A person has an amazing ability to analyze the present and, based on this, predict future events. We can predict obstacles or problems, and this gives us the opportunity to plan our actions aimed at solving these problems.
But this ability also plays a cruel joke with us – conclusion after conclusion, image after image, it starts a chain of disturbing reflections. It is worth giving free rein to these thoughts – and they can completely take over our consciousness, displace the rational, deprive us of the possibility of a productive existence. During this period, it becomes extremely difficult to concentrate on work, but it is work that can become the lifeline that helps you think constructively and stay afloat. In this article, we will describe seven steps that will help you maintain control over the situation and continue to do your job well.
The first, most difficult step is to determine what specifically worries. No matter how obvious the answer may seem, by analyzing, we can make many unexpected discoveries. For example, what are we really afraid of as a result of a fight with a loved one? Breakups and loneliness? Infringement of their interests and boundaries? Causing mental pain and accumulating resentment?
When we honestly, without hiding or inventing anything, single out the cause of fear, then the feeling of anxiety ceases to be so unbearable and hopeless. From some unclear, amorphous state, fears pass into the category of clear, explainable facts, and it is already possible and necessary to work with them.
The second important step is to determine whether the anxiety relates to real problems or hypothetical ones. For example, the prospect of a loss of income due to a company switching to a four-day work week is a real problem, while the prospect of not getting a desired job due to a failure in an upcoming job interview is hypothetical.
Anxiety about real problems concerns real facts, and anxiety about hypothetical problems is based on conjectures and conjectures that can only be realized. Therefore, the fact of the upcoming decline in income translates into the need to discuss with the bank a change in the mortgage payment scheme. And the confidence in a failure in an interview that has not even happened yet leads to an increase in uncertainty, hypertrophy of existing and imaginary shortcomings, and, ultimately, increases the risk of a negative outcome. Psychologists call this kind of thinking error catastrophizing. If the excitement over a hypothetical event is extremely strong, the next question to ask yourself is – are there really factual, reasoned reasons for failure? If there are none, then it is a catastrophe.
The third step is to maintain a balance of three areas: pleasure, achievement, and intimacy. In a state of anxiety and anxiety, contact is lost with what brings pleasure, allows you to be proud of your merits and maintain healthy social contact with others. Sometimes the very thought of doing something for yourself can provoke feelings of guilt. It is important to remember that the rule works here, as in an airplane: first the mask on yourself, then on the rest. If you feel bad, it will not make life easier for anyone. In terms of enjoyment, make time every day for activities that make you happy, whether it’s reading, watching your favorite series, or taking a relaxing bath. In terms of achievements, practice solving simple everyday tasks to maintain a sense of success: cleaning summer things, dismantling kitchen shelves, washing windows. In terms of intimacy, it is important to find time and opportunity to meet people who are pleasant to you and who share your values. All this will help you feel more secure.
The fourth step is to start saying “no” to your anxiety. Give yourself a special time, such as 10 minutes after work, when you allow yourself to think about everything that bothers you, and put these thoughts aside for the rest of the time. Tell yourself: I will have time at 6 to think about it, and now I will get to work.
The fifth step is to show compassion to yourself. We worry about the people who are important to us, and we often forget about ourselves. This also applies to how we conduct an internal dialogue and how it then manifests itself in reality. We will most likely feel sorry for an upset and frightened child, and in this situation we will get angry and blame ourselves. You need to learn to be your own loving parent who will say, “Yes, you are scared, you are uncomfortable, this is a difficult stage in your life. What can you do to support yourself? Where can you find an additional resource to make it easier?
The sixth step is to practice mindfulness. Mastering mindfulness skills can help ease anxiety and bring you back to the present moment. Mindfulness is the technique of focusing on the present moment, accepting it as it is without the intention of changing, explaining, or criticizing it. It allows you to reduce stress levels and maintain psychological stability. Once every two or three hours, listen to your feelings and carefully observe what is happening to you. Are you standing or sitting? Perhaps something to eat or drink? Where are you – outdoors or indoors? What sounds and smells surround you? What physical sensations do you experience?
Step seven – develop consistency. Set a daily routine, keep mentally and physically active. The physical state affects the limbic system, and it, in turn, affects the emotions. The better the body is, the healthier its response to stress. Get up and go to bed at the same time, eat regularly, arrange airing, do basic five-minute exercises in the morning, walk more in the fresh air.
Now, not everyone can confidently say what will happen to him tomorrow, in a week or a month. However, we need to look for ways to continue to live, to act, to support relatives and friends. You can reduce anxiety and regain confidence gradually by first focusing on the things that need to be done right now: cook food, take time for the children, walk the dog. Thanks to such simple actions, we learn to navigate in a new situation, and it gradually becomes familiar to us. Then you need to connect work tasks – their solution helps to adapt even better to changes, feel confident in your abilities and cope with anxiety.
