Do you ever feel like there’s a little voice in your head that just won’t quit? That voice is usually the one telling us we’re not good enough, that we can’t do it or that everything is about to go wrong. For some people, this voice can become so overwhelming that it starts to affect their work life. If you’re struggling with anxiety in the workplace, don’t worry – you’re not alone.

In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the best ways to deal with anxiety in the workplace. Keep reading for tips and advice from leaders and managers who have been where you are now.

When we think about anxiety, we often picture someone who is struggling to get through the day-to-day. It's hard to imagine that this person could be our colleague or boss, let alone us. Anxiety disorders are surprisingly common:

• 1 in 6 people experience a generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) in any given week [Mind]

• In 2020/2021, stress, anxiety and depression accounted for 50% of all work-related illnesses [HSE]

• In England women are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders as men [Mental Health]

• Employees between the ages of 25-34 are being disproportionately affected by anxiety, depression and financial pressure [The Workplace Health Report 2022]

• In 2021, there was a 400% increase in Google searches for ‘anxiety disorder’ [Wellbeing Trends]

If you're feeling anxious at work, you're definitely not alone.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a type of fear usually associated with the thought of a threat or something going wrong in the future, but can also arise from something happening right now.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, ‘Anxiety is a feeling of unease, worry or fear. We all feel anxious at times, but anxiety may be a mental health problem if your feelings are ongoing, intense, hard to control, out of proportion to your situation, affecting your ability to live your life.’

Anxiety can impact everything from job performance to team dynamics. It’s all about priorities in the moment. At the point in which a person experiences anxiety, that takes priority over everything else, relationships, deadlines, routine and everything else in between.

The way in which each person processes information can be the trigger for anxiety. It could be that when growing up, your parents always seemed to be worried about something e.g. paying bills, something bad happening, the outcome of a decision. That learned behaviour you experienced during those difficult situations can stay with you in the form of stress, and even trauma, as an adult. So how you process the world when faced with difficult situations isn’t based on logic, it’s based on habit.

"Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strengths."

Corrie Ten Bloom

Everyone will be anxious at some point in their life and these can be fairly mild e.g. feeling worried about a job interview, test results from the doctor or attending a board meeting. It’s when those feelings cannot be controlled that causes anxiety to take over a person’s life and lead to a Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) that takes over their daily lives. GAD is a long-term condition that causes feelings of anxiety about a wide range of situations and issues, rather than one specific event.

How do I know if I'm suffering from anxiety?

Anxiety affects your body as well as your mind. In addition to worrying and feeling nervous, you may experience changes in your immune function, circulatory system, and other areas. Anxiety may also be caused by physical conditions and may increase your risk for certain disorders.

There are a number of signs and symptoms for anxiety that can help you determine whether this is something you suffer with:

Constant and excessive worry

There is a specific situation, or a number of situations, that you are always worrying about. They are likely to be based in the future and you are concerned how they will turn out. You try to control a situation you have no control over.

Ruminating thoughts

There is a situation you keep replaying over and over again in your mind, hoping you could change it. You can’t. Each time you replay the scenario, you get more stressed and anxious about it.

Fear or panic

You have intense feelings of fear or panic and, sometimes, physically responses such as sweating, trembling, difficulty speaking, pounding heart, tummy upset.

Tiredness or fatigue

The constant worry impacts your sleep. You are no longer as engaged or productive at work and you know your job performance is suffering. You increase your anxiety by worrying about whether your manager is aware and may wish to speak to you about it.

Avoidance

You avoid your friends, family and colleagues as much as possible. Your mind is elsewhere and you do not feel you have the capacity to engage with them until your anxiety, or perceived problem, goes away.

Nerves

You may have a presentation, a meeting, an away day, an upcoming deadline or something at work that you are nervous about. These feelings are crippling and you consider ways to avoid them.

Anxiety can take many different forms, including generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety or phobias. The key is understanding that if you are constantly worrying about something, there is a chance you are suffering from anxiety, which, if not managed, can lead to chest pain, an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, substance abuse and even suicide.

How can I manage anxiety at work?

It can be hard to focus on anything else when anxiety takes control of your mind. You’re filled with worries and uncertainties. You cannot calm down or rest. Meanwhile, your work still has to get done, meetings need to be attended to, presentations delivered, deadlines met and the list goes on. Fortunately, there are ways to control anxious thoughts, and it just takes practice to master the techniques that help you stay productive:

1. Distance yourself

Separate yourself from the worrisome thoughts. You are not your thoughts. Learn to look at your anxious thoughts in a different way, one that doesn’t have you worried, but keeps you calm. The key is to reshape how you think about things. When you get an anxious thought, immediately identify it as a sign of your worry and not reality.

Labelling your thoughts correctly raises self-awareness and makes it easier to control them. It also gives you something else to focus on instead of constant worry.

2. Question everything

Ask yourself questions! When you get an anxious thought, stop and ask yourself questions so that you can identify what is actually happening, vs what you think is happening.

