Five Ways Anxiety Affects Your Work Performance
Anxiety is a part of life.
Whether you’re starting your first college class or preparing for that big presentation to your CEO, everyone experiences stress to varying degrees.
But constant anxiety can have a strong effect on your work performance and make everyday tasks much more challenging.
As internal medicine physