How to Excel Professionally While Fighting Anxiety
Practical Strategies for Managing Anxiety at Work
Alex, a former colleague, has garnered admiration from many within his circle. As the executive director of a thriving enterprise, his efforts are a top concern for the parent company’s CEO. He delivers exceptional results and is appreciated by his team.
However, Alex harbors a secret. He struggles with anxiety. It is a condition that disturbs his sleep, affects his health, and demands considerable effort to manage.
Alex receives accolades for his composed demeanor during critical client meetings. Few people realize he navigated the event with the help of anti-anxiety medication. Alex juggles two roles every day. He handles his official duties, as described in his job description, and the personal challenge of managing his anxiety.
Feeling anxious occasionally is expected, such as in high-stakes meetings, with a tense boss, or conflicts with peers. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, each year, about 19% of U.S. adults suffer from an anxiety disorder. Another 31% will face such a disorder at some point.
Mental health specialists suggest that anxiety often traps us in distorted thinking patterns. These patterns can lead to a debilitating negative cycle that overwhelms our lives. They convince us disaster is imminent, thus amplifying our sense of powerlessness.
Five Common Traps
Anxiety Canada is dedicated to aiding those with anxiety. They identify several common traps and thought patterns. Here are some that high-level leaders encounter and their thoughts when ensnared by a particular trap:
· Catastrophizing: Envisioning the worst-case scenario. “I’ll be let go if there’s a single mistake in my presentation.”
· Mind reading: Assuming the thoughts of others. “He must think I’m incompetent because he doesn’t enjoy collaborating with me.”
· Fortune telling: Predicting the future without evidence. “I’ll be disliked in the new team because I’m the only non-scientist.”
· Black-and-white thinking: Seeing only extremes. “It’s either a grand slam, or I’m out of a job.”
· Overgeneralizing: Applying a broad outcome to all scenarios. “My last presentation to the CEO went poorly. I always mess up or fail with executive audiences.”
If you recognize these thinking traps in yourself, consider these strategies I’ve shared with my coaching clients to break free from them. While I’m not a licensed psychologist or healthcare provider, my experience has helped clients change their behaviors. People have always come to me to hear their stories and challenges. I am quiet, and they feel they can trust me. When I mention a friend/client, their name is changed. It has helped shift their thinking. Enhancing their work performance has proven valuable.
These tips are not a substitute for professional mental health advice. But they can help to disrupt negative thought cycles, manage anxiety, and focus on what truly matters in your work.
Interrupt the cycle
Anxiety often manifests through physical symptoms. Learning to identify your physical signs of looming anxiety, such as a tight stomach, sweaty palms, or rapid breathing, can help. These are signs of an amygdala hijack, prompting a fight-or-flight response rather than rational thought.
Alex felt the onset of anxiety before a major launch meeting. Recognizing the familiar tightness in his chest and rapid heartbeat, he took a quick five-minute walk outside. This physical activity helped reset his nervous system, shifting focus away from anxiety and back to the task at hand.
Recognizing these signs, consciously shift your activity to engage your logical brain. Use challenging mental exercises that divert your attention from the stressor.
Examples:
· Focusing on slow, deep breaths helps calm your mind and refocus on your work with more clarity.
· Draw a map of your neighborhood from memory. This requires a visual focus to take you away from your stressors.
· Take a 10-minute break to doodle in your sketchbook. This activity requires concentration and creativity. It effectively diverts your mind from the stressor and reduces anxiety.
· Write a paragraph using your non-dominant hand. You will use a completely different brain part for this exercise.
· Sudoku: Calculating in your head or solving a complex problem on paper helps engage your logical brain. This moves your focus away from anxiety and toward a productive mental exercise.
Identify the trap
Name your specific pattern, whether it’s one mentioned above or another you’ve noticed. Label it for what it is. Naming it transforms an ambiguous threat into something tangible. When it has a name, you can remove it from your feelings. You reclaim control by acknowledging your past survival through similar instances. That allows you to refine your approach based on the identified trap. Understanding his patterns led to more precise steps to mitigate them for Alex.
