I feel burnt out and anxious.

[Wa_ranger]

Hi

This is my first post and to be honest I never thought I would get to the point when I needed to do this. My reason for posting is work related anxiety and no matter how much I tell myself 'I have done my best' I feel like the anxiety is winning. I haven't gone into work today as I can't face it. I don't sleep well and if I do, I wake up regularly worrying about work. It's taken over my life, and my work life balance is all wrong. Sunday's every weekend consist of worrying about going back to work so I know I'm struggling. My main issue is feeling stuck and knowing this situation is not changing anytime soon so that fills me with dread. My work is quite specialised and there are no other jobs in my location to apply for. My office is a regional base for a multi-national company and it has gone through a downturn in the last 12 months to the point where I am the only full time person, and I have been there less than 10 months. I manage a small team who are either part time or casual staff, which also makes me anxious. I'm basically overwhelmed, new work keeps coming through, I'm behind on my current work and I have made mistakes that I know I would not normally make. Management know the situation is not ideal and they have given 'support' which I have accepted. I was made redundant in a previous job (through no fault of my own) and knowing that feeling of being out of work prevents me from resigning, although I would if I could. I am a resilient person, so up until now I have just got on with it, although I basically feel 'stuck' and completely alone. Is anybody else in a similar situation who could offer me any advice please?

[highlysensitivepersonhsp]

Hi Wa ranger. And welcome to the forum.

Reading through your post, I got the feeling that this is a management issue. Without hearing the detail, it sounds like you are overwhelmed by the changes in the company recently. How is your communication with management? Are you able to speak with someone about your stress? Can you delegate? Can you take on more staff to help?

These sorts of issue need to be discussed internally. But also be mindful of your thoughts and letting them run away with you. I guess you have tried things like setting priorities. Perhaps you need guidance from higher up on what is important and what can be reasonably put aside for the short term.

I was once a HR manager and I did not cope with the role. I was totally stressed and gained a lot of weight. I had no guidance from my director and staff were not supportive. I ended up stepping aside from the job and taking on less responsibility. It may be one option worth considering.

Where I failed was that I did not communicate well either up or down the chain. Perhaps this is similar to you? Without details, I can't say for sure.

wish I could be more helpful. Others may have more ideas.

best wishes,

sandra.

[Blue_Jane]

Hi WA Ranger

Welcome to our forums. We hope you find your time here supportive and useful.

Sorry to hear that things are tough with work at the moment. I am trying to understand the root of the issue and if it can be rectified. If you have another resource to help with your workload would that make things better? Not another direct report, rather a colleague in another area who can take some of your work?

As you say management are aware of the issue so I would follow up with them directly. As Sandra has mentioned we often don't communicate enough about the issue. Management might think that they have given you enough support and that you are okay.

Or maybe it is a conversation about priorities so that you can get clarity on what is most important and work towards those? Reducing the feeling of being overwhelmed is key as I too have been there when I cant get through anything as I didn't know where to start.

And be honest with your team members too, you are human and if they ask how you are, say you feeling a bit overwhelmed but will get through it. Being a people leader is a wonderful thing but it does come with responsibility - but you can't protect them from everything!

Look forward to hearing from you.

Blue Jane