Understanding anxiety

Posted by tripio @tripio, May 25, 2023

Hi I suffer mostly from anxiety haven’t worked in nearly fours goin back to work is a consent worry my emotions and feelings are all over the place it feels like I’m chasing my tail most of time I’m also on meds which I feel are doin ore harm than good plus my concentration is on and off, any advice would b most helpfull

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Valerie | @lacy2 | May 25, 2023

From one anxious person to another, although I am much older than you:

Just a suggestion, as I think I was born "anxious" and have bouts of it being a problem on and off all my life, yet worked, raised family, got through cancer etc., but not in a relaxed way, you know what I mean...

Sometimes writing down a list of what we are anxious about: putting it down on paper so we can read it and see it written down and its not rolling around in our head/minds..

For instance, it IS a big deal going back to work.... and for you, is it :
- worries about performance at work
- worries about getting to and from work, transportation
- wondering what impression you will make or what others think about you

.. maybe that type of thing? and writing down what the concerns are, how you can plan for coping with these worries and even after the first day maybe writing down if your worries/anxieties actually happened !!

If they happened , then of course next stage... what to do about them, and if they didnt happen, yeah! Worrying for nothing - thats what is often the root cause of our anxiety isnt it: the what-ifs!!!

Good luck and wish i was still young enough and fit enough to be back at work, although it wasnt all peaches and cream, neigher is being older and ill... I would trade to go back to any of my jobs over the years, when I was feeling better and younger, than my life now....so take some deep breaths, hold your head up high, and do your best - if you always do your best you will build confidence and hopefully enjoy your new job; best of luck. J.

p.s. Anxiety as you already know - everyone has it as a built in safety feature for times when we are in danger, or such: its just that some of us get more anxious than others, over more things, and find it hard to control... hopefully some more commenters can offer some more coping skills .... J.