How do I deal with this anxiety? It is taking over my life. I hate it. Help!?!
Question: I'm at work right now (I started here in August) and I can't concentrate. I have a very strong work ethic (usually), but with this job I just can't get anything done. I have REALLY bad anxiety over it and it seems like everything else in my life is just not as it used to be (I'm pretty sure it's all related back to the job). It is giving me anxiety to the point where I lose sleep over it. I have NEVER felt like this before this job.
I have been seeing a counselor and talking to my boyfriend, but nothing seems to help me. It makes me very irritable and just puts me in a bad mood. I think it is causing my boyfriend and I to become less close. I don't want to lose him over something this stupid (he means the world to me). I just don't know how to deal with the anxiety.
I am currently looking for a new job, but I just don't know how to deal with it until I find one. I hate the thought of even being stuck here for another 2 weeks.
Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Thanks
Answers: I'm at work right now (I started here in August) and I can't concentrate. I have a very strong work ethic (usually), but with this job I just can't get anything done. I have REALLY bad anxiety over it and it seems like everything else in my life is just not as it used to be (I'm pretty sure it's all related back to the job). It is giving me anxiety to the point where I lose sleep over it. I have NEVER felt like this before this job.
I have been seeing a counselor and talking to my boyfriend, but nothing seems to help me. It makes me very irritable and just puts me in a bad mood. I think it is causing my boyfriend and I to become less close. I don't want to lose him over something this stupid (he means the world to me). I just don't know how to deal with the anxiety.
I am currently looking for a new job, but I just don't know how to deal with it until I find one. I hate the thought of even being stuck here for another 2 weeks.
Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Thanks
First, it's good you're looking for another job. Second, it's great you're talking about the anxiety and have outlets for discussion.
My suggestion to you in the meantime would to be this. Compartmentalize. Section off your thoughts. It takes practice, especially as a woman. Women's brains have a "bridge" that connects the two hemisperes. (I saw this on a PBS special. It explained a lot.) That means our thoughts mesh the rational and the emotional. It's fantastic for certain applications, but can make it tough to concentrate when you're distracted by anxiety.
I work mainly with men, and I've tought myself to compartmentalize my feelings from tasks. I don't mean supress... it's more about focusing on the task at hand when you're at work, and imagining my feelings being turned off like a tap. You can open it up again later. Creative visualization and breathing techniques work well. Talk to that anxious part of you as if it were a nervous child afraid of the monsters in the closet. As an adult, YOU know there aren't monsters in the closet. Your emotional, anxious inner ego or id or child or whatever you want to call it is creating this fuss over something that is perceived and not real. The feelings are valid, but the situation isn't real.
I hope that makes sense. It works for me when I start to feel disasociated with myself, or anxious about one thing or another. I learned a lot about the compartmentalizing by watching the guys I work with, but I'm still able to be me... a whole, emotional, driven, headstrong AND rational woman.
In short, be an automatron when you're at work, and save the fun feeling side for the other parts of your life. Hopefully things will look up with another job.
i have anxiety too, i know it sucks. it depends on the type. just genral anxious? i get to feeling like i cant breathe or im dying. i wouldnt reccommend sleeping pills, but maybe try benydryl? to sleep i mean. doing things helps me, so working isnt the problem i dont think, i think its that you are losing sleep.
Have you let your therapist know that your seesions aren't helping? Or have you not been honest with him/ her? You don't always find the "right" counselor on your first try. Don't be afraid to explore other options/ sources of help.
Maybe you can find a support group in your area. I've seen "Emotions Anonymous" ads... Maybe there's something similar near you.
If it comes down to you getting a perscription, I can attest to the effectiveness of Klonopin (Clonazepam).
Best of luck to you!
See anxiety treatments, at * ezy-build (below) in section 6. Set yourself a fixed limit for worrying about any particular subject, (say; 15 minutes) after which, resolve firmly to refuse to even consider that subject again on that day: realise and accept that to do otherwise would be counterproductive to your mental health, and enjoyment of life. Use the technique for reprogramming negative thoughts and internal monologue (self talk), on pages 2, and 2L, to help you in this: some people carry a wide rubber band in their pocket: put it on their wrist; stretch, and release, as a means of reinforcing it, and speeding up the process, re-pocketing it afterwards, but I regard this as being purely optional. Practice one of the relaxation methods on pages 2, 11, 2c, or 2i, daily, and when needed. Also, give the EFT a good tryout, to see if it helps you. There is also a version for use in public places, (if you like, you can claim to have a headache, as you massage/lightly tap your temples, but you would then be restricted to subvocalising: saying it to yourself in your mind). Section 53, and pages 2, 2.q and 2.o at * http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris also refer: "Even though I sometimes suffer from anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself."
think of all you have....get excited at the propect of a new job...go to McDonalds if you have too...i have severe depression and my last job totally ruined me mentally...i have a four year degree in business and worked as a asst mgr for a eye clinic.....right now i think bagging groceries at the local grocery store sounds more fun than a stressful job...just think of the people you would meet...think of the good guy there by your side...family...you have good health..not dying?...keep good thoughts and hang in there...you can do it...lots of us out here have had same issues...you are not alone...kiddo.....
Go to www.gocure.com and follow their advice while thinking about work and you may discover what it is that gripes you so much! Are you working with someone who reminds you of a person who has given you a hard time in the past? Sometimes those things are below awareness but they still affect us strongly. Obviously something is going on to make you feel this way. It can be more important to get physical (bashing a pillow in frustration) than to talk about things, although talking is good in a lot of cases, but as I said earlier getting physical (harmlessly, hitting something you can't hurt!) can reveal what you are not presently conscious of. Don't give up after the first try, give it a few tries and see how you go. You wouldn't dig for gold by just scraping the surface of the ground and giving up because you didn't find any! Good luck.