Anxiety is a normal reaction characterized by feelings of fear or apprehension. While it is normal to have some fear or feel out of place at work occasionally, it can become a serious problem when the anxiety becomes unmanageable and keeps you from performing your everyday activities. Anxiety can have a negative impact on your quality of work, work performance, and affect your relationships with colleagues. Identifying your workplace anxiety and learning powerful coping strategies will help you to work with your anxiety rather than against it.
Types of Anxiety
We all react to stressful situations in different ways. It’s a normal biological reaction to experience anxiety or fear when faced with stressful situations, such as taking a test or making a very important decision. However, long-lasting feelings of extreme anxiety that interfere with our daily activities may be indicative of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety cannot be defined as one isolated condition. It has many faces and can have hundreds of symptoms. Before you can begin to understand and identify any type of anxiety, it is important to know the common symptoms and characteristics of various disorders.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most common type of anxiety and is usually defined as a constant state of tension and panic. People who suffer from GAD find it difficult to control their worry most days. Everyday circumstances, such as job security, health, or finances may cause uncontrollable worry, dominating an individual’s thinking. The source of the anxiety may not always be identified, making it difficult to resolve the problem.
Characteristics of GAD include:
- Difficulty focusing, sleeping or concentrating
- Constant restlessness, irritation or edginess
- Feeling tired or having low energy levels
- Tense or clenched muscles
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is a fear of crowds or public situations, feeling it will lead to public scrutiny or embarrassment. Fear can range from simply eating in public to being in a large crowd in a store. At work, people with social anxiety may have trouble socializing or even participating in meetings. Social anxiety affects many individuals, causing them to isolate and feel alone. Although it is difficult to escape these fears, social anxiety symptoms can be managed and responsive to treatment.
Characteristics of social anxiety include:
- Extreme fear of unfamiliar situations and people
- Feeling overwhelmed with anxiety when in social situations
- Fearful of being judged or watched by other people
- Unable to face social situations on your own
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and unexpected attacks of intense anxiety or fear. Panic attacks prohibit the feeling of having control and cause sudden, debilitating symptoms, such as shallow breathing, sweating, increased heart rate, and physical pain. It is natural to have feelings of panic from dangerous or stressful situations. However, with panic disorders, feelings of fear can happen without warning. Identifying panic disorder and recognizing the symptoms associated with it can help individuals to better manage their symptoms and work with the disorder.
Characteristics of panic disorder include:
- Feelings of doom or losing control
- Stomach pains, dizziness or even fainting
- Overwhelming sense of fear, usually irrational
- Sudden heart palpitations or excessive sweating
Phobias
Phobias are common types of anxiety and generally focus on one thing or situation, such as a fear of spiders or a fear of public speaking. People who suffer from certain phobias begin to have an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety when they are faced with their phobia and can usually return to a normal state once the item or situation has been resolved. Generally, these phobias don’t interfere with our everyday lives since we may not actually have to encounter these fears on a regular basis. Nonetheless, phobias that can occur at work, such as a phobia of public speaking or a fear of crowded rooms, should be addressed right away since they can hinder our ability to function normally on the job.
Characteristics of phobias include:
- Fear is normally focused on one thing
- Fear is usually instantaneous
- Inability to control fears, even after facing the fear itself
- Feelings subside when phobia has passed or has been avoided
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that involves patterns of unwanted obsessions or fears that may lead you to perform repetitive behaviors. Individuals with OCD will feel the need to perform certain rituals or compulsive acts to relieve feelings of anxiety. With this relief being only temporary, it can cause significant distress to those living with OCD, especially within the workplace.
Characteristics of obsessive-compulsive disorder include:
- Fear of being contaminated and/or the compulsion to clean
- Continuously checking items, such as locks, ovens or alarm systems
- Needing symmetry and order; requiring things to be aligned in a certain way
- Fear of harming yourself or others, either intentionally or unintentionally
Until next time ...
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