Work Anxiety

[Shy_Girl10]

First time posting..

I was living interstate and working before i moved back home to live with parents. I was given the chance to work from home as work was going through a transition period. I have come back over to visit and catchup with my best friend. I said to my work I can go in and work/see everyone. I got so anxious about it i had to tell them i had to work from home. I don't understand why i got so anxious for this. Im still employed by them, but left, and now im back. I couldnt shake the feeling people would judge me for being back or ask why im there. I never there going back into where I work would bring me down. Is this normal to feel this? I have good memories here but also bad ones.. my anxiety has never been this bad and no matter how much i try to tell people they dont seem to get it.. Its been getting worse lately and dont know why or what to do. I know deep down everything will work out and is fine.. but no matter how much i say that it doent help.. Really sttuggling what to do to fix this.. its really affecting my day to day life and im just about at breaking point..

Is it normal to feel like this?

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Shy_Girl,

I hope you don’t mind if I extend a very reassuring and gentle welcome to you to the forums. Great work on reaching out here as I know first posts can be very nerve racking...

To me, you sound very overwhelmed and that there a lot of mixed emotions swirling in your head and heart. I feel you’ve been going through so many changes/transitions lately (e.g. going back and forth interstate, change in your work environment, etc), and change can be unsettling so I understand why you’ve been feeling this way...

Although your anxiety sounds very debilitating as you seem to be on edge all the time. So I wonder if you’ve considered maybe a visit to your GP.

It’s just that GPs can help us look after not only our physical health but our mental health too. So I feel it might be worthwhile for you to make an extended appointment with your GP to discuss your current emotions/mental health, and see how s/he feels about creating a mental health care plan to assist you. Just a gentle idea...

I hope you’re finding your way around the forums okay. Please know you’re always welcome to write more (but only if you wish) as I feel there are many kind and compassionate people here who would love to support you.

Kind and caring thoughts,

Pepper

[Peppermintbach]

Hi again,

Sorry, I forgot to mention in my previous post to you that you might like to check out a thread called self help tips for managing anxiety.

It’s pinned to the top of the anxiety forums or you can find it if you type the title in the BeyondBlue search bar 🙂 It has a wealth of ideas and suggestions for managing anxiety by various members.

Kind and caring thoughts,

Pepper

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Shy_Girl10,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for reaching out. It sounds like you're having a lot of anxiety around work and I think Peppermintbach (Pepper) has given some great advice already.

Although I've never been in your situation, what you're feeling sounds absolutely normal. Theres' been a big shift in the way you work - not only living in a different place, but having a different schedule and being removed from your workplace. I can imagine I would feel the same too.

You said in your post you couldn't shake the feeling that people might judge you; what might they judge you for? Worst case scenario - what might they say? There is nothing to be ashamed of with working from home; regardless of why. Lots of people work from home full-time.

I'm not sure from your post if you're trying to get back to the way things were, trying to work from home again, or trying to get your colleagues to understand your anxiety - so I'm finding it hard to know which way you want to go and how you want to move forward. Would the best thing be to manage your anxiety and go back to work?

Hope this helps! Apologies if I've missed something as I'm just trying to piece together your story.