By challenging the negative thoughts e.g. what am I really scared will happen? What is the real reason for this anxious thought? What am I really afraid of? Is there real danger, or is my mind simply playing games with me? Is the negative outcome I am imagining likely to happen? How can I stop or change these negative thoughts into something positive?

It helps you to focus on the root cause of the anxiety and determine whether you can actually do something about it or not. If there is someone you trust at work, speak to them about your anxiety. You may find it comforting to know you don’t have to hide it with everyone.

3.      Analyse the data

It can be helpful to view your thoughts as data and your mind as a data processing centre. You’ll get a lot of data coming in throughout the day. Some of this data can be incorrect and confusing, which is an example of anxious thoughts. You may also interpret the data incorrectly. This means you allow the anxious thoughts to take over and control you, letting them grow and fester.

As the data processing centre, you get to decide how to handle all the information. Remember you are in control. If you feel overwhelmed, ask for support from your manager or colleagues to avoid spreading yourself too thin.

4.      Remain in the present

Many anxious thoughts are focused on either the future or the past. You can break free by focusing on the present.

Avoid thinking too much about the past or future by interrupting these thoughts when they arise. When you notice yourself thinking about the past or future, guide your thoughts back to the present moment.

Thoughts from the past can make you afraid of the future. Remember that the past doesn’t have to repeat itself. You have the power to change how your future will be shaped.

5.      Take action

Anxious thoughts often prevent you from taking action. They keep you stuck in fear and worry. Learn to take action even when you’re afraid and you will surprise yourself.

If you have any specific projects, tasks or activities that need to be completed, take a moment to organise their priority and get started on them straight away. Set mini deadlines for yourself to direct your focus to more practical things than worry.

Finding one thing you can influence positively in that moment and taking action can actually decrease the number of anxious thoughts you have on a daily basis. It can show you that there’s nothing to be afraid of, that you’re powerful, and that you can make a positive difference.

6.      Filter out negativity

Get rid of unhelpful thoughts and people. Some thoughts may be true, but they aren’t helpful!

Learn to tell helpful and unhelpful thoughts apart, so that you can start to filter out the unhelpful ones. If you have toxic colleagues, listening to any gossip or negativity will just worsen your anxiety. For example, if you know that the odds of making a great presentation at work are low because a colleague told you that no one ever manages to impress the head of the department, but you still have to do it, this is an unhelpful thought and colleague!

Neither encourage you to do your best irrespective of the outcome.

"Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it."

Khalil Gibran

If your mind is telling you something that sounds negative or unhelpful or invokes an intense physical feeling; stop. Use the tips above to recalibrate and stay focused on the present so you can get on with other things, instead of worrying.

In addition, anxiety also responds well to some simple lifestyle adjustments such as:

• Breathe deeply - When you are tense, your breathing tends to become rapid and shallow, heightening the feelings of anxiety.

• Avoid infections - Anxiety may hamper your immune system. Take extra precautions against catching colds and other bugs.

• Eat well - Anxiety has a major impact on your digestion. You may overeat or lose your appetite. You may experience irritable bowel syndrome or stomach churning.

• Exercise regularly - Physical activity is one of the most effective and constructive methods for dealing with stress.

• Rest and relax - Anxiety often interferes with sleep, so remove any obstacle you can.

• Laughing - It's not easy to feel anxious while you're genuinely laughing. Think about the funniest experience you've ever had. Watch a TV show or movie that makes you laugh. Read a book of jokes. Find a way to laugh.

• Turn off the news - Visit your local library and read a newspaper from the 1800s. The news hasn't changed. People are still complaining about the economy, taxes, politicians, and war! If the news is upsetting to you, turn it off. Ignorance can be bliss.

• Meditate - Meditation and mindfulness have been getting a lot of attention lately. Meditation is focused awareness. It's up to you to choose the object of your focus. Experts suggest keeping your mind on your current activity or breathing. If you're 100% focused on tying your shoes or driving your car, you can't experience anxiety.

Conclusion

Feeling anxiety is a part of life. Feelings of anxiousness can be positive or negative. Anxiety can prevent us from making poor decisions, but it can also constrain us in negative ways. Whether it's helpful or not, anxiety doesn't feel good. We feel helpless to control our emotions, but it's not true. There are many ways to reduce or eliminate anxious feelings.

Try a few of these techniques the next time you feel worried, so that you can be present, engaged and have a better quality of life. Anxious thoughts don't have to control your life. You can use these tricks to effectively take control of your mind when you find yourself worrying.

If these tips aren’t enough, consider talking to a therapist or join a support group for additional help (see Anxiety UK) or get in touch with Amarkai Group for personal 1:1 coaching, where we have helped to minimise anxiety, depression, lack of confidence, stress and many other challenges being faced daily.

Want to dive deeper?

Amarkai Group offers a variety of wellbeing workshops and organisational coaching that focus on dealing with the varying mental health disorders impacting everyday people at work.

We have a variety of standard or customisable workshops, webinars or courses that will educate your staff on how to improve their wellbeing, which leads to a better quality of life and improved loyalty and productivity within the workplace.

Contact us today to learn more about coaching or workshops to improve wellbeing and performance of your organisation.

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