Anxiety about work

[Linger316]

hi All,

I have been a long-time lurker of this forum and finally got the courage to post a thread.

As the title says, I have anxiety about work. It all started when I got the promotion that I applied for. Every morning when I wake up I feel anxious about work, I don't know what to do. I am regretting even putting my hand up for the promotion and sometimes I even want to just give up and resign.

I tried all the advice here on how to manage anxiety, eat well, exercise, breath, and meditate but nothing seems to be working.

By the way, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Type 1 last year and am taking medication. My psychiatrist already up the dosage when I mentioned my anxiety but I don't think it helped. Well, it helped a bit, but not completely.

I don't know the point of this thread, I just want to share and maybe get some insight from you guys. Do I give up and resign, although I don't think we'll be able to afford it if I resign? or do I push through and hope for the best?

[jaz28]

Hi Linger,

I am sorry you are experiencing this. I am just jumping on to let you know you are not alone and we have all experienced similar stuff.

Could you take leave for a while to get this anxiety in check? Resigning seems like the easy way out right now, but you may regret it later.

Stay strong,

Jaz.

[Linger316]

Thanks for the reply jaz28.

I did take a week of absence back in October as well during the Christmas and NY holidays. My anxiety improved however when I was due back to work the anxiety came back. I agree that resigning is the easy way out and you are right I will definitely regret it later.

But this is too much for me. I feel lazy and anxious at the same time. I feel lazy and do as minimal work as possible and then I became anxious because I know I am not doing as much.

Sometimes I feel maybe I'm over this WFH set-up, maybe it will get better when we all go back to the office setting and see our colleagues and friends. But with the current covid cases in NSW, I don't think that will happen in the near future.

[yggdrasil]

Hi Linger316,

Well done for posting on this forum! It's so good to hear about other people's challenges and how they're dealing with them.

I too have had lots of work related anxiety in the past. A few things have helped me address it.

Maybe the most important thing was a shift in attitude. I try to always remember to accept I can only do what I can do, and if I can't work productively on a given day it's better to just step back and rest rather than beating myself up over it, and whatever happens, happens. It's not the end of the world if I can't do my current job and need to change. I usually find a couple of hours of rest and relaxation gets me grounded again, and I can then work for the rest of the day. I also really try to remember what the important things in my life are, and not get obsessive about minor details.

I also keep a really strict "knock off" time, and try not to keep working past that time. It's important for me to create strong work/home separation (particularly as I'm also working from home) and it's easy for thoughts about work to creep into every other part of your life. Sometimes I have a good idea outside work hours, so I try to just quickly jot it down then forgot about work again.

I also try to do some serious exercise after knocking off, as I find that helps shift my brain out of work mode, and gives my brain a proper rest to be ready for the next day. For me I do skating, and try to skate every day after work. Sports like skateboarding force your mind to focus on your body to avoid falling off, and this helps me drive out obsessive work concerns and rumination. The guy at the skateshop told me he sold heaps of boards to ER doctors and nurses during COVID for exactly this reason! I did a lot of cycling in the past, as this too requires you to concentrate to stay safe, and pretty much any exercise will accomplish this to some degree I think. Do you do any sports or other exercise?

I'm also very strict about my sleeping patterns and diet, and don't drink alcohol at all anymore really. I also avoid coffee, and minimise caffeine and large amounts of sugar from other sources, as I've found these lead to large spikes in anxiety.

I found that I had lot's of self-defeating patterns of thought and behaviour around work. I tried lots of different therapeutic approaches to get past them, but the one that really clicked for me was Schema Therapy. Have you tried speaking to a GP or psychologist, or any kinds of therapy?

[jaz28]

That's true. COVID certainly does not help things.

Have you considered speaking to your psychologist about it?

[TKISRF]

Hello All,

I am not even sure if I should be here. I have been unfairly dismissed in December and since then the anxiety is killing me. Cannot sleep well. Cannot digest my food. I am crippled. During the Christmas I managed to pull through but now with the prospects of every one going back to work, I feel isolated and lost on top of anxious. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

[Sophie_M]

Hi TKISRF,

Welcome to the forums, and thank you for sharing here. It sounds like an incredibly difficult time, and we would really recommend reaching out to the Beyond Blue counsellors to talk this through on the number at the top of this page, or via online chat. 

I'm sure some of our lovely community members will be able to relate to some of what you’ve been going through and be able to share some of the wisdoms that have helped them. It might be difficult for people to spot your post here so we'd like to suggest starting a thread of your own.

If you're in need of more information about your rights and responsibilities following dismissal, we’d recommend having a look at our Heads Up page on the topic, here. There's also a guide on taking care of yourself after losing your job on the Heads Up site, here. 

Thanks again for sharing, TKISRF.

Kind regards,

Sophie M

[Banksy92]

Hello Linger316,

Welcome to the forums - I'm so sorry to hear you've been dealing with this anxiety. It can be so crippling and undermines our performance at work.

It might be helpful to try and break it down, to see if there's a particular trigger at play, or if it's a symptom of a broader picture.

If you are comfortable sharing...

Do you know what specifically about the role is causing the anxiety? Is it the people you're working with, the responsibilities? Increased work load? Or are you feeling generalized anxiety about work without knowing why?

I'm also wondering how things are going for you outside of work right now? How are your relationships, your general health and wellbeing? Is there anything else going on that might be triggering anxiety and it's 'just showing up at work instead? This can happen too.

Just take things one day at a time. We're here for you.

[Linger316]

Hi yggdrasil,

Thanks for the reply and the tips for managing anxiety. I don't have any sports at the moment before when I was younger I used to play volleyball and badminton but now with 2 kids, I find it hard to have any time. We do walk every morning just around the block before working from home starts.

I am currently doing e-counseling at the moment which is emailing a psychologist. I don't have the confidence to have face to face yet. So far I've only done 1 session, let's see where it will lead to.

[Linger316]

Thanks Banksy92 for the reply. So far I have narrowed down my work anxiety into 3 areas.

I was recently promoted so I have more responsibilities now. I also need to manage a team, as of now there is only 1 member of my team but will increase soon in a month or so. That's one of my anxieties, I don't know if I would be able to handle a handful of people, assigning and monitoring their tasks.

Another anxiety is that the dreaded stand-up meeting that happens almost every day. A stand-up meeting is where we tell what we did for the day and plan to do the next day. It is kind of daunting especially when I feel like I've never really done anything for the day.

Another difference from my role before to my role now, is that before I was being told what to do and I just do it. Unlike now, I have more freedom on what to do and I am having difficulty adjusting to it. I need to prioritise my tasks but I find myself losing focus and worrying about the next tasks.

I'll try to take your advice to take one day at a time, but sometimes it is easier said than done! hehehe.