Managing Work Stress and Anxiety
By Jasmine Jaquess
Dealing with anxiety means that it affects all areas of your life at times. So how can you manage your anxiety when you work full time, have school, or are starting your post-graduate life. There isn’t a clear answer. Often we are told to get over it and move on because life is stressful. But this is terrible advice! If you don’t take care of yourself you will burn out and end up missing out on opportunities that would have otherwise been present if you were taking care of yourself. Sometimes with the younger generation, people tend to assume we don’t understand true stress or what hard work looks like, but we know that is not true. We understand different stressors than previous generations and many of us are working to acknowledge the mental health concerns that were highly stigmatized in our past. Therefore, if you’re struggling to overcome your work stress and anxiety as you become the young adult you aspire to be, this one is for you.
Causes of work stress
Low salaries
Excessive workloads
Few opportunities for growth or advancement
Work that isn’t engaging or challenging
Lack of social support
Not having enough control over job-related decisions
Conflicting demands or unclear performance expectations
Microaggressions and racial trauma
Gender power dynamics
What happens to your body under stress?
Do you truly understand your anxiety? I mean we know that when crazy events happen we get anxious. Or sometimes you’re just in a constant state of anxiety and you never really stop being anxious. Often triggers go unnoticed. However, when we begin to understand our body, our triggers, and why things happen, we can work better to prevent and prepare for unexpected events.
When you’re anxious, your body has a physiological response to the environment around you. You may notice rapid breathing, sweaty palms, a pit in your stomach. Additionally, you may experience fear and seek comfort or safety at that moment. In this time your body is trying to understand whether it wants to flee or fight at that moment. Sometimes, in these events, your body may freeze.
Alarm Stage
Your body may not know how to react at this moment and then you just shut down. During the fight or flight response, your body will release cortisol and this releases adrenaline and creates more energy in your body. In the General Adaptation Syndrome or GAS stage, we call this the alarm or reaction stage. Essentially your body is trying to alert you that danger is near.
Resistance Stage
Next in the resistance stage, the body does its best to repair itself and activate the parasympathetic nervous system so you can calm down. This is where cortisol tries to lower your blood pressure and calm your heart rate. Your body is trying to normalize and find safety. You can recognize the symptoms by irritability, frustration, and poor concentration. It is necessary for this stage that we begin to learn how to manage anxiety and stress. If your body is used to being in this heightened level of anxiety and then this becomes your new baseline. That is why having healthy coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety matters to reduce this baseline.
Exhaustion Stage
Lastly, in the GAS system, is the exhaustion stage. If your stress and anxiety levels get here you will begin to experience fatigue, burnout, depression, anxiety, and decreased stress tolerance. This is when chronic stress and anxiety are present. This also means that cortisol production is significantly higher. This means that you’re more susceptible to tissue damage and an increased risk of getting sick because your body is fighting against the chronic levels of stress you’re experiencing.
How Can You Prevent Chronic Stress and Anxiety in the Work Place?
Make sure you understand the job and requirements
Stay away from the conflict that doesn’t involve you
Stay organized and plan for workload
Don’t feel like you need to do it all at once to be successful
Make sure to prioritize mental, physical, and nutritional health
Create time to turn off from work
Develop healthy coping mechanisms
Practice and stay firm on boundaries
If you don’t know how to relax, its time to learn
Know who you can lean on, where is your support system?
Skills to Implement for Stress Reduction
Mindfulness and no, this doesn’t mean just meditating!
Mindfulness is the act of being in the present moment. If you’re a busy individual you may struggle to be present and take pauses in your day. At times, this can feel impossible. But even taking 5 minutes to a deep breath, sit in silence, do a body scan, or practicing belly breathing are great ways to practice mindfulness. Additionally, mindful walks and eating are great ways to practice mindfulness.
Acknowledge what can you control at this moment?
Often the struggle with anxiety is addressing what we realistically can and cannot control at the moment. If you’re worried about job feedback, a conflict at work, or a deadline. Does worrying add to the ability to control? If you have done everything you possibly can within reason at that moment. Step away from the work and decompress. Sometimes when we are faced with the reality that we cannot do everything all at once. It is both defeating, anxiety-inducing, and disappointing. However, whenever you cannot read another email or talk to another person, this is your body saying “I’m tired, give me rest”. You need to tune in and listen. Chances are once you take a breath and learn to breathe, you will find yourself able to focus a lot more when you come back to the task at hand.
Reframe negative thoughts
This ties into the last thought, but when you’re saying you have to get this work done now and you don’t allow flexibility in other options, you’re slowly creeping toward burnout. Trust me, when that shows up, the recovery period will take more time than the 30-minute break to take a pause will. Take a step back and think about whether you’re not doing enough, and failing, or is your body trying to communicate a need that is not being met? Listen and follow suit. Your body will thank you for the break.
You Matter and So Does Your Mental Health!
I know that saying no and pausing takes a lot out of you, but you’re responsible for caring for yourself. If your work environment does not promote better wellness and care for your well-being, it is your responsibility to change that. Whether that means leaving or setting firm boundaries. It's time to take care of yourself. Your mental wellness at school and in the workplace matter. Working yourself to the bone is not sustainable and your health will come crashing down. If you’re struggling to find balance, it's time to get support. Anxiety treatment in Missouri, at Aspire Counseling, could be the solution to a life focused on wellness. If you believe in-person or online therapy is for you, reach out to our client care coordinator and begin focusing on you!
About the Author
Jasmine Jaquess is a counselor-in-training and a Northwestern University Counseling Intern at Aspire Counseling under the supervision of our clinical director, Jessica Tappana. Jasmine has a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and a psychology degree from Truman State University and is passionate about holistic wellness. Jasmine is currently focusing her training and experience on anxiety treatment including helping young adults and professionals with high functioning anxiety. As a young professional herself balancing a full time job, this part time internship and a Master’s Degree program, Jasmine certainly understands the importance of finding balance, respecting your own needs in any given moment and using a variety of skills to manage stress. In the future, she is interested in specializing her counseling training in trauma, adoption and disordered eating.
