Many people admit they don’t go to work because it’s pleasurable.

Even in fulfilling careers, most people are employed simply because they need the income.

What you don’t need or want in your life is the anxiety that often stems from a work environment. The unfortunate fact about anxiety is that it rarely stays in one place. Workplace anxiety can quickly overflow into your home and creep into your personal relationships. Here are six tips to help you ease this type of anxiety and prevent it from infiltrating your life.

1. Amp Up Your After-Work Life

It’s not uncommon to place a great deal of value on the work you do at your job. To stave off work being your only form of self-worth, welcome more after-work activities.

Pursue hobbies that you’ve put on the back burner. Assign value to yourself through your pursuits. These endeavors will help ease anxiety at work by relieving the need for personal validation.

2. Avoid the “Rest it Off” Approach

An incredible temptation to ease anxiety is simply to rest it away. Some people even zone out in front of the TV or computer to help lift their anxiety.

It might sound inviting to employ this type of escape. The problem is that these little moments of escape aren’t sustainable. In short, they don’t really help you manage workplace anxiety.

A better approach would be to get moving. Exercise will release endorphins which will help ease anxiety by making your body feel better and improving your mood.

3. Take to Pen and Paper

Journaling can help you release frustrations and get them out in the open. It might also help you to put your feelings into perspective.

Try to locate your feelings each day, and then jot them down into a notebook or digital device. Sometimes self-expression is just the ticket to help manage the impact of workplace anxiety.

4. Embrace A More Self-Aware Attitude

Situations and tasks tend to run away with us because we’re not fully present to experience them. In fact, this flighty feeling might be a big contributor to your workplace anxiety.

Practice being more mindful of yourself and your environment. With each new activity, take a deep breath and fully focus on it. The stack of paperwork and deadlines might be growing. Make it a point to focus on one minor thing at a time.

This approach will help you process stressful stimuli as it comes to you rather than in a snowball effect. You’ll feel more anchored and more in control.

5. Recruit A Sounding Board

Confide in a trusted friend regarding your work experience. You can vent about co-workers or even share your frustrations about your workload.

Bouncing feelings off of another person helps to validate your feelings and put them into perspective. And further still, talking to someone trustworthy will help to release your anxious feelings within the safe parameter of a friendship.

6. Change Your Scenery

If you’re like most people, you occupy the same workspace day in and day out. This can increase your workplace anxiety because of its redundancy.

Remember to get up from your desk or workspace to do something you want to do. Grab a cup of coffee or go on a brisk walk.

The simple change in environment will help to activate your parasympathetic nervous system so that you can reclaim your calm more easily.

Take the first step…

If you are ready to address your anxiety issues and how they may be affecting your life, I would like to help. Please contact me via phone or email so we can discuss how we might work together to achieve your therapeutic goals as quickly and effectively as possible.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Linda K. Laffey, MFT