Anxiety in the work place
In today’s work environment with its constant demand’s to do more with less, frequent reorganisations and regular rounds of redundancies it is easy to feel very unsettled, uninspired, anxious and fearful.
Anxiety in the work place can leave some people with racing thoughts and struggling to switch off. I recommend anything that you can focus on to distract your mind, whether it’s a puzzle, movie or exercise. For some people the racing thoughts, start off mild and get more extreme the more you focus on the worst possible outcome. What is important to remember when if you find yourself in this situation, is ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there reason to believe this will happen?
- What evidence is there to support this assumption?
- Is there any chance I am blowing this out of proportion?
If we take the example of fearing being made redundant. It is important to distinguish between the wild rumours that go around office and the times when organisations are genuinely being restructured. If you decide that it is simply a rumour then fine, remind yourself of that on a regular basis. It is always worth remembering that organisations always value effective people especially when everyone is stretched and there is a huge business costs associated with replacing valuable staff.
At some point in your career you are going to be in the situation where you are part of a re-organisation and may face the genuine threat of redundancy. One way to tackle the anxiety this type of situation creates, is to focus on a plan B, what you can do if the worse happens. It is natural when facing a threat of redundancy to want to play it safe and stick with what you know. While I was never made redundant, I did go through several re-organisations where colleagues where made redundant. I found having a plan B comforting. When writing my plan B, I always remembered that it was natural to feel uncomfortable with something that is new and unfamiliar, so don’t let the fear stop you. To put my fear of failing into perspective, I always imagined myself in an old peoples home at the end of my life and wondered if I would regret not taking the risk of trying to something new. So if you decide to write a plan B don’t just stick to the tried and tested.
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My top exercise
My top exericse, is very underrated, it is walking, I love it. Here is why. 1. Walking is good for everyone. Doctors agree including the elderly, morbidy obese, arhritic and pregnant women. Walking is gentle enough for most people who have these conditions and the activity can help ease the pain of chronic illness. 2. Walking is free and easy - no expensive gym fees and no equipment needed! 3. Walking is linked to lower rates of obesity. People who walk to work are less likely to be obese, 30 minutes walking a day burns 150 calories.. A 2015 study found that even walking just 20 minutes a day can reduce your risk of premature death by 30%. 4. Walking prevents diabetes as it helps regulates blood sugar levels, which in turn keeps insulin levels low at diabetes at day. A 15 minute walk after a meal is all that is need to help regulate blood sugar levels. 5. Walking is good for year heart. A 2013 study found that walkers who cover the same mileage as runners enjoy comparable reductions in high blood pressure, high cholesterol and coronary heart disease. While it took twice as long for walkers to cover the distance, walking may be a more sustainable and accessible activity than running for most people, especially those who are new to exercise. 6. Walking helps you get a good nights sleep. Travel experts adivse when you arrive at a new city on the day you arrive to walk around. The reason is that you expose your body to sunlight and saying outside until it grows dark helps you to recalibarte the hormone melatonin to your new time zone. As melatonin rises so does feelings of sleepiness. 7. Walking improves your mood protecting you from both anxiety and depression. Moving your body is a well-known way to release endorphins, a set of feel-good chemicals that dull pain receptors in the brain, sedate you and even give you feelings of happiness and euphoria. That’s why exercise in general, and walking in particular, is recommended to help improve symptoms of mild to moderate depression. A 2005 study found that walking briskly for 35 minutes five times a week, or 60 minutes three times a week, had a significant influence on mild to moderate depression symptoms. References 2015 Study see >> https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/552048/Brisk-20-minute-walk-each-day-could-reduce-risk-early-death 2013 Study see >> http://time.com/3668654/exercise-obesity-walking-premature-death/ Exercise for depression study see >> https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/for-depression-prescribing-exercise-before-medication/284587/ and the 2005 study see >> https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression
More on building your resiliance
Following on from last week’s entry on building resilience, it is important to state that resilience don’t just help you manage stress but it fosters inner strength to help you meet goals, life challenges and achieve success. Most of my clients hold more or less physical tension which I would like you to think of as a bad habit that relaxation will help you break. Relaxation is like changing the idling speed on a car. When a car turns over too quickly, wasting expensive fuel and putting a strain on the engine, the mechanic can reset the idling speed to a much lower level. Similarly when busyness, concerns, time pressure have speeded us up too much, making us tense and irritable, we can learn how to let go and attain a much calmer state of being. So taking the time to learn what relaxes you! It is worth re-emphasising the point that it is possible to make an enormous difference to your state of mind through yoga, tai chi, relaxation and meditation and all other sorts of physical exercise. While most of celebrate our wins, it is also important to celebrate when we do good for others, as often other’s don’t notice. We all know life has its ups and downs, when your life is in turmoil, you may not do things "perfectly". Rather than worrying or simply surviving turmoil, why not ask what you can learn from the situation. But don’t beat yourself up, remember you always do your best, when you know better, you do better! One habit that I try to cultivate to help put a smile on my face especially when I am feeling down is to cultivate a gratitude attitude. However bad my day goes, before I got to sleep I try to think of three things that I am grateful for. These don’t need to be big things; it can be as simple as “I am grateful that the transport system ran on time” as I had a busy day. A gratitude attitude helps foster joy, fulfilment & peace of mind.