While working with Alex, I met a marketing executive who was frequently caught in the trap of overgeneralizing after a project setback. I was at a meeting where he presented his latest proposal. He was rebuffed by his boss. We spoke briefly, and I asked him to name what he feared. After that meeting, I suggested that he begin journaling his thoughts when anxiety strikes. By writing his thoughts, he identifies his over-generalization pattern. Then, he consciously challenges these thoughts with evidence of past successes.
Another client, a software engineer, was prone to catastrophizing potential errors in his team’s work. He discussed his fears with me. This conversation helped him label his anxiety trap as catastrophizing and gain perspective. He reduced the intensity of his fears by understanding the improbability of the worst-case scenario.
Distinguish FUD from reality
Make a two-column list; one for your Fears, Uncertainties, and Doubts (FUD), and the other for verified facts. This requires honesty in its purest form. Comparing these can diminish your fears and ground you in reality by visually displaying the differences between your Bad and Good columns.
When Alex fell into a mix of fortune-telling and catastrophizing, he convinced himself, “Our main strategy will collapse, competitors outpace us, and our global locations will succumb to political chaos.”
His FUD list included fears of being outperformed by competitors, uncontrollable geopolitical events, economic downturns, and team burnout. His facts list highlighted successes over competitors, stable political conditions in most subsidiary locations, financial stability, and low employee turnover. Seeing his fears alongside factual counterpoints helped Alex reduce his anxiety.
If your FUD list overwhelms the facts, revisit your thoughts when making the list. If necessary, seek perspectives from trusted individuals who can offer realistic viewpoints.
Before an important presentation, I recommend writing your fears about failing and being judged by your peers (FUD). Now, write the facts about your preparedness and past successful presentations. This visual comparison helps to ground you in reality, reducing anxiety.
As a freelance writer, I sometimes become anxious about my latest submission. I will sit with my journal, listing my fears of rejection and criticism against the reality of my well-researched and carefully edited work. I make the corresponding list of my successes with articles that have stressed my abilities. I sometimes seek objective feedback to help dispel unfounded fears and reinforce confidence in my abilities. This has served me well; give it a try.
Expand your narrative
We constantly make assumptions, draw conclusions, and tell ourselves stories to navigate life, yet this can limit us. When anxious, we’re prone to believe our most negative stories. Sometimes, we are not as empathetic with ourselves as others. Give yourself a break; you already know you are in pain.
Here is a Scenario Planning Exercise for you to try:
When feeling anxious about the launch of a new venture, imagine three different outcomes. One result where the launch exceeds expectations, one where it meets them, and one where it falls short but offers valuable lessons. This exercise helps you see beyond your initial negative assumptions. It also prepares you for various possibilities. For example, each scenario has a lesson or two as it plays out. Recognize and learn from the lesson presented.
Another exercise is to speak with a trusted friend or colleague and role-play different responses. Craft narratives for various reactions. This prepares you for the situation. It reduces anxiety by highlighting that you can handle the situation in many ways.
Practice what you preach
Consider the advice you’d offer someone else in your situation. Often, we can provide sound guidance to others while feeling stuck. This reflective question can help you view your situation objectively and escape the mental trap.
After advising his team on managing project stress, Alex noticed his own rising anxiety levels. As I had suggested, he wrote a letter to himself from the perspective of advising a friend. He used this to gain insight into his situation and remind himself of the strategies he knows are effective.
Implementing these strategies during moments of panic can be challenging. Having a written plan for high-stress situations can serve as a lifeline. It will offer clarity and actionable steps when your thoughts seem most muddled. This preparedness helps in navigating through the fog of anxiety. It also empowers you to regain control over your mental state. This ensures you lead with confidence and resilience, even under pressure.
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