Dealing With Anxiety In The Workplace

We all know that the workplace can be a stressful environment. At times, stress can be good, motivating us when facing new challenges and helping us to feel focused and stay energised. Unfortunately, though, this stress can often lead to anxiety, making us feel overwhelmed and affecting our mind, health and job performance.

With 1 in 6 adults having experienced anxiety in the UK, we’ve put together some tips on how you can help manage your stress and any resulting anxiety at work.

Take a Break

If you’ve got a lot on, the to-do list seems endless and you have deadlines looming, the last thing you might want to do is take a break. However, it is worth considering whether you’re thinking clearly, as you may be causing yourself more stress! Take a 10 minute break by going for a walk around the block, doing some breathing exercises or just going to make a cup of tea.

Cut out the caffeine

If you suffer from anxiety, one of the worst things you could be doing is drinking a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. The caffeine increases your heart rate (as does anxiety) so you’re not doing yourself any favours. Be kind to your body and have a green tea, some lemon water or even a hot chocolate (like the one in the photo above) and you’ll notice a difference.

Find the cause

Is there a pattern or a trigger for your anxiety? Is it when you open your emails in the morning or is there a meeting you dread and drive yourself mad about? If so, try and find a way around it to help ease your tension. Is it really necessary for you to attend the meeting? Can you leave your emails until the afternoon when you feel more calm and collected?

Talk

Where possible, be open about your anxiety. Your line manager could help alleviate some of the stress by changing work deadlines and helping you reprioritise your projects. If you can’t speak to your manager, confide in a colleague so they can have your back if you need some time out.

Remember, there’s never going to be one fix, but we can all make small steps to help ease our worries and anxieties. What are your steps?

Written by Jess Scott.

Read more of Jess’s work over on her blog, jessandjoshcook.com.