10 WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR ANXIETY AT WORK

1.   Practice mindfulness throughout the day.  Pay attention to the present moment, notice all the little things, how your legs feel against your chair, how the fabric of your clothes feels against your skin, how the air feels as you breath in etc.  don’t worry about the future or the past just focus on right now.  This will soon translate into healthier, calmer thinking habits with practice.

2.  Make time to do something  fun every day, something you like doing (it doesn’t have to impress anyone else).

3.  Talk to someone, a friend, an acquaintance; if you’re shy start by asking them a couple of questions, what they did at the weekend, where do they live?  If you’re in a class together ask them for a tip on doing something (even if you may not really need it), be interested in someone else.

4.  Be aware of yourself and the signs that anxious thoughts are creeping in, notice them and say to yourself “I’m having anxious thoughts, I’ve noticed them now so I’m not going to engage with them”.  Pratice slow deep breathing, right down in to your diaphragm, let your body know that you are preparing for calm not for flight (shallow breath sends a signal to the brain that you are in flight mode)

5.  Go for a walk, or if that’s not possible do some gentle stretching, send your awareness around your body and notice each muscle as you stretch it out for a moment.  To maximise the effect tense the muscle as much as you can without hurting yourself, then realax and stretch.

6.  Make a list of what you need to do, estimate the time required for each task and prioritise it.  This will show you what can be realistically achieved and enable you to work through it systematically.  If some tasks take longer than expected – put a little note alongside to explain why, this will help you better plan your tasks the next day.  If you find you don’t have time to complete all the tasks on your list within the required timeframe,  it may be a good idea to talk to your boss, show them your list and ask if he/she  agrees with your prioritisation.  It’s always good to communicate clearly with people about expectations.

7.  Break big projects in to smaller component parts to cut down on the overwhelm factor and repeat the prioritisation process above.

8.  Accept that criticism may occur.  Some criticism is well intended some is not.  How you respond to it is entirely up to you, the critical person cannot control your response.  Ask yourself what can I learn from this? Will it help me do the task better? Is it another perspective?  Will acting on that criticism produce a better result?  The criticism will teach you something, sometimes that lesson may just be that the critic is having a bad day or is mistaken, sometimes you’ll learn something new and valuable!  Don’t take it personally.

9.  Ensure that you have activities in your life outside work.  Don’t go home every night and say “I’m to tired to do anything”.  Do something fun, go see a movie, go see a friend, go for a walk, do a hobby etc.  This will help keep your life in balance and stop you putting all the emphasis of your life on your job.  Balance is best!

10.  If you find yourself worrying about the same thing over and over try setting it to the tune of "Happy Birthday" in your head as you repeat it.  It’s amazing how much less daunting something becomes when it’s sung to that Jingle.


* If you've been struggling with Anxiety or Stress Management for a while and think you need help, Clinical Hypnotherapy is a very effective method of managing Stress and Anxiety.  Give me (Georgina Mitchell Hypfocus Therapies and Training)  a call to make a booking on 0435 923 817, I'll help you feel empowered and back on track in no time.  I'm located in Mentone in South East Melbourne.  Skype bookings are also available.


​* Results may vary