not coping well with work at the moment

[elgrande]

My anxiety seems to be at its worse when I'm at work. It also seems to build as the day progresses. Basically I feel relatively ok in the morning but by lunchtime the back of my neck has tightened up and I feel agitated and tense. I also get the sensation of a tight band around my head. It then recedes a bit during my lunch break but quickly returns in the afternoon. I work in a large corporate office environment my job does create a certain degree of stress however I don't seem to be coping well with it. When its at its worst, I end up staring down at my desk and my knee starts to bounce up and down to get rid of the nervous energy. Sometimes I have to get up and walk around or go and sit in a toilet cubicle for 5 minutes. The whole thing is totally wearing me out and I constantly feel very tired and run down. I don't sleep well but usually manage 5 - 6 hrs a night. The whole cycle is making me feel a bit depressed. I can manage to relax ok when I'm not working and the weekends do bring a bit of relief however the other 5 days of the week are a bit of a nightmare. There is no way I could afford to give up work as I have a mortgage etc. I've worked in an office since I graduated so don't really know any different however I'm wondering if I should perhaps think about a change of career which would get me out the office. Really not sure what to do or if I should speak to a doctor about this. Any thoughts?

[jakleb]

Hi there
Yeah i know what you mean about the feeling of sitting at your desk feeling agitated and tense around the back of the neck, i felt exactly like that when i first went back to work after being of for 2 months when this all started.

my first week back was an absolute nightmare, anxiety, and panic attacks every morning, but like you say, we have to go to work. i haven't any answers for ya but basically to say that i just decided that no matter what i was going to work and the only way i would be leaving would be in an ambulance, which i feared but as with most anxeties they never occur

Thankfully the symptoms died down after about 2 weeks and now work is no problem, i think all these fears they need to be challenged, we need to face them head on. if your anything like i was you r probably sitting at night worrying about work the next day and the feeling you'll have, well dont tell yourself it dosent matter and no matter what your going to work and no matter what your staying there. or maybe tell yourself that your looking for a new job and so you dont need to be stressed as you will soon be leaving, the fear of being in a place that is not easy to escape from, like work is not nice, so if you tell yourself that you can leave when ever you want then that might help.

But anyway hope i have been helpful, it helps somtimes just knowing people arre in the same boat.

All the best :D

[elgrande]

Thanks for the reply mate. I guess I just feel a bit trapped by it all. Its a constant cycle and wears my down a bit. I have a fear that other people sitting near will notice and think I'm acting a bit strangely or something. Sucks

[northstar]

hi elgrande! do you think it is possible that how you're eating could be affecting your work day? it sounds like when you eat lunch you feel good for a while and then after your body burns up the fuel from the food you crash getting nervous, headachy, tired and depressed. i combat this by keeping healthy snacks at my desk and eating through out the day, so i'm grazing and keeping myself topped up and happy :) i keep fruit, nuts, popcorn and pretzels at my desk and snack all the time. it keeps my blood sugars stable, otherwise i get anxious or get really sleepy/grumpy/painful headaches/unhappy. do you think its worth trying?


oh and also might be good to take a look at what youre eating for lunch or breakfast, or do you skip breakfast? or are you drinking a lot of coffee/tea in the morning times?