Could I have a bit of an anxiety handhold?

[Rainatnight]

Sorry for being needy. I'm away on holiday with a friend, which is supposed to be a treat for her, so don't want to say anything. And don't want to email DP, who'll worry.

Having crashing waves of anxiety. Not able to enjoy anything around me (sun and sea!).

Have been having very stressful time at work. Holiday came at a very bad time for some stuff I'm responsible for. Have massive thing on next week so have had to log on to prepare for that, and while I was on, saw something had gone really wrong on the thing I'm responsible for - something that my team should have sorted before now, and I should have clocked, but didn't as I was too overwhelmed by what I had to do.

So now having raging anxiety on hols about having messed up and what might face me when I get back.

Ugh.

Hello Rainatnight, sorry to hear that you're experiencing this and especially whilst you're on holiday. Anxiety really is the pits isn't it.

Firstly, easier said than done, but try not to beat yourself up for feeling anxious or about the thing that's gone on at work. Try to be as kind to yourself as you would towards someone else.

Regarding the thing that's gone wrong at work, is there someone (either your boss if they are supportive or one of your team members) who you can get on the case to start resolving the issue in some way, or deal with whatever the impact of the problem is? Are there emails that you can send to set things in motion? Being away from a situation can often feel much worse than if you were at work, dealing with it all first hand, so I think if there are any practical things you can do it might make you feel better. I should be clear in saying that I'm not suggesting that you try to manage this issue remotely (you ARE on holiday) , but rather get the ball rolling on if others back at work haven't already done so.

Whatever has happened, please remember that we are all human and mistakes and problems happen. The important thing is that the issue has been spotted and that's the first step to getting it resolved.

Also, I would encourage you to either speak to your friend or your DP; you don't even have to go into great detail but just explaining briefly that there are problems are work that are making you feel anxious can reduce some of the stress of having to put a brave face on.

for you, anxiety is horrible.

Thank you so much, that's so incredibly kind of you. I'd actually done the setting the wheels in motion thing, and have done what I can. Which is something. Will speak to DP. And that's a very helpful reminder about mistakes. I'm not good at remembering that.

Thanks again.

I'm glad you're going to speak to your DP. If roles were reversed and your DP was feeling terribly worried about something I'm sure you'd want them to feel like they could share their worries with you.

Well done for setting the wheels in motion with the work situation. If you start to feel anxious again about it, give yourself a pat on the back for acting quickly, even whilst on holiday, and remind yourself that things are now in hand so it's ok to relax. You've done brilliantly in having dealt with things proactively rather than having just sat there worrying but not doing anything about it.

Really hope that you can enjoy the rest of your holiday a little more, but if you do start to feel worried again I hope you're able to share your worries with your DP or friend.