Ways to help with anxiety at work

If you are suffering from anxiety at work you are not alone. The 2020 government survey on work-related stress, anxiety or depression revealed that almost 80% of the working population is stressed at work. This is 20% more than in 2018. more than half of theses employees are also experiencing anxiety. We are a stressed out nation. But let me tell you, you do not have to feel like this. There are ways to help with anxiety at work and this page is all about this.

We all suffer from anxiety at one time or another. It is part of our psychological make up. Anxiety like all of our feelings serves an important purpose in our life. It tells us that something is amiss and we need to be cautious. It asks us think things through before we act and in general helps us to make better decisions.

Short periods of anxiety, say, when we are applying for a new job, or starting a new job, getting a new boss or making any bigger changes, are normal and healthy. However, when anxiety starts to dominate our life, especially our work-life, then this makes our life miserable.

The misery of being anxious

When that happens usually you feel like the situation is permanent and does not resolve or you are in a constant state of alert. In either case anxiety becomes a big part of your life. You wake up feeling anxious, you can’t eat because you feel such a sense of dread going to work. At work you cannot concentrate, because your mind is scrambled, either because you are so anxious, or because you do not sleep well at night.

At night your mind goes into overdrive with rumination.You constantly have the same thoughts going round and round in your head. They will either be projections of bad things that are going to happen next or you will constantly re-live what happened in the past. You feel driven to do loads of things, but never feel you have achieved enough. You are tired but wired. You might be irritable or depressed and your sense of self-worth is at an all-time low. It’s a terrible state to be in.

Sadly in our society today, more and more people suffer from stress and anxiety at work. A study in October 2019 revealed that four out of ten people feel they are at breaking point at work due to stress and anxiety.

Is this how you feel? Then try this one of the easy ways to help with anxiety:

My experience with anxiety at work

My experience of anxiety at work is very much in line with the outcome of the 2020 workplace stress survey. Office politics have been stated as the most common reason for people to be anxious at work closely followed by workload.

A few years ago I worked for a charity as a counsellor. At first I was very happy working for this organisation. But when a colleague and I flagged up concerns about a serious issue within the organisation, instead of being appreciated for our integrity and diligence, we were bullied by the management and put under an enormous amount of pressure.

This situation went on for over a year and created a climate of suspicion and fear in the whole organisation. During this time I used a lot of the ways to help with anxiety that I am teaching in the course to help myself maintain my wellbeing and stay calm. However, the atmosphere became pretty bad and eventually I left the organisation. I felt that the place had become toxic. Everybody was walking on eggshells. There was a feeling of distrust. I did not want to continue to be in an environment that was so unsupportive and unwholesome. The survey I referred to early also states that although there have been improvements since 2018almost 1 in 5 (19%) of workers still stating that their work has nothing in place to deal with their stress or anxiety. If you are one of those people, or if you feel that what your employer is offering you is not enough, you might want to have a look at my course.

Your next step

You, like me, might be feeling unsupported, unappreciated or threatened by your manager, or boss, or colleagues. Your reasons for your work anxiety might be very different from my own. You might feel completely overwhelmed by your workload, or you might suffer from lack of confidence, or you might have difficulties with your team members.

The course I am offering can show you ways to reduce your work anxiety, calm yourself and manage your emotions. It can help you understand why you might experience anxiety and what you can change to feel more resilient and more more confident. this course can help you to understand what kind of things you can change from your side and which things are really outside of your control.

Leaving, finding a new job or becoming self employed is the last resort to deal with work anxiety and not always an option. It is not always what needs to happen either. I left, because I valued my wellbeing and decided that I did not have to fight for justice there, I could just let it go.

In this course I will give you the tools to be able to see more clearly what is happening in your situation and make the choices that are right for you. This course can give you the means to empower yourself so you can move on from anxiety to a place where you know what you need to do – and do it!

About the course!

If you are not sure yet, here is a bit more information about the course on work anxiety.

It comes in five modules. These modules are broken up into several lessons. You will receive handouts, audio files and transcripts for each lesson. These modules will address:

what anxiety is
how you can calm your mind and manage your anxiety
how to work effectively with your mindset
and how to become more resilient

You can chose how fast or slow you go through these modules or in which sequence you do them, though I recommend going from one to the next as they tend to build on each other to some degree. and here is sample of the course content!

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This is your path out of work anxiety

Here is the contents of the course, so you know exactly what you will receive, before you sign up for it.

1. Calming the system

In this first session we will look at what anxiety is and how it affects you. You will receive you exercises that will help you calming your nerves and your mind.

2. What is stress?

In this second session we will explore the difference between stress and anxiety. You will learn what stress is and what stressors you are exposed to.

3. Perspective

Isn’t it strange that in the same circumstances people have completely different experiences and responses? In this session we will explore how we the way we “see” things effects our experience and what to do about it.

4. Mindset

At the root of our sense of anxiety are our beliefs, assumptions and our mindsets. In this module you will learn what mindsets are, common mindsets in a work place and how to change an unhelpful mindset into an empowering mindset.

5. Resilience

Life is tough and we need to be tough to deal with it. Resilience is your way towards coping with whatever work or life throws at you.

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Testimonials

“Excellent course. Britta with her charismatic and relaxed manner breaks down the word ‘anxiety’ into small easy to manage steps. Audio files, weekly handouts and simple excercises all build on the five week course and are very useful for continued development.”

N. Hodge (February 2019)

” I found the course to be very fulfilling & positive. Teachings were very useful for my general life and managing anxiety. It was safe environment where I felt able to share my experience and emotions, when I wished. Britta is a very intuitive therapist.”

anon., Stirling (November 2018)

“Britta is an excellent facilitator and very skilled in the way the courses are managed. This course – Anxiety – was interesting and I found the group bonded well from the start. You can share as much or as little as you wish, however, I found others experiences relatable.”

G.H., Stirling (November 2018)

“I wasn’t sure about a group course rather than individual counselling, but found hearing and experiencing others’ experiences (though no one was forced to share anything) really helpful and made me feel much less isolated.”

Alison Johnston, Stirling (November 2018)

“Britta delivers an excellent course in a safe, relaxing environment. Joining others in the journey to a greater understanding of anxiety has been an invaluable 4 weeks. I have taken away so much and feel that I am better equipped to deal with whatever life brings my way. Thank you.”

M. L., Stirling (November 2018)

” A great course for understanding anxiety and how to deal with it”

Trish C. (April 2018)

“A very enjoyable and powerful course! It has helped me to make changes + practice exercises which have reduced my anxiety. I would highly recommend it. Thank you Britta!” LM (April 2018)

“This course really helped me to understand and deal with how I felt. It accomplished more than I was expecting and am so glad I went.”

C Bruce (April 2018)

“I learned a lot from participating in this pilot / course and I feel anything that helps with keeping me on an even keel and enjoying life is worth exploring further and doing. I looked forward to each session and there was always something I took away with me each week to reflect on and either use at work or consider differently. There are various materials to be read and tools to be tried out. It is not too onerous and it is all there to use in the future again and again.”

Aileen (May 2017)

“This was a really helpful course that was really useful for learning ways to not let stress get to you in the workplace. I was able to take away methods of regaining control of my thoughts in stressful situations and gain a better understanding of why I feel the way I do when I’m anxious and what to do about it. Thanks a lot.”

Emma E. (May 2017)

“Britta delivered the course very clearly and concisely, covering a range of work related issues to help to ease stress and anxiety at work.”

Katie (May 2017)