#JobAnxiety #DislikeWork #AnxietyBeforeShift #WorkStress #JobDistress
š¤ “Does anyone else dislike their job so much that they get extreme anxiety before a shift?”
You are not alone. Many people experience extreme anxiety and distress before going to work, and it can have a significant impact on their mental and physical well-being. If you find yourself in a situation where your job is causing you extreme distress and anxiety, it might be time to consider making some changes. In this article, we will explore some strategies and tips to help you cope with job-related anxiety and find a job that doesn’t make you feel this way.
Understanding Job Anxiety and Distress
Before we dive into strategies for coping with job-related anxiety, it’s essential to understand what causes it in the first place. Job anxiety and distress can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
1. Work Environment: A toxic work environment, including bullying and lack of support from colleagues or supervisors, can contribute to job-related anxiety.
2. Workload: Feeling overwhelmed and overworked can lead to anxiety and distress before and during shifts.
3. Job Insecurity: Uncertainty about job stability and future prospects can lead to anxiety and distress.
4. Lack of Fulfillment: Feeling unfulfilled and unhappy in your job can take a toll on your mental well-being.
Coping Strategies for Job-Related Anxiety
If you’re experiencing extreme anxiety and distress before going to work, it’s essential to find ways to cope. Here are some strategies that might help:
1. Seek Support: Reach out to friends, family, or a therapist for support and guidance. Talking about your feelings can help alleviate some of the anxiety you’re experiencing.
2. Practice Self-Care: Take care of your physical and mental well-being by eating healthily, exercising, and engaging in activities that bring you joy and relaxation.
3. Set Boundaries: Establish boundaries at work to protect your mental and emotional well-being. Learn to say no when you’re feeling overwhelmed and prioritize self-care.
4. Explore Job Opportunities: If your current job is causing you extreme distress, it might be time to explore new opportunities. Look for a job that aligns with your values and brings you a sense of fulfillment.
5. Consider Therapy: If job-related anxiety is significantly impacting your life, consider seeking professional help through therapy or counseling.
Finding a Job That Doesn’t Cause Extreme Anxiety
Finding a job that doesn’t cause extreme anxiety and distress is possible, but it might require some effort and perseverance. Here are some tips for finding a job that aligns with your needs and values:
1. Identify Your Priorities: Take some time to consider what is essential to you in a job, such as a supportive work environment, work-life balance, and opportunities for growth.
2. Research Potential Employers: Look for companies and organizations that prioritize employee well-being and offer a positive work culture.
3. Network and Connect: Reach out to friends, colleagues, and industry professionals to explore potential job opportunities and gain insights into different workplaces.
4. Consider Remote Work: If a traditional office environment is causing you distress, consider exploring remote work opportunities that offer more flexibility and autonomy.
5. Seek Feedback: When interviewing for a new job, don’t be afraid to ask about the company’s approach to employee well-being and mental health support.
Final Thoughts
Experiencing extreme anxiety and distress before going to work is a significant concern that can have a significant impact on your overall well-being. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s essential to seek support, practice self-care, and consider exploring new job opportunities that align with your needs and values. Remember that you are not alone, and there are resources and strategies available to help you cope with job-related anxiety.
If you’re looking for more support and guidance, consider reaching out to a therapist or counselor who can provide personalized strategies for coping with job-related anxiety. Remember that your well-being is essential, and you deserve to find a job that brings you fulfillment and doesn’t cause extreme distress.
Maybe some day?
Sounds like you suffer from anxiety. I would talk to a therapist if you can. They have lots of techniques to help with anxiety.
It may also be more than that and may require a psychiatrist.
I used to suffer from really bad anxiety, and it never truly goes away, but you learn how to conquer it and take control.
I wish you the best. Good luck
I feel you. Basically everyone in my team at my last job felt this way.
Management had a wake-up call when a stressed coworker with no history of seizures had a seizure in the middle of a one-on-one, falling forward and breaking his nose against his keyboard.
