Anxiety in the Workplace
When we divide up our lives into necessary (or recommended) slices of a pie, we give eight hours of our time to sleeping, eight hours going to work and the remaining eight hours to engage in all of the other life things like grocery shopping and playing with our kids. While this is just a very simplified (and idealistic) look at how we spend our time, it appears that one-third of our daily life is spent at work. When we have an anxious mindset, it is reasonable to assume that we bring those anxious thoughts and feelings into the workplace with us for those eight hours. Work can be stressful enough without adding anxiety symptoms such as racing thoughts and worst case thinking into the boardroom with us to get lost among the many what if’s and endless to-do’s. Not to mention that micromanaging boss that can be constantly looking over our shoulder and at the very worst sending us those “just checking in…” emails at ten p.m. at night when you finally have time to sit down and relax.
Anxiety in the workplace can make an already chaotic life feel out of control and unmanageable at times. We have all felt that sense of dread looming over our head at the end of a weekend with the “Sunday Scaries” ruining the last few hours of freedom before going back into the office on Monday morning to who knows how many emails. When we have anxiety, we can be robbed of our weekend relaxation because we are thinking of the presentation that is due or the project that we put off completing on Friday afternoon because we just could not wait to finally get to the weekend. We have all been there at one time or another but those of us with anxiety know that it can manifest into constant headaches, high blood pressure and the constant humming in the back of our mind like a ticker tape of the must do’s and should have done’s that follow us around on Saturday and Sunday.
When anxiety at work begins to feel out of control, we begin to call out sick on a regular basis simply because we just want (or need!) a break and simply want a day were we can just disconnect and recharge. We notice that we have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep while we second guess the work we produced today and the list of items that must get done tomorrow. Bowing out of work events because it is just ONE MORE THING and quite frankly, we just don’t have it in us. We can also feel guilt and shame because once we do get home from work, we are exhausted and do not have the capacity to engage with our kids or our husband because we have had to be “on” all day and just need a little bit of silence and solitude.
Workplace anxiety can bleed into the other slices of our daily pie and take what little energy we have to give to our loved ones and to ourselves. Implementing strategies to create boundaries around work anxiety can protect us from burnout and isolation. Selecting hours in which you will respond to emails and closing that laptop once you get home to protect your peace, delegating when you can and turning down projects when you are able to can also limit the anxiety that can come when we overextended ourselves because we want to appear capable and competent to our co-workers and supervisors. The idea of perfectionism and peak performance is a thief of joy and can detract from our overall quality of life. Refusing to engage in the office gossip and quietly removing yourself (when you can…) from those that drain you of your energy or that triggers your anxiety response can help with decreasing workplace anxiety.
Therapy can help you identify and understand the root cause of workplace anxiety and assist you in developing the tools, techniques and strategies to decrease the anxiety that you experience from your job. You are not alone and speaking with a therapist who completely understands what it is like when you have high expectations for yourself when it comes to your career. In therapy, we can get you back to enjoying the job that you have or help you build the confidence to find a new one.
Please note: this blog post is for informational and instructional purposes only. The information included may not be the best fit for your personal situation. Blog posts should not be considered as medical, legal or financial advice. The educational content included in blog posts are not intended to replace professional advice or information. Check with your own medical or business professional before implementing any information or advice provided here on the Chatwin Counseling blog.
