How do you cope at work?

[simms]

I thought it would be a good idea to get an idea of people's coping strategies at work. Unfortunately with the squeeze on finances for a lot of us, staying at home may not be an option for everyone. As long as work is on the right side of stressful it can go some way to give you the confidence and sense of worth. Depending on the type of work you do and the support you have from bosses, some may be easier than others. Here are mine:

Take hourly breaks or whenever possible (go for fresh air outside and do breathing exercises)
Do not take on more tasks than is comfortable (even if i find it hard to say no)
Go for walks on lunch break (I have a canal near work)
Minimise contact with colleagues that can cause upset
Have regular one to ones with direct line manager (don't suffer in silence)
Drink a lot of herbal tea and water
Snack on fruit
Eat well at lunch
Switch off work mode when at home and wind down

Im sure im forgetting others. What's your stratergies?

[cattia]

For me work in itself is a coping strategy as my anxiety is far worse when I'm home and have more time to think. I also don't have time to go online at work which fuels my anxiety (health anxiety). When I am at home I have to have a routine and lots to do otherwise I start having a lot more anxious thoughts.

[Ineedlookingafter]

I am really struggling with this at the moment. I often feel very tired at work and have had to take a few days off recently because I couldn't cope, even working at home. My doctor has signed me off by saying I should be able to work from home when I need to which has helped a bit.

Otherwise, I also try and get up and walk aroung a bit, do breathing exercises and drink lots of tea.

i also try and listen to relaxing music if I can but that sometimes makes me tired.

[MattH]

For me a lot of my anxiety comes from work - very stressful and I worry a lot about my collegues leaving and me not being able to cope with the job :weep:

My coping strategies are to take one job at a time, but to keep moving about rather than sitting at my desk dwelling on it. There are times that I've not coped and broken down and so I usually take myself off for a short walk to calm myself. :wacko:

I've never taken any time out from work due to my anxiety (yet) although i'd worry I'd never be able to go back. I wouldn't be the first to go off with a mental health problem here and not return, so maybe it's something about the place lol

---------- Post added at 08:37 ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 ----------

PS:- A good work out after work helps, but only if my anxiety has been low or im feeling good, if I've had a bad day im usually exhausted and wanna get home and collapse !!

[mrsnobody]

ive took time off now worried bout going back

[rb1978]

I work in an office and often feel very anxious at work. I feel safe at home but work is further away and I feel like if anything happened, I wouldn't be able to get to safety. I commute by train to work too so I sometimes feel scared like I'm far away from home and can't just run out and escape back to my house. Silly really because even if I worked next door to where I lived, I'm sure my managers would have something to say if I kept running off home every five minutes! :blush:

I cope by telling myself that if I really was sick or had a panic attack, I could leave the office and go somewhere quiet to calm down. There's a toilet in my building which not many people use and I've often ended up in there just to stand in the quiet and tell myself it'll be OK.

Also I try to see the day as lots of little chunks rather than a long 8 hour stretch. So for instance, I always have a snack and a cup of tea mid-morning so I try to see that as a break between two chunks of work. Lunchtime is good because I can go out if need be. I try break the afternoon up by going out of the office for five minutes under some excuse. Even if it's just to take some work letters out to post.