Working with anxiety

[brittany09]

Does anybody here work or go to school with anxiety? I'm not working right now but would LOVE to be able to. I probably am able to,since I've been doing better but I'm SO afraid I'm going to walk out the first day from not being to handle it. That would be SO embarrassing. I'd also like to go college,but feel that is out of the question. My GAD and panic attacks come and go,and I have no idea when they are going to be around and when they won't. Throughout the year I have a couple bad spells. I know that if I was going through a bad spell,I would not be able to sit in a classroom all day. Just imagining being stuck in classes is unpleasant for me. When I'm anxious I always have to be able to walk around. Thinking about my future bothers me. I'm only 20 and this is probably ridiculous because I have time,but I just don't want my boyfriend and parents to support me anymore. It's embarrassing. Anybody in the same boat or have advice for me??

[Buttercup]

It's great that you are wanting to work or go to college and it would probably be very good for you if you did. I find routine and being busy can really help my anxiety. I went through 4 years of university with anxiety and deprssion and managed it by being on medication and going to therapy. I have also worked since I was 17 (am 32 now). It can be difficult though and I have had periods of being of sick due to my anxiety. For the past 6 months I have been off sick apart from a few weeks where I changed from full time hours to part time hours. Unfortunately due to my financial situation i can not afford to be off any longer and am returning to full time work next week. Over the years I have had periods being anxiety free and periods where it has been bad and luckily I have had supportive employers and have been able to take time off if necessary.
The thing is you will not know until your try. Having a "what if" attitude never helps and tryin new things, no matter how scary, is important. Do you see a therapist/counsellor? Talking through your fears in regards to work or college would be really beneficial. You can also let your college/work place know of your troubles and more often that not they will be willing to make changes to accomodate you and your condition (ie not question you if you have to leave for short periods of time to walk around, go to the bathroom etc).
Good luck x

[Mike36]

I agree. There us absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to work or go to college with anxiety (even though it may be more difficult for you).

You say that the thought of going makes you anxious and it probably feels that if even the THOUGHT of this causes anxiety then the reality will be so much worse....

However the "good news" is that anxiety is usually worse in ANTICIPATION of life changes (I.e thinking ahead) and when they occur it turns out not to be as bad as we imagine...

It's sometimes the "what if.....?" thoughts that prevent us from doing things and end up limiting our life.

I think it would be a shame if this were to stop you from doing the things that you want to do in your life...

[hopeNfaith88]

I understand completely where youre coming from Brittany - im currently in college thats 4 hours from my hometown and since my anxiety (thank god it happened towards the end of the semester) ive been home with my parents. My girlfriend had to drive me the whole way (she was visiting me up at school when this started) when she doesnt even have a license lol. It kind of slammed me out of the blue. I also have a job here that i work over the summer and holiday breaks to save up money for the year and i havent been able to work. I have good news for ya though I have been puttin together a plan for myself to conquer school in august and to work and ill share it with you what i have so far:

- get plenty of rest the nights before school and work. Anxiety (atleast for me) is so much worse when im tired. Especially the DP/DR

- in classes in college its OK if you need to get up and walk around. You can just get up and walk out if need be and come back in. My last couple days in class i found that it helped me when i would sit on the end of rows when in the lecture hall type classes (so i didnt feel trapped) and in ones with highschool type desks id come a lil early and grab a seat near the door. That way when i felt a panic attack coming i would get up and walk out and take a lil break. Walk around and get some water. Classes at my school are 50 min if 3x a week and 1 hr 15 min if twice a week, so it really wasnt so bad.

- bring your benzo, water, and a small snack with you for security.

- let your teachers know right away that you suffer from GAD and may leave the class frequently but that you will be very quiet about it.

- get a job that wont aggrevate your anxiety much like others would. For example, choose a telemarketing job where you can sit at a desk and not have contact with alot of people vs. working at walmart where a bunch of people, standing up, and being under bright lights may aggrevatw your anxiety. Also upon being hired let your boss know whats up and even have documentation. Its a real thing and they have to listen to dr notes.

You can def do school and work with anxiety. Just have to slowly get into the game. It cant hold us back forever! If i think of anything else ill let u know

[mbenson213]

Hope, that was all excellent advice! I am also a college student, and I find it extremely helpful to sit close to the door. I always tell myself that if I really start feeling terrible, I can always just get my stuff and leave. I've never actually had to, but it seems to be a good safety net and quite comforting. I find that my anxiety is worse when I'm in public places. However, it's usually only the first few minutes of class that I am panicky. Once I get used to being there, the anxiety subsides for the most part. Just do your best to pay attention to the lectures and take good notes. The more you focus on the class, the less you are focusing on your anxiety. Good luck!

[Buttercup]

Agreed that sitting near the door helps. I spent 4 years sitting in aisle seats and near the exits! I would also always have a bottle of water with me and wear something that i could take off easily if I got too hot like a vest top with a jumper over it so I could remove the jumper if I was warm. Another thing that helped me was tensing and untensing my muscles- no one can see you do it and for some reason it helped me.

[brittany09]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the advice. Very helpful! Not very easy to explain this to anybody that doesn't have anxiety,they look at you like what??? I'm going to be moving soon,right now I live 15 mins away from literally anything and I think just not having to drive very far to work or school will be helpful. It's too easy to sit and think in the car and talk yourself out of things...I do pretty well when I just tell myself I'm doing this. Whatever I'm thinking or feeling right now,it's going to be done. And that usually works. Always do better then I imagined. Just being cramped up in situations worries me!!! Work and school can seem like a trap lol. So I'm gonna start with work and see how it goes. If I quit,I quit. Oh well...gotta do something here. I will assume it won't be that bad like anything else I've thought was "bad" and I did it with little difficulty. :)

[bhamlaxy]

In my experience, work does wonders for my anxiety. When I am distracted, I completely forget I have anxiety.

Sometimes I would get a little anxious, especially in a meeting, but .5mg of ativan would kick the anxiety's butt for hours.

Just remember- the worst case scenario is NEVER as bad as you imagine.

Think about it- the worst possible thing is that you have to get up and step outside. At the very worst, you would have to tell someone "Oh god... I feel really ill all of a sudden, I need a little fresh air".

[l1n7]

I recommend a job where you don't have to stay a certain amount of hours. I'm 18 and I graduated last year and had anxiety about getting a job and going to school, so I did neither. And I must say, staying home for those months made my anxiety worse. I had so much time on my hands so I was constantly finding things wrong with me. A few months ago, I got a job cleaning offices and I go at 3:30 and leave whenever I'm done all of my work. This really helps me. About college, I'm glad you asked that because I need advice on that too. The idea of being stuck in a class makes me very anxious. The tips some of you are giving are really helpful.

Good Luck with school and getting a job :)