Anxiety

[Humpty]

I work in retail have done for 40 years but all of a sudden im finding when im at work i get bad anxiety and i freak out then i have to go home and now im too scared to go back to work 

[Petal22]

Hi Humpty,

Im sorry you are feeling this way anxiety can be really hard to deal with.

Have you thought about having a chat to your gp about your anxiety and how it’s affecting your life?

You can learn many strategies for anxiety so you can learn to manage it.

[Humpty]

Hi Petal22 yes i have seen my GP and spoken to him but i just wanted to get more info by talking to other people who are going through the same problem. Its always beneficial to get other people's opinions 

[Bob_22]

Hi Humpty!

Welcome to the forums and thanks for posting. Definitely a situation many people can relate to, especially with COVID over the last few years. I found a few years back, I started to experience a sharp increase in depressive and particularly anxiety symptoms which forced to resign from a fulfilling job unfortunately. Ultimately, I did decide that treatment was more valuable and withdrew from work. I just found I was unable to attend work due to the toll of treatment and the fact that I'd become quite unproductive, distracted and overall a lot more hesitant/fearful whilst at work. 

It was a big blow for me, especially when my career was at a critical stage and I had some prospects on the horizon. But looking back, I've found it was the best decision at the time and that patience plus appropriate treatment pays out in the end. Not suggesting you resign or anything from work but if you find you have a supportive team/manager it might be worth having a chat with them to see if they have any accommodations they can make. I was pleasantly surprised when I approached my boss about my issues that they were more than open and flexible in making arrangements. Perhaps something worth considering. Feel free to keep us posted as well. 🙂

All the very best 💙

Bob

[Petal22]

That’s great you have spoken to your gp.

I have a lived experience of severe anxiety OCD I’ve now recovered thanks to the professional help I received.

One of the things I learned with anxiety was don’t do what your anxiety is telling you to do this will only reinforce the anxiety.

Meditation is great for anxiety and mindfulness.

Practice using your breath as your anchor ,when you are feeling anxious bring your attention back to your breath and follow it.

This will ground you.

Also practice being in the present moment when you feel like things are going fast internally put your attention on something in the present moment.

[blues23]

The key thing is to find out what causes your anxiety at work . I have it but mines brought on from bullying & physical assault at work by a work ( colleagues ) and amanager that does nothing at all to stop it so  soo that’s the root of my anxiety. And why I cannot return to work at this stage.
 

what causes your anxiety at your work ? Did some thing happen? Or is it something your not aware of right now? 
 

i have no idea how to cope I tried for so long at m work but it all became too much for me . I had stradigies for coping when I was at work none of them really worked for me , I tried to focus on my role , on the clients who I enjoyed and they tried to make friends with the bully’s I tried to ignore them , give them cheek back , complaining to boss all of nothing worked and it all became too much for me . I’m still talking to beyond blue to cope with the things I’m thinking and me anxiety around my situation is massive.

[Humpty]

1. Thankyou Bob_22 for this great advice i can see further down the track im going to have to leave for my own health and i have actually had my career after 40 years 

[Humpty]

Hi Blues23 in my last 5 years of my career you could say ive had a bit of bullying and discrimination by them telling me im to old and i follow procedures to much or i was told i was dragging the company down with having a negative attitude and i was sarcastic and in alot of ways i have stued on these matters and then covid hit and yes i work in retail and that was really hard and when it gets busy now this is when i start to get anxiety and then it just takes over. 

[blues23]

Retail can be a tough industry to work in , have you asked your employer to assist with helping you to become more comfortable in the workplace like say reduced hours until you feel more confident? I think it’s very hard to work in retail I did it a few years when I was much much younger unlike yourself I was bullied due to being too young … it’s a hard spot to be in so sorry you had to go thru that too it’s hard when people are not so nice to you . Try asking your boss for assistance if they are willing to help you it may be a good place to start