Anxiety

[Naed]

Lately I have been getting really anxious when I have my days off work. I’m in my third year out of uni and I feel lost. When I’m at work I’m so much better then some days at home. It’s like I can’t switch off from work and I’m constantly thinking about what it’s going to be like when I go back. It’s like a viscous cycle especially when I’m coming close to my days off i get really excited for them! And then when I’m off I just can’t feel calm anymore and I start to feel really depressed about going back to work.

I don’t know if it’s because when I’m at work I feel like I’m losing my ability to do anything right. Like my time management is getting worse, I can’t focus & I’m stressed.

Dose anyone having any tips to help me get over this horrible stage!

[MrSavoy]

Hi Naed - I only just joined the forum so this is my first post... Totally feel whats going through your mind on your days off. I find it's a lot worse when I am by myself, and have nothing to do. My best suggestion is try to organise things to do on your days off well in advanced and try to include others in these activities. Keeping your mind occupied with things you enjoy might help keep it from thinking about work. Not sure what sort of work you do but sometimes trying to focus on completing 'something' on a friday or before your day off - no matter how small the task is - can give kind of satisfaction or closure. Working in IT myself sometimes it's good to have a even small win at the end of the day/week. Something like fixing someones account and having just a little bit of a happy discussion with them. Makes me feel better about my job regardless of some of the more daunting projects going on. Hope this helps - please reply - would love to discuss some more

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Naed,

I feel anxiety can be so debilitating, and it does sound like your downtime is when your anxiety flares up. I think it’s so stressful and draining to be unable to “switch off.”

Personally, I really liked MrSavoy’s suggestions so maybe you might like to consider his/her ideas if you feel it would suit you 🙂

Also, I hope it’s okay if I offer another gentle suggestion. There’s a BeyondBlue thread with general anxiety management tips that you might be interested in. While it’s not specific to your situation, there is a wealth of general ideas that you still might find helpful.

It’s called self help tips for managing anxiety. If you’re interested, you can find it by typing “self help tips for managing anxiety” in the BeyondBlue search bar or by visiting the Anxiety forum and finding it pinned at the top.

Kind and caring thoughts,

Pepper