How to Work Through Work Related Anxiety

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1Dealing with Your Worries at Work

2Working Through Your Worries Mentally

3Finding Creative Ways to Combat Work Worry

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Everyone goes through stress in their everyday lives. If your job is stressful or if you have a lot of responsibility, you may suffer from work related stress. Even if your job is low key, you may feel some stress from time to time. No matter the level of intensity of your job, there are ways for you to work through work related stress.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Dealing with Your Worries at Work

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   Postpone your worries. This may sound easier said than done, but when you are at work, try to put off your worry. You should be focusing on your work while you are there, not worrying about things.

   • This helps break the habit of worrying at work by saving it for a later time instead of trying to ignore it. If you ignore it, your worries may build up. However, if you simply save it for later, your mind should be able to focus on your job.
   • If you find yourself returning to the worry, tell yourself that you will come back to it later and that you need to focus on the tasks at hand.
   • Worrying can decrease your productivity and cause problems with your overall workflow.
2. 
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   Make a worry list. One way to help you stop focusing on your worries at work is to write them down.Whenever a worry pops into your head, write it down on your worry list. Once it is written down, put it out of your mind to worry about later.

   • This list can be very cathartic and help you move past the worry by seeing it written out.
   • You can write the list out by hand, create a document on your computer, or write them in a note on your phone or tablet. Just choose whatever way is most effective for you.
3. 
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   Approach work tasks with a positive attitude. When you are worried about a presentation or other situation at work, approach it with a positive attitude. Often, when you are worried about situations, you end up approaching them with negative, worried thoughts. Combat this with positive ones instead.

   • For example, the morning of your big presentation, tell yourself “You have worked hard on this. You are prepared. You are going to do extremely well.” This will help you feel better and more confident about the situation instead of worry about it.
4. 
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   Determine if the worry can be solved. Many people worry about things that can be solved if you apply a little problem solving. Think about your worry in a larger context of your job and your place of employment. Ask yourself questions such as:

   • Is this a problem I am currently dealing with, or is it just a ‘what if’ problem?
   • If it is a ‘what if’ problem, is it likely to happen?
   • Can I do something to solve this problem?
   • If not, do I know someone who can?
   • Is it my place to worry about it?
5. 
   5
   Stop spending time with those that make you worry. In some situations, there may be a coworker that that causes you to worry more. If you notice that there is a certain person at work that makes you more anxious or worry more frequently, try to spend as little time with them as possible. This way, this coworker will not be able to make you worry.

   • If you are unable to get away from this person, try having an honest discussion with your coworker about your worries. Keep the language about you and don’t blame your coworker for the worries.
   • For example, if your office-mate constantly reminds you of your worries, tell your coworker “I am trying to be more positive in my life and worry less, so I am trying not to talk about these things that worry me.” This way, you focus the change on you and don’t call your coworker out specifically for causing you to worry.
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   Make your workspace yours. You can try to combat workplace worries by making your work atmosphere more comfortable for you. This will make you feel at home while at the office and help you focus less on your worries. The happier you are by the things around you, the less likely you will be to focus on the worries.

   • Bring pictures of friends or family, your favorite cup, or a favorite action figure or knick knack. You can also post inspirational quotes or jokes to help you feel better throughout the day.
7. 
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   Be grateful for your job. Although there are always things to worry about at work, you should be thankful for the job you have. There are always worse situations you could be in or you could not have a job at all.

   • Take time to remind yourself of this whenever your worries take over.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Working Through Your Worries Mentally

1. 
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   Set aside a time to worry. Each day, set aside a specific time after work to come back to your work related concerns. Keeping this time in mind will help you push aside your worries during your work day. During this time, bring up your worry list and give your worries the proper attention.

   • This time period should only be around 20 to 30 minutes.
   • If you don’t want to do this every day, schedule your worry time every other day. If your schedule varies, you can make the specific time vary every day. Just make sure it isn’t over 20 to 30 minutes.
   • Make sure it isn’t too close to bedtime. You don’t want to fill your mind with worries right before you try to sleep. It may keep you awake or make it hard to fall asleep.
2. 
   2
   Embrace your worries. This may seem hard to do at first, but one way to work through your worries is to accept them. When you are thinking about your worries, don’t feel guilty or bad for experiencing worry. Your feelings are valid and you have a right to them.

   • Once you accept your worries and the emotions attached to them, you will be able to start working through them.
3. 
   3
   Stay focused on the present. If you are constantly worrying about things that may happen at work, you aren’t being active in the present. Instead of focusing on your worries, keep yourself focused on what is going on around you. As soon as you start to worry, focus on how your body feels, the noises around you, and the rhythm of your breathing.

   • This is a mindfulness technique that will help you stay in the present.
4. 
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   Accept uncertainty at work. Many of the things you stress about at work may be due to uncertainty. It is often hard to deal with the unknown or things that aren’t set in stone, but these are exactly the kinds of things that you should not worry about.

