears by facing challenging situations can easily get you through the initial phase of new job anxiety.

Major Causes of Anxiety at Workplace

The causes of Anxiety at work are complicated. Many might occur at once but some may lead to others. What makes them more complicated is that some causes might not lead to Anxiety unless combined with another.

Possible causes include-

• Environmental stressors like family issues, awful social relations, and stressed workplace conditions.
• People who have family members with Anxiety disorders are more likely to have Anxiety issues. Hence, another major cause can be genetics.
• Medial elements like side-effects of medication, symptoms of a different disease or post-surgery stress
• Hormonal misalignments or malfunctioned brain chemistry, as suggested by many psychologists.

What you feel is real

Anxiety and Depression Association of America state “Anxiety disorders are real, serious medical conditions, just as real and serious as physical disorders such as heart disease or diabetes”.

Don’t suppress your Anxiety because denying your feelings is counterproductive. Rather than trying to push it away, practice acceptance. Almost every individual feels Anxious at the workplace, which is completely normal. Try to embrace the feeling of worry and plan systematically to overcome your fears to enhance your performance at work.

Dealing with Anxiety at work

Dealing with Anxiety at work is not that of a hassle if you take small steps towards it. A major cause of having an anxiety attack at the workplace is the fear of getting fired. Well, the good news is, you possibly won’t.  It’s important to maintain the right balance between “I cans” and “I can’ts” to break the cycle of stress and prevent anxiety. Making stress your friend is probably the best to start with to deal with workplace anxiety. Here are three simple steps to deal with stress to prevent Anxiety-

1. Acknowledge the stressor and stress. Allow yourself to notice the stress and how it affects your body
2. Welcome the stress and try to connect with the positive motivation behind it. What is at stake here and why does it matter to you?
3. Instead of wasting the energy given by stress, try to make use of it by working on your goals and values.

Relax and take a break. Get up from your desk and try to communicate with coworkers. Indulge in some stretching exercise and yoga for better concentration at work. Find what feels good and try to prioritize that while working at the office.

Treatments for Anxiety

Dealing with workplace Anxiety alone seems like a huge task but guess what, you don’t have to overcome it all alone. It is recommended to seek professional help for this major issue. Consult a counselor or Psychologist to seek the right treatment for Anxiety. Join help groups and development classes where you can build social connections, discuss problems and find solutions together with people facing similar issues. There are special yoga classes which focus on resolving Anxiety and Depression. Consult a health coach who will guide you towards a healthy diet, sleeping habits, and conditioned mental fitness. It is also suggested to consider Reiki. The word Reiki is comprised of two Japanese words – Rei which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and Ki which is “life force energy”. So Reiki is actually “spiritually guided life force energy.” Try professional Chakra Healing and affective Reiki at Energy healing Sydney.

If the person suffering from Anxiety is willing to get a professional treatment, then it becomes easy and effective to get treated. The only thing to remember is that Anxiety is a real mental condition and there is nothing to be ashamed about it.