Written by Serena Norris – A volunteer at Le Chéile and our monthly guest blogger. A graduate from St. John Fisher College in Psychology, Serena is currently undergoing her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counselling and runs her own online blog. To see her blog click here.
I know that there is not one day that goes by at my job that I do not feel anxiety or stress. Besides working in a hospital with COVID patients throughout the pandemic, I have normal stressors as well. Here are my basic tips to help you get through your workday whether you are in an office environment or working from home.
The first tip is to just stop. Allow yourself to take a moment to evaluate the situation and take a deep breath. If you continue without taking that one moment, it could lead to a blow up later; meaning that the anxiety will build up so much that it can lead to panic or even taking it out on one of your coworkers. Being able to sit back and see the situation before tackling it can lead to better results and decreases your anxiety. Anxiety can also be spread to others in our workspace. I know this sounds odd, but it is true! If one person is anxious about a given task, it affects every person involved.
Another tip is to take a walk. Take a step away from the situation and allow yourself time to breathe. Having a new environment can help decrease the anxiety and bring about a clear mindset. Sometimes starting over is all we need to stop our anxiety.
Lastly, imagine yourself in a week from now, is this situation going to be an issue then? In most cases it is not going to matter and can be easier to let it go. If it will still affect you, plan on how to handle the situation. Everyone loves to have a sheet to go too for guidelines and be able to cross off what we completed (at least I know I LOVE this). This decreases our anxiety since you already have a plan on how to go through with the current dilemma. This can also help with future situations and decrease your future anxiety.
I hope these tips can make the workday a little more tolerable and until next time, stay healthy, stay positive, and stay mentally strong!