Whether you came to your jobs with anxiety in pocket or not, it does seem like jobs do their absolute best to give you an anxious condition.
I felt like that on more than one job. My cure was starting my own business. There’s still stress dealing with customers sometimes but it’s not as extreme as the feeling of being trapped in a job you hate.
In teaching we call it the Sunday Scaries.
Yep. It’s especially pronounced in my current job. My boss usually shows up 2-3 hours after I do, and I feel super tense that entire time since I have no idea what will happen when she arrives. Will she be in a decent mood, or will she snap at me and tell me she’s “trying hard not to blow up at me,” will she interrogate me about how I spent the last 2-3 hours in a distrustful way, will she swear out of frustration with me…
I really hate that I took this job. I’m so miserable. She seemed so nice at first.
Extreme social anxiety seems to be linked to gut microbiology. Could be how you eat? Especially if itās got you vomiting and shaking before hand.
Do you find yourself relaxing and settling in once you get there and start?
I know exactly how you feel. Most of my jobs have been this way. I remember crying in an empty closet in a rehab facility that I had only been hired at for 2 weeks. Everyone was mean, the healthcare was subpar and the pay was extremely low.
Most of it is linked to anxiety. Unfortunately the world does not financially support people who canāt work or frequently leave jobs due to some form of anxiety. It is IMPOSSIBLE to receive state disability benefits for anxiety, depression or any mental health condition that is not paired with a physical impairment or violent/ harmful behavior.
Iāve started my own business. I am thinking of turning it into a nonprofit while also creating content full time. I enjoy making and editing videos. In due time, I will make enough money as a content creator to pay my bills while running my nonprofit forā¦no profit š¤
Yes, many jobs caused this.
Yes
Everyone.
I used to have a job like that. After a while, I physically couldn’t bring myself to go back into that office due to an acute traumatic stress response with severe dissociation. I resigned 30 minutes before my next shift, via email.
My crippling anxiety isn’t from the job itself, or even my immediate coworkers- it’s the damn politics being played by higher up.
It’s why at 8 a.m. before I log in, I fight the urge to either cry or hide beneath my desk.
Yes, every weekday morning, 30-60 minutes before my alarm goes off. Never happened at previous jobs, even when they were demanding and stressful. I know I need to look for new job (Iām a purchasing agent).
I’ve had 4 jobs this year for that exact reason. I quit every time cause fuck feeling like that. You’ll find something with coworkers that don’t make you feel like that.
Wife was a contract admin for a year, had to do site visits, argue with contractors. she was totally miserable, always pacing back and forth, quick to anger, lots of stress. Got a new job and she’s the woman I fell in love with all over again.
It’s crazy how much a shitty job can affect you, it can really change you in a profound way.
Yes
All the time, especially currently.
It’s like a foul taste in your mouth you can’t wash out.
Ugh yes. Hopefully I get something new soon
Yeah, that’s what led to multiple mental breakdowns and full burnout later on.
Antidepressants still haven’t put me back to normal.
Yes. I worked for CPS and would spend 2-3 hours before every shift doubled over in pain and dry heaving due to stress stomach cramps. Its a very real thing and Im in a much better place now
Yes, I have been feeling this way too in recent months and itās been worse for the holidays. And the stress has been so bad that Iām suffering with infertility issuesā¦ not sure if keeping my job of 18 years is worth it anymore.
I did call center support for six months, for a predatory credit card. By month four, I got hives at the thought of going to work.
I hated one of my jobs so much that not only did I feel dread walking into the building(once I thought about driving away), I actually tore my hair out from the stress.
No job should ever make you feel that way. A case of the monday blues or a general jittery feeling is fine but if youāre dreading it up the point of nausea, thatās not going to be good for your health long term.
The goal isnāt a job you enjoy(the whole āfind a job you love and youāll never work a day in your lifeā is pretty bs and unrealistic for most people imho) the goal is a job you can tolerate until you can go home. The best case scenario is just feeling nothing, itās a boring grind you get paid for and the rest of your day starts when youāre off the clock.
