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December 17, 2020

Tips on How to Reduce Anxiety at Work

Do you dread waking up in the morning for work? Does the thought of working fill you with anxiety for the day ahead? In an era where communication is constant and accessible almost always, it’s hard to feel like you have an actual break from work—maybe a moment of rest at best. This work culture has impacted our mental health drastically and is a common cause of anxiety disorders. Anxiety is a stress response, and as messages pile in our emails, it’s no wonder how nearly 40 million Americans suffer some degree of anxiety.

 

Luckily, there are ways to help reduce your anxiety, minimize your stressors, and get through the workweek in one piece. Here are just a few of them.

 

1) Reduce caffeine.

 

Though drinking coffee is practically a staple of working in America, the caffeine in it actually worsens anxiety as it mimics its symptoms: a racing heart, upset stomach, and shaky hands being some of those. Though caffeine isn’t an actual cause of anxiety, people who have anxiety are already in a sensitized state, which makes them more vulnerable to coffee’s physiological effects. You don’t have to go cold turkey on drinking coffee, but going from living off of coffee to only drinking in moderation will help reduce your anxiety.

 

2) Don’t overthink.

 

Stress won’t go away, especially when work is the source of your stress, but if it’s all you think about, you’ll only increase the amount of anxiety you feel. Giving these stressors extra attention is unproductive and generally unhelpful; approaching these stressors mindfully instead can help change your outlook of them instead. A recent study showed nurses practicing mindfulness throughout their day dropped their stress levels by 40-percent, so it works.

 

3) Take a breath.

 

If your anxiety is getting bad, take a moment to either meditate or simply take a few deep breaths every day. It may not seem like much, but even putting 30 seconds aside can reduce your tension and lower the amount of stress and anxiety you’re feeling. Use technology to your advantage—there are many smartphone apps dedicated to reducing anxiety, such as Headspace, Meditation Oasis, and Happify that you could give a shot. The worst that can happen is that it doesn’t work, and you can try another one instead.

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