   • If there are things that you cannot control in your work position, there is no reason to worry about them. There is nothing you can do about it in the first place.
   • If you find this hard, keep telling yourself that it is impossible to be certain about everything in life and that you can handle anything that comes at you.
5. 5
   Avoid catastrophic thinking. Reframe your state of mind to focus on the positive before you start expecting the worst possible outcome. For example, if you realize you're not going to finish a report on time, don't immediately think, "I won't be able to turn this report in at all and I'll be fired." Instead, take a deep breath and tell yourself, "It's okay that I can't finish this on time. No one is perfect. I'll ask my supervisor for an extra day and turn it in first thing tomorrow."
6. 
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   Take a moment to breathe. If you find yourself feeling anxious, take a moment to simply breathe. Close your eyes, letting what’s going on around you melt away. Take a few deep breaths, focusing on your inhales and exhales. After a few breaths, open your eyes and continue with the day.

   • This will calm you down so you can keep on working.
   • You can even imagine you are breathing out the worries as you exhale. Imagine them floating into the air away from you.
7. 
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   Fake it until you feel better. Although this may seem like you are repressing your worries, it is actually an effective strategy to help you deal with your worries. If you feel yourself getting anxious, pretend that you feel fine. Go about your daily work and interactions as if there is nothing going on. The longer you pretend you are okay, the better you will feel.

   • Try to vent your worries a little at home, but keep a positive attitude at work. Eventually, your mind will start to adapt to the way you act.
8. 8
   Talk to a therapist if you're still feeling anxiety from work. You'll feel better if you talk through your worries with a professional who can help you understand your stress and work through it. They can also recommend stress reduction techniques to help you get through your work days.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Finding Creative Ways to Combat Work Worry

1. 
   1
   Make work tasks into games. If you are worrying or stressing about things at work, take your mind off of it by making your work tasks into games. This will make your day to day tasks more pleasant and will help keep your mind off your worries.

   • For example, if you have a ton of budget reports to get through, give yourself a treat of some sort for every three you complete. You can also give yourself points for how quickly but efficiently you do your job.
2. 
   2
   Do fun things after work. Many people think going home and relaxing is the best way to fight dealing with work related worry. However, this can lead to more worry while you are at home. Instead, spend time doing fun things with friends or family.

   • This will help replace your work related worries with happy memories.
3. 
   3
   Exercise before or after work. A great way to release your worries, reduce anxiety, and improve your mood is to exercise. Exercise releases endorphins into your body, which act a natural mood lifters. You can try to get in some exercise before work to help you start your day off right or go after work to relieve stress from your day.

   • This can be a walk, a run, yoga, a dance class, or any other physical activity that you prefer.
   • You can also go for a quick workout during lunch if you are having a hard day.
   • This has the added benefit of helping to improve your health.
4. 
   4
   Create a bingo game out of your worries. Another way to relieve your worries is to make them into a game. Make bingo cards with all of your worries and stresses on them. This will help you detach from your worries a little and help you focus on something else.

   • For example, have a block for a reward to a less hard working coworker, criticism from your boss, or a rude customer. Whenever your worries and stresses come up, cover up that space. When you completed a whole line, give yourself an award.
5. 
   5
   Write stories from your worries. If you have a particularly worry heavy day, don’t just go home and dwell on it. Instead, write a story about the worrisome situation. This way, you can work out your inner anxieties about the situation and express your creativity at the same time.

   • Try making the story much more over the top and extreme than it actually was. This way, the next time a similar situation comes up, you can think about the more awful or extreme version to help get you through the moment. Plus, you now know that your situation could be a lot worse.
6. 6
   Set aside relaxation time every day. Try deep breathing, daily meditation, or nightly hot baths with Epsom salts. Consciously seek out something that makes you smile and laugh at least once a day.

   • Sometimes when you feel overwhelmed, the only thing that can release that tension is allowing yourself a good cry in the privacy of your own home. Remember that this is a stress relief technique, not a sign of weakness.
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Expert Q&A

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• Question

  Why am I struggling so hard in work and in life?

  

  Chad Herst, CPCC
  Mindfulness Coach

  Chad Herst is the Executive Coach at Herst Wellness, a San Francisco-based wellness center focused on Mind/Body Coaching. Chad is an accredited Co-Active Professional Coach (CPCC) and he has been working in the wellness space for over 19 years, with experience as a yoga teacher, acupuncturist, and herbalist. He received his BA from Columbia University and his MS in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.

  

  Chad Herst, CPCC

  Mindfulness Coach

  Expert Answer

  Worrying can make it hard to step back. A lot of times when people are unhappy in their job, it affects their personal lives, their relationships, and their health. They don't have a clear sense of what would really get them excited, because right now all they can do is struggle to get from day to day.

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