Content Warning / Educational Disclaimer: This article post contains sensitive topics and reflects Open College UK Limited’s opinions for informational purposes only.

If you are experiencing anxiety in the workplace, the chances are high that you’ll also be experiencing anxiety outside of the workplace too.

A good indication of whether you are experiencing anxiety symptoms is to look at how you are physically feeling, do you have any physical symptoms?

If you do, it is usually the body’s way of reacting to the stress you are under and all the pressured related work situations you are in.

In the light of either a dangerous or threatening situation, these bodily reactions are natural and normal towards real perceived threats or danger, however if there is no threat or danger and you are experiencing them then it is certainly an indication of an anxiety disorder which may be long-term or short-term depending on your workplace situation and the people you work with.

Physical symptoms can include high blood pressure, increased heart rate, headaches, tiredness and difficulty sleeping, especially if you’re tired and feel drained but have a heightened sense of vigilance and awareness at the same time.

Working within a workplace environment is often pressured or stressful. For most people who do not even suffer from anxiety and to those who have general anxiety disorder, it can become extreme and lead to sickness and periods off work due to stress-related conditions.

Most people will suffer some level of stress and anxiety in the workplace and you will never know this about them because people keep it hidden and perceive it as a sign of vulnerability or weakness to reveal it in front of others, especially their peers and employers who might take advantage of this, demanding that you work harder or do more overtime for them and so on.

Often stress and anxiety in the workplace can be the result of peer pressure, not meeting deadlines or unmet expectations and feeling inadequate or inferior to your work colleagues which can include fear of judgement, comments and ridicule.

In most cases, this doesn’t happen and if it does it’s often just a little here and there and always feels much more than it actually is especially if you suffer from an anxiety disorder.

If workplace anxiety is affecting you that much, it might be wise to talk to someone such as a superior or person in charge within your work role or even an employer and ask if things can be changed to reduce the pressure on you.

Many people who have anxiety disorder are in a state of disbelief when they actually receive support from others who do understand and are empathetic and compassionate.

If you suffer from anxiety, you know more than anyone else that you may often jump to conclusions, jump the gun and make judgements about others’ potential reactions which is understandable.

At the end of the day, self-preservation and your own mental health is essential and often comes first over others feelings.

Another condition of anxiety disorder is often jumping to the wrong conclusion and whilst it’s understandable, it can often be incorrect and this is often called perceiving danger or threat from situations and people when there is no threat at all.

When this happens especially if it’s a real, behaviour that is borderline on what is often called paranoia, distrust and suspicion of others’ actions and motives.

Deeper levels of anxiety disorder and social anxiety, amongst others can lead people in thinking that people are out to harm them when they’re absolutely not, and when people even show to the contrary, the person with anxiety disorder finds it hard to believe and sees them as disingenuous or even playing mind games with them.

Anxiety disorder within some people at the work place can cause chaos in their thinking, in many cases, it only goes on in that person’s head suffering from the anxiety when there is no real solid basis in their reality around them.

Anxiety in your place of employment often involves you struggling with your nerves, nervous feelings, always stressed about work-related tasks that you may not be able to meet, which leads to these feelings of being less than what you actually are and some even suffer from what is called impostor syndrome, a sense that they are in the wrong job, a feeling that they are acting or playing a role that they’re just not meant to be doing when in fact this is not the case.

The imagination can run riot with someone who are suffering from anxiety and anything that could be imagined such as anything from ridicule, laughter or Mickey taking can be the basis of these fears.

People with anxiety disorder or related within the workplace often fear not being liked or being judged or even losing that one friend they have.

Anxiety disorder can also lead you to misread people’s body language, facial expressions and even tone of voice completely overlooking the fact that your friend or work colleague could just be having a bad day and have things on their mind or even be worried about matters in their own personal life.

This doesn’t mean to say a person with anxiety is selfish or ignorant, it just means that self-preservation and heightened vigilance is at play and you can often overlook the feelings and needs of other people who may also be troubled in their own private way.

Even people who don’t suffer anxiety or workplace anxiety can feel intimidated with feelings of powerlessness and stress to meet the demands and expectations of others which can be often irrational or over the top.

It is essential that the person with anxiety can read the signs and seek professional help before it gets worse.

At the least, long periods of time off work may result due to sickness and ill-health.

Undertake some research on negative self-talk and how to better manage it.

In most cases it’s not you, it’s the other, whoever the other may be and that can include the structure you work within or individual people or even teams around you.

Understanding this can lead to the regaining of some lost control which should help in the reduction of low self-esteem.

Instead of spending time reflecting on all the negative of others and your own internal thoughts and feelings of negativity, try focusing on all your positives.

Write down all the positives in your life and in your workplace that you would achieve and have accomplished and speak these things to yourself internally throughout the day especially when you’re met with negative intrusive thoughts which seem to be overbearing.

Take time out to undertake some deep breathing exercises and focusing on the breath slowly leaving your nose and slowly entering your nose, breathing in longer and slow and exhaling long and slowly out to calm your nerves and settle your breathing and then focus on all the important things about you and not the negative.

Yes, you can have the negative but you must balance it out with the positive instead of it all being negative all day long.

Write a list of all your positive successes, the praises you have received in the past and all the successful performance outcomes you’ve achieved within your work role and instead of criticising yourself internally with negative self-talk replace them with positive self-talk.

Something as simple as brief term counselling can help to put things into perspective and re-organise the way you are processing your thoughts and feeling about others.

Speak with others and don’t suffer in that ongoing silence!

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