It is important that mental health is taken seriously in the workplace. Mental illness is often not as noticeable as physical illness and improving the understanding and awareness of mental illness in all walks of life, including at work, helps everyone.
With a huge mental health crisis unfolding, partially due to the difficulties of the past few years, many people are developing mental illnesses that have never suffered with one before. At work, employers can raise awareness of mental health, use mental health training courses and encourage more open communication around mental health.
Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses, and it affects many people at some point in their lives. Of course, feelings of anxiety when facing a stressful situation are normal, but when that anxiety takes over your life then it becomes a health concern.
If you suffer from anxiety and need to manage it when in the workplace, here are some of the things that could help you…
Speak to Someone at Work About it – Speak to someone you trust about how you are feeling – the fact that you have someone there who is aware of it could help you immensely, and they may be able to make suggestions to help you to cope at work.
Don’t give up on Working – Of course, in some cases you may not be able to continue to work, but the workplace can actually be helpful in managing your illness. Working promotes good self esteem and also gives you a routine.
Practice Breathing Techniques – When feelings of anxiety and panic arise they can be scary – however, there are breathing techniques that you can practice that can help you to deal with this, such as box breathing.