I feel so much better after changing jobs. I used to get stomach ulcers multiple times a year from stress, always sick because my immune system was shot, even my BC and other medication got fucked up and it took a long time for my body to recover.
I also have ADHD and GAD so my anxiety levels are already naturally high, it was best for my health to change my environment.
Yea. I quit. I’m literally starving most days but it’s better than being there.
It’s not the job but one of my coworkers for me. He is the type of dude who thinks he is smarter than everyone. He sucks up to management constantly but they hate him lol.
I (23f) work at a pizza place and I started last week. I’ve had 0 training because it’s so busy, and I genuinely dread going to the point of panic attacks.
But I can’t quit, because my dad said he’ll kick me out if I stop working. But it’s 5pm-1am shifts which means I struggle to find the time to make my mental health appointments
It’s just a massive downward spiral and any freebie I have is spent spamming job applications and praying it doesn’t get worse when I know it will. I hate this. I hate all of this so much
Edit: spelling
Used to feel this, yes. I was lucky enough to be able to leave that job. It’s a tragedy that everyone has to live like this.
What kind of jobs are we talking about? I had jobs that I dreaded, but I moved on from that level of job.
Iām dealing with this now and itās the worst Iāve experienced. Itās got me so fucked up and Iām afraid itās just gonna be more of the same if I leave so I feel stuck. Itās hard to build anything of meaning and value when the economy goes to shit every few years and lose another job. Way too understaffed, managers with no leadership skills and no interest in being a leader just a whole bunch of bosses.
I used to wish a lorry would crash into my car and I’d break my legs just so I could have a break. I quit that job. I don’t mind where I work now.
U. ever been on anxiety meds? They may help tremendously
Every job I’ve ever had, especially worse after having kids. I’ve quit so many jobs because of this.
Yup! Legit puked this morning before I came to work myself š„“Iām so incredibly miserable at my job and canāt wait for the day I finally quit and get my freedom back š„²itās really not worth it anymore since itās starting to impact my physical health now too
I’ve been like that my whole working life. Most days I have to force myself to go in. It’s gotten better now that I barely deal with people. Working from home and not talking to people has been a Godsent.
Not extreme anxiety, but I often contemplate “what if I just don’t go in. What if I just get back in bed and let that place burn.
Though it usually passes once I actually get there.
At one of my former job I would get all sorts of anxiety before going on. The job was toxic from the get go. The only saving grace is that I was alone/on my own for most of the shift. Didnāt stay there long but sure didnāt enjoy it or find it tolerable
Yes. If the anxiety was too bad i’d call into work that day. Dudn’t care about the points systems either. The day would NOT have been good no matter what I did.
Iām at my favorite job Iāve ever had and I feel this way. I will never enjoy having a job, for me it is what it is.
No, youāre the only person in history thatās ever gotten extreme anxiety before work.
Do you treat your anxiety? I have anxiety disorder and work used to be a trigger. Certain boyfriends. Social gatherings. You really should look into treatment. You canāt live like that.
