There has been a lot of focus on stress and anxiety at work in the past few weeks, with several news articles coming out talking about these issues.
I thought that it would be good to look at some of the reasons that people present to a Psychologist for anxiety at work to help to normalise this illness. The vast majority of my clients will talk report the fact that they are having some type of anxiety whilst they are at work and that this effects their ability to work effectively. This phenomena isn’t just for men or women, or people working in office jobs, anxiety cuts across all people and work types.
Some of the examples of ways that people realise that there is a problem:
- Feeling constantly exhausted – not wanting to go to work or having difficulty getting out of bed, or on the other hand feeling ‘braindead’ when they get home from work and unable to engage with partners or children;
- Panic episodes – increased heart rate, feeling constantly nauseous, butterflies in the stomach, a feeling that you need to escape from the situation;
- Periods of poor work output – finding that you are easily distracted and unable to focus on the tasks that you need to;
- Avoidance of employees or managers – feeling that interactions with others are too difficult or that they are unable to understand simple solutions
These are all perfectly normal reactions to stress and anxiety and they don’t mean that there is anything majorly wrong with you. Anxiety and stress are both highly responsive to treatment meaning that a conversation with you GP, a referral to a psychologist or some simple changes to your behaviours, thoughts and routines can lead to a great reduction in your symptoms.
As a manager you can engage your employees with an Employee Assistance program or with a supportive environment that they are able to seek support. There are also great support websites such as Black Dog Institute and Beyond Blue which can help provide information and guidance as to the next steps that you may need to take.
Insite Psychology Gold Coast also provides support to managers and employees in relation to stress, anxiety and depression – you can contact us here