Is this work stress/anxiety?

[SpangledBoots]

For the past 3-4 months I've been struggling. I'm not as productive as I normally am, I sometimes just sit at my work laptop feeling completely paralysed. I lie awake at night worrying about work, who I spoke to, things I've said, roles/responsibilities. Then I struggle to get up in the mornings. I don't do anything in the evenings and barely do anything at weekends. I eat crap and keep putting on weight. I can't bring myself to do exercise. I feel terrible.

I was recently moved to a new team with a great boss but wasn't given the promoted role I went for. There are two others in the team who did get this level of role but one is on maternity leave and the other is working notice on her existing role. So I've been covering their work and not getting to my own. Boss is aware of this but there's been no let up since July. I turn this over in my head constantly.

What should I do?

Bumping this for you, OP.

Can you get an appointment to see your GP ASAP? This sounds pretty serious and you need to reach out for support.

If you don’t think work will change, can you afford to leave , look for other jobs, take a break?

It does definitely sound like stress, and the way it's presenting itself (eating crap, staying in bed, not going out much) makes it worse, so it's like the symptoms become a cause, and make everything go in a vicious circle.

The way I see it, there are two options. You could take both, of course.

The main thing to do is to address how things are at work. If there is anything that could be taken off your plate to make things easier for you, you should speak to a manager to see whether it would be possible. If the job is getting you down, perhaps even consider a change in career. People hating work and getting stressed out by it is such a huge cause of unhappiness.

I would also recommend seeing your GP. Counselling and/or meds could help you manage your stress a lot. It's sometimes difficult to know whether work has caused this, or whether you have depression/anxiety and are just trying to attribute it to something (if that makes sense). Getting a professional opinion is always worthwhile :).

Thank you for your responses

I'll go and see my GP. Totally agree that I need to break the cycle...

I like where I work and what I do - I just find it really difficult to cover the work of two more senior people on top of my own, whilst not being paid for it!

I would speak to your GP - you need to find a way to switch off and deal with things in a better way

I would also arrange a formal meeting with your boss and explain the situation and that you just can't continue to cover all the work

If that goes nowhere speak to HR

Following as in the same boat

how are you getting on OP? xx

Thanks for asking. Ive been trying to take better care of myself this weekend. I've also booked some leave in the next few weeks so generally feeling more hopeful.

Planning to see my GP during the time off.

I still dread the thought of going in.