Anxiety creeping into your workplace?
Unfortunately, even with the best work ethic and intentions, Anxiety can make it feel impossible for you to focus. You may be constantly worrying about making mistakes or spacing out during important meetings. You might even become emotionally distressed, making it harder to interact with co-workers and customers.
If you want to reduce your anxiety at work and avoid hurting your productivity, there are several methods you can try. Different things work for everyone, we're all unique that way. But here are a few adjustments that you can try to help limit the anxiety triggers while you’re working.
Set up a calming, comfortable place at work or near work that is only for you.
Feeling relaxed in your working environment will help you avoid that fear trigger going off when things start feeling overwhelming. Unfortunately, we don’t all work from home or have the luxury of a private office, but scouting out a quiet break spot or personalising your workstation can help make you feel more at ease.
Try to avoid the news and social media, especially when feeling anxious.
It’s ok to admit it, we all have a minor screen addiction these days. But having constant notifications to remind us of all the terrible things happening in the world as well as pushing unrealistic life standards on us can be overwhelming at the best of times. Work can be stressful enough, so do your mind a favour and mute the notifications. While you’re at it, mute the group chats and the Whatsapp notifications too. You’ll be surprised at how much easier it is to keep focused and in control of your anxiety when you don’t have outside distractions.
Keep an anxiety journal to help identify patterns in your triggers.
Learn what triggers your anxiety by keeping an anxiety journal. Writing down your thoughts and feelings about anxious situations allows you to process them fully and identify patterns in your triggers. For example, if you notice that each time you're faced with a difficult task, perhaps an important presentation or meeting at work, you tend to feel overwhelmed by fear and worry about failing, then this information may help you overcome these challenges by preparing better or trying different strategies when faced with similar situations in the future.
Take a walk outdoors whenever you can.
Take a walk outdoors whenever possible. Exercising outdoors is one of the best ways to reduce anxiety because it gives us a break from our daily routines and helps us focus on our breathing as we walk rather than on whatever stressor triggered our anxiety in the first place. If possible, go for walks during lunch or after work so they don't interfere with getting things done during business hours.
Incorporate scents that are known to be calming, like lavender essential oil or peppermint.
Did you know that there are scents that can stop an anxiety attack in its tracks? It’s different for all of us of course but the general idea is to find a scent that helps ground you. Lavender, Peppermint and Eucalyptus are all popular choices for soothing the mind. Personally, I like eucalyptus, there’s something about the smell or Vapour rub that just reminds me of being cared for as a child. It seems silly, but it works!
Invest in a pair of sensory earplugs
Sensory earplugs are specifically designed to take the edge off of everyday noise. You can still hear everything and have perfectly normal conversations, but whether you’re working in an office or in the middle of a festival there are background noises that can be grating if you suffer from anxiety. The good news is that you can get sensory earplugs fairly easily these days and there are lots of discreet options to choose from.