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Work Anxiety

Macca96
Community Member

Hi all. I will keep this short and to the point. Recently I started a new job which is quite demanding and it has made me very anxious about deadlines and I worrie I’m not going to perform well. My tummy feels like it’s twisted and I feel very nervous about my work. This started 2 days ago and I haven’t been able to sleep. I can’t stop thinking about work!! Other symptoms include sweaty hands and loss of appetite. Is this GAD? Or am I just being silly? I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. 

29 Replies 29

Sophie_M
Moderator
Moderator
Dear Macca96
 
Thank for having the courage and for reaching out this evening and posting to the forum; sharing your concerns can help normalize that anxiety and help you feel less alone.
 
Firstly, congratulations on your new job!  We can hear that you are feeling anxious about meeting the challenges of starting a new job and performing well enough. 
 
We acknowledge your worries, please know that it’s common for people to feel anxious when starting a new job; such as you mention, sweaty hands, loss of appetite and not being able to sleep.  These are a normal response that may last for several days until you settle in and things become familiar to you.  In saying that, if you continue to feel this way, for example, not being able to sleep for a month, or that you are losing weight as a result of your loss of appetite we would encourage you to speak with your GP who can provide you with some options or treatment to manage the anxiety; so we are happy to hear that you have an appointment tomorrow.  Please give yourself time and remind yourself that you were hired for a good reason, they clearly have confidence in you and see the ability in you to meet those challenges you are facing. 
 
While you are waiting to hear from one of our supportive community members, we have included some links below to some resources that you might find helpful:
 
Click Here for information on anxiety
 
Click Here for information on managing anxiety and stress
 
Click Here  to download a really great App that can help you manage the anxiety
 
As we mentioned it’s good to hear you have an appointment with your GP tomorrow but please also know you can call us anytime to speak with our counselling team, we are here 24/7 on 1300 22 4636 or via our Webchat.

It won’t be too long before you hear from one of our lovely community members, thank you again for your bravery in posting this evening, as we mentioned, it helps us know we are not alone and that there is always someone there to listen.
 
Regards
 
Sophie M
 

Mark Z.
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hi Macca96,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

I'm sorry for your challenge. I don't think you're silly. Let's don't do self diagnose, cause it often goes wrong. You've made wise decision to see a doctor, well done!

 

Do you want to share whether you had work related anxiety before, or this is the first time? Sometimes employer/manager may underestimate the amount of work assigned to you. It's normally because they don't know all details of the work or how challenging it actually is. I understand that as a new employee you don't want to 'complain' too much. But if you do it in a right way you will help them understand that it's not because of your capability but their unreasonable work distribution. To do it properly you may need to provide data supporting your opinion, it'll be better if your mentor or co-worker can support you as well.

 

Mark

Petal22
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi Macca96,

 

I’m sorry you are feeling this way.

 

Starting a new job can be overwhelming.

 

I think it’s great that you have a doctors appointment you can discuss how you are feeling and how it’s affecting your life.

 

If it is GAD there are ways that you can learn to manage this.

 

Seeing a psychologist can be helpful they can give you many strategies to help you to manage your anxiety if this is what you are experiencing.

smallwolf
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hello and welcome.

 

starting a new job can be stressful. It is also a good thing that you are seeing your GP tomorrow. And you are not being silly either. My own beliefs are that your body is trying to tell you something. Whether it is GAD or something else.... that's something I leave to the professionals. It is also courageous for you to post here as well.  Where things go from here is up to you and you will be supported by the people here as well.

Thanks for the reply’s. I have experienced this before and it lasted about a week cause I was simply worried about if I was doing the right thing at work and how I was gonna do it. It’s pretty much the same thing now but a little worse cause it’s a new job  

 

It’s worse in the morning. I wake up at around 5.00 and can’t get back to sleep (normally wake up at 6.30) and that’s when it starts. Racing thoughts about the previous day I had at work. Not so much if I’m doing the right thing but just work in general now it seems. It gets better as the day progresses and I can sleep at night. 

I saw the doc and he recommended to see a pchycologist. I said I’ll give it a week and see how it goes first. Am also having a blood test to check thyroid function and stuff. 

Macca96
Community Member

The feeling is a worrying feeling (but I know it’s not worth worrying over. I should be worried about family health, not this). Inside I feel like my stomach is twisted. I am thinking I will get over it once this backlog of jobs is finished at work. 

Macca96
Community Member

I’m assuming if I had legit anxiety or GAD it would be impeding my life, I can still concentrate on a task while feeling nervous with this, so idk I hope it doesn’t get worse

Manda_j
Community Member
  1. Hi Macca...IYou are DEFINATELY not being silly or over reacting - i'm in the same boat as you the scenario sounds exactly the same (right down to the doc appointment tomorrow) ..I am posting to let you know you're not on your own with these feelings and I am sending you positive vibes for the future and that your GP can help you work through this 😊 

Macca96
Community Member
the doctor gave me some medication to try. Been taking it for 2 weeks now. I can go to sleep like normal because I am not to bad at night now but every morning I wake up at 4.00am with racing thoughts about work  but it doesn’t make me feel very neovous in the gut like it used to. I feel I will be much better if I could just get a full night sleep