Workplace Anxiety – When Work Crushes Your Joy

Is your job making you sick?

It’s not just you.

Recent studies have highlighted the prevalence and impact of anxiety in professional settings, with 40% of Americans reporting feeling anxious during the workday [1a]. This widespread issue can significantly affect job performance, satisfaction, and overall well-being.

If you’re constantly feeling on edge, its probably more than just a case of the Mondays, especially if the daily grind has become a constant battle.

Workplace anxiety is real, and it’s affecting more people than you might think.

Here’s are some things to help you understand and what you can do to resolve your anxiety.

Because workplace anxiety is that nagging worry, that pit in your stomach, that chronic stress and anxiety specifically tied to your job

It’s not just about a looming deadline or a big presentation, it’s when those feelings become constant, impacting you even outside of work, and making you feel like there is no escape from the workplace.

What is Workplace Anxiety

Workplace anxiety refers to the experience of stress, worry, and fear specifically related to one’s job or work environment[1].

It goes beyond the normal stress everyone experiences at work and involves persistent, overwhelming feelings that can interfere with daily functioning. Unlike general anxiety, which is a more pervasive condition, workplace anxiety is typically triggered by specific work-related situations. It’s important to recognize normal work stress or anxiety that is chronic and debilitating [1].

Workplace vs. General Anxiety

While both workplace and general anxiety can manifest with similar symptoms, the key distinction lies in their triggers and context [1].

General anxiety is a broad condition that can be triggered by various situations not necessarily related to work and can be chronic in nature.

In contrast, workplace anxiety is more specifically linked to the work environment, job responsibilities, and professional relationships. For example, someone might experience general anxiety about various aspects of their life, while someone with workplace anxiety might only experience anxiety when they are at work or thinking about work. Work-induced anxiety is when feelings of chronic stress and anxiety are constant and potentially impact you outside of work [1].

Signs and Symptoms of Workplace Anxiety

Workplace anxiety can manifest in a range of emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms [1]. These may include:

Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms:

• Constant worrying, often about work-related issues
• Irritability and difficulty managing emotions at work
• Difficulty concentrating and mental fogginess
• Loss of interest in work and a drop in job satisfaction
• Avoidance of work-related social events or tasks
• Feeling overwhelmed by work demands
• Anxiety attacks before going to or dialing into work
• The “Sunday Scaries,” or dread about the upcoming work week.

Physical Symptoms

• Sleep disturbances, such as insomnia or restless sleep
• Headaches, muscle tension, and other physical aches and pains
• Gastrointestinal issues, such as stomach cramps or upset stomach
• Changes in appetite, either overeating or undereating
• Increased heart rate or sweating
• Physical exhaustion

These symptoms are a sign that your body and brain are signaling that something is not right and that you need to take action.

Causes and Triggers of Workplace Anxiety

Several factors can contribute to workplace anxiety:

Workload and Deadlines

• Heavy workloads and unrealistic deadlines can cause chronic stress
• Difficulty managing and prioritizing tasks can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed
• Poor time management and lack of planning can exacerbate anxiety

Interpersonal Issues

• Difficult relationships with coworkers or managers can be a major stressor
• Dealing with toxic coworkers and workplace negativity can contribute to anxiety
• Poor communication and lack of support from colleagues and supervisors are also significant factors

Job Insecurity

Fear of losing one’s job or uncertainty about job security can trigger anxiety

Work Environment

• High-pressure work environments and lack of control can lead to anxiety
• Lack of recognition or appreciation can also contribute to feelings of stress
• An uncomfortable or toxic workplace environment can exacerbate feelings of anxiety

Personal Factors

• Pre-existing anxiety or other mental health conditions
• Perfectionism and fear of failure
• Past negative experiences at work

Neuroscience shows that the amygdala, the brain’s fear center, can become overactive in response to perceived threats at work [2].

Importance of Seeking Support for Workkplace Anxiety

When work feels like an emotional rollercoaster, you need support.

Your employer and colleagues at work may be the source of you anxiety. You may feel like you can’t turn to them for support.

You may be frozen with overwhelming anxiety that you just can’t set healthy worklife balance, like you used to be able to. The anxiety is seeping into other areas of life that used to enjoy. The self-care practices that used to help just aren’t effective enough for this level of anxiety.

Even though you don’t bring work home, you’re still anxious about work. You feel bad when you’re at work and sometimes even more anxious when you’re not working, but you know you need a break from work.

Maybe you even love your job, or used to love it and thinking about a job change is painful. You wonder how it got so far away from the job you used to love.

How to resolve Workplace Anxiety

Taking action is important to take control of your mental health.

Here are some common strategies that ‘experts’ will tell you to focus on:

• Time Management & Organization
• Planning & Preparation
• Set Boundaries
• Take More Breaks
• Clear Communication
• Manage Workplace Relationships

We all know that when you’re feeling debilitating anxiety, these suggestions aren’t helpful because they’re trying to solve an emotional problem, anxiety, with logic.

Because here’s the thing.

You can’t solve emotions with logic.

You’ve read this article and have a greater understanding but it didn’t help your anxiety.

Understanding can’t fix your emotions.

Trying to resolve manage surface level symptoms doesn’t help deep-seated anxiety.

Accelerated Hypnotherapy for Work Anxiety

You need something that will actually resolve the emotions, the overwhelming anxiety before you can even begin to use logic and apply your understanding. Research demonstrates that anxiety can impair task performance by consuming cognitive resources [3] – so you can’t think logically in a state of overwhelming anxiety.

Accelerated Hypnotherapy can help you resolve workplace anxiety, by transforming it at the subconscious level.

Neuroscience research has shed light on the brain mechanisms underlying anxiety, revealing that individuals with anxiety often experience heightened activity in the amygdala, the brain’s fear center which has negative, debilitative effects on job performance [4].

Accelerated Hypnotherapy can help regulate you brain’s overactivity by creating a state of focused relaxation, allowing for more effective processing of anxiety-provoking thoughts and situations.

When you connect with your Superconscious, we can bring your anxiety under control so you can utilize the facilitative aspects of your feelings while mitigating their debilitative effects.

The session can improve your self-regulatory processing and reduce emotional exhaustion, two key factors identified in the Theory of Workplace Anxiety (TWA) model.

Recent neuroscience findings also indicate that high-performing individuals may be more susceptible to anxiety due to their expanded emotional brain networks [7]. Accelerated Hypnotherapy can be particularly beneficial for these individuals, offering a targeted approach to managing their heightened emotional responses in the workplace.

Accelerated Hypnotherapy can help high-performing professionals harness their cognitive abilities more effectively while minimizing the disruptive effects of anxiety by addressing the underlying neural patterns associated with anxiety at the level of the subconscious where we can directly influence and transform emotional responses that are driving your anxiety.

We can reveal and resolve the hidden causes of overwhelming, persistent emotional patterns that operate at the subconscious level to transform your relationship to anxiety.

Not just at work but all facets of your well-being and quality of life.

What really matters.