Dealing with Generalised Anxiety Disorder at Work

[Wrenn1984]

Nervous about posting here so please be kind.

I’ve suffered with anxiety for around 20 years but recently had a big trigger at work, leading to a huge spike in anxiety and me second guessing every decision made or project worked in.

I'm a ‘sensitive person’ and a perfectionist and struggle making mistakes but this anxiety has caused me to track down every tiny oversight I’ve made over the last 10 years in my job.

Everytime I get over one thing, another thing pops into my head. Anyone else had something similar and is there a way out?

Im not sure where to go from here except to quit.

Don't quit (yet!).

What was the trigger, without being outing?

Perfectionism and sensitivity can be a difficult combination but you can get through this, and it's not a difficult or long winded process.

First off, have a look at this Ted X to get an understanding of what anxiety is and why we all need it;

Are you having any treatment for your GAD? I’m also diagnosed with it, have had some counselling and am on a low dose of AD’s.

I used to be very similar with work, but I’m def. more relaxed now. I do need ongoing support, it’s an illness and it doesn’t just go away, unfortunately.

If you’re not having help, start by seeing your GP. That’s what I did several years ago, burst into tears at my appointment and she was v. supportive. Best of luck. 💐

What techniques and medication are you currently using?

@Wrenn1984 Another thing to remember is that your job is just a job, it’s not the be all and end all of your life.

If you make a mistake, you make one. Everyone makes the odd mistake, not just you. We’re all imperfect human beings. 💐

In the past therapy has helped me address rumination and I used the workbook ‘When perfect isn’t good enough’ to get my perfectionism under control. I’ve really needed SSRIs in the past and massively benefited from a low dose (which was easy to taper off when I was ready).

Has anything happened at work to trigger this? Have you got clear goals and a supportive line manager? Any training you could take to feel like your skills are solid?

Thanks All for your comments, much appreciated. I’ve had anxiety for about 20 years and on and off Citalopram to help with that.

Have restarted counselling but am struggling to get things under control. Every time I get my head around something, another mistake (real or imagined) pops up.

I try to think ‘it’s just a job’ but then I catastrophise and start thinking that I’ll cause a legal problem and we’ll get sued or I’ll upset a client and we’ll loose lots of money.

ive got one of the worry apps but it doesn’t seem to be making too much of a dent

anyone got any other strategies I can try?

has anyone pop be made it back from something like this?

Workbook sounds like a good idea, I’ll look for it.

trigger was taking in a load more responsibility then my manager being let go 2 weeks later. uncertainty in the workplace has been an issue for over a year also (for everyone)

i have a new manager who is amazing but I’m ashamed of all this and don’t want them to think badly of me

Some good advice on this thread. I recommend Claire Weekes to help with GAD. You can get her books on Audible. They are old, so they are dated, but the core advice is simple and powerful. It really works.

I take Propanalol for occasional anxiety at work. I could be feeling mentally fairly okay but have a distracting chest pain or feeling of inability to breathe fully, and it’s helpful to be able to damp these symptoms down before a challenging meeting, for example.

I meditate daily in my lunch hour, anything from 3 to 30 minutes using guided meditations on YouTube. This has been transformative in how I cope with anxiety and difficult emotions at work.

The book The Happiness Trap is good for changing how you think, especially the ‘dropping anchor’ for me, but I would recommend Claire Weekes first while you are really in the thick of it.

Finally, regular exercise has helped me - it gets me out of my head and into my body.

Most important - be kind and gentle with yourself.

I try to think ‘it’s just a job’ but then I catastrophise and start thinking that I’ll cause a legal problem and we’ll get sued or I’ll upset a client and we’ll loose lots of money.

@Wrenn1984 You're not responsible for the entire company though, @Wrenn1984. They’ll have strategies and insurance in place in case something goes wrong.

I do understand how you’re feeling, I once contemplated suicide after making a mistake and was threatened with legal action. But it blew over and I apologized profusely, it was a genuine mistake. What we have to remember is that even if something like this happens, life still goes on.

I now try to put events more in proportion and think about the actual consequences.
If I make a mistake at work, I could get fired. That’s shitty, but I’ll pick myself up and find something else if that happens.

If I or a loved one gets terminal cancer, that’s truly serious, because we can’t do anything about it, iyswim.

Try to save your energies for the real crises, OP. 💐