Anxiety
Picture this, we're in June 2021, the world has defeated COVID-19 and the workplace is starting to feel a bit more normal again. You're sat in a meeting room with the head of development, the marketing manager, and the managing director of the company, all discussing changes for the company website. You know that this is a big opportunity for yourself, a chance to show off the skills that you've been working on for the past 6 months in your spare-time. A chance to give your opinion and make an impact on the company that has given you so much. A chance for you to give back. There's only one issue though and it's lingering in the pit of your stomach, making you feel uneasy and worried about sharing your thoughts. You know realistically that there's nothing to worry about, nothing that you're going to come out with is going to be so wild that they could fire you for it. But it's still there. It's still there up until you get asked a question and need to voice an opinion to the group, then it really hits.
I want to make it clear that I'm not a neurologist or psychologist, even thought they sound like fascinating jobs, these are just my thoughts and opinions mixed in with some of my own and others experiences.
But why do you feel like this?
No one really knows the answer to this question, we can take a wild guess as to things that are related and can make anxiety problems more likely to happen such as:
- past or childhood experiences
- your current life situation
- physical and mental health problems
- drugs and medication
As I said, it could be any number of these things, or none of them at all, it's completely down to the individual, the good thing is that there are some things that can help when you feel that rush of anxiety.
How can I feel slightly better?
I personally, don't suffer from anxiety attacks but I do know what that horrible feeling is like in the pit of your stomach that almost makes you want to cry and freak out even though nothing in the situation is wrong. There are ways that have been tried and tested to help with the situations, and again, it's completely down to the individual. Please make sure to take a look at the link at the bottom for the resource I used to back up my points if you want proper advice. But with that being said, here's my advice.
- Take a deep breath and have some gratitude for the situation that you've been given. Make sure that you grasp the moment with your fist and don't let it slip, make the most of it.
- There will be someone out there in a much worse situation than you right now. Take the meeting situation from above, where unless you shout something racist, or tell your boss to f*&k off, then whats to worry about? You're going to still have your job and people will probably appreciate and respect you more for giving your opinion. The situation is a lot simpler than what your head is making it out to be.
- Look after yourself! This is probably the piece of advice that has helped me in every way possible. Working out, eating healthy and quitting smoking are 3 things that I'm doing and I can't put into words how much better I feel than this time 6 months ago. I admit, I haven't fully quit smoking yet but I am having multiple days at a time where I don't smoke, so I'm getting there. And I don't have a super healthy diet plan either, but I do eat a lot healthier than I did 6 months ago. Not only have I lost weight from working out, I have gained more confidence, have more energy and fee more confident. These 3 things have meant that the pit in the stomach feeling doesn't come along as often because either I don't care about the situation, or I've got something better on my mind to think about.
I could write more but I'm not qualified enough to be spouting to much random nonsense on the internet. I'm not aiming to change a life with this post, but making the outcome better for a single person's day from reading this would be awesome.
Stay safe and happy coding,
Cal
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