Yeahhhhh I think my current job is the only one that has given me crippling anxiety before going in. Iāve started having to journal in my car because I get so anxious. Iām sorry youāre going through the same thing :/
Yes only because the job I worked at turned into a mean fake place and the boss was very weird and employees were being toxic and rude. I found a job at a cleaning company years ago and I loved it at first. I loved the manager, she was cute and had a sweet voice. Apparently employees had problems with her and she ended up getting fired. Things went super down hill after that. They put an inadequate lady into that position and also hired a secondary manager. I never got an good impression from her from things I had seen and witnessed and heard. She was very good at acting fake. During that time they just kept hiring the most annoying ass kissers and theyād kiss her ass so hard. The secondary manager ended up getting demoted and he quit and spilled the beans on her talking crap about people. I had put in my two weeks because I felt like the place was going downhill but I took it back thinking things would get better. Eventually a year later she quits. They had put some other lady back into the secondary management position once she was back from maternity leave. Lots of the ass kissers quit too. They then hired some man who was asserting his authority way too hard. He then started having a minion around him all the time Iām guessing he was training her. They both were acting unprofessional with me in the office with me one day when reading my reviews. It was none of her business to be in that same room she was at the time just another employee and she made a rude remark when he asked her about one of my cleaning photos. I felt disrespected. She even had the audacity to try and tell me to do so and so when she herself never did x. I had worked there longer than them I knew everything about that damn workplace. They werenāt implementing the rules or having a system set up for our reviews. Never did before either. I ended up telling the boss about that whole thing. All this other shit happened, the new main manager was being annoying about something to do with the reviews so I ended up putting my two weeks again which now I wish I had just quit lol you donāt need to put any weeks in. I tried to see if anything could be fixed by talking with the boss but nah I was just another one of his slaves. He did talk to me but I noticed that I was definitively not liked after that whole thing. Like he knew I was always the one who would stand up for myself and point out things going on in the company also from other times. He pretty much threw me underneath and said I couldnāt be trusted anymore. I ended up leaving after my two weeks. The job was very tiring only because we had to carry lots of huge bags that could weigh like 30-40 lbs throughout the day and take back to storage. Like I love cleaning but not carrying those bags
I found another cleaning place after that but wow the manager and employees were very ghetto ugh Iāve thought about making a post about it because I want advice for in case something similar happened in the future. Basically there was a lady using a racial slur about some guests and she would be gossiping about the manager. I quit and told the manager about it. She wanted to fire her but I chose to leave. A girl I kept in contact from there told me the manager ended up getting fired and that the other lady quit too. So happily ever after there. The boss was cute but he didnāt work at the storage I only met him at the high rise I went to clean at once. Otherwise if those two had been gone I wouldnāt have quit and if they started to hire less ghetto people who actually wanted to work that place would had more potential.
I ended up going back to the first cleaning place and the manager actually took me back right awayā¦
He felt the need to tell me his minion was going to be the 3rd manager now. I never had hate towards her I just think they were both unprofessional in that incident and hurt my feelings. Iām a super hard worker.
Anyways.
There was some mean looking guy there who would look at me nasty and act weird luckily I never saw him that often. There was also some girl who looked at me nasty when I was being nice to her. Some other girl there had issues with me in the past cause one time she came to the conclusion that I wasnāt putting up my blue bag but I was simply still unpacking my car. She told the manager to tell me to put it up I was likeā¦ dude I was getting to it. Another time she was having major attitude for no reason and I called her out on it. She went crazy!!!! The manager had to step in and yell at her. She was acting so crazy after that Iām surprised I kept my composure calm and collected. I have no idea why I was trying to be nice to her maybe cause I didnāt want problems at the work place š¤·āāļø she did scare me tho she had a scary look so I never felt comfortable around her.
The boss was weird. He never talked much. Didnāt even greet at the Xmas party he threw and we staring at his phone and not even telling people where to get food or drinks. I took my partner there and he agreed that the boss strange stories were true.
Oh and the boss brought an iPad for everyone to clock in with a selfie š¤¢ I hated that. Some girl told me she wasnāt doing it so I stopped too and they never told me anything about it. Lots of people happily took the picture. Idk I think itās super weird to have that I mean thereās already cameras all over the storage. I did take the photo a few times with my hand on face just to sprinkle in a few in case they asked.
The girl I mentioned earlier that was the other secondary manager ended up getting fired and I missed her I never had issues with her.
Coincidentally the other lady they made into another manager was giving me issues and I almost snapped. I had enough. The man manager was also low key annoying me. I changed my schedule to later hours but it wasnāt always available. It did work for a while. After they fired the other girl this boy cleaner we already had there applied to the position and got it. I never understood why the cleaners were chosen just to sit on their ass on the computer all day š¤·āāļø Iād think they should have just hired someone else for those positions cause thatās all they did.
After another full year there I eventually quit and all my anxiety is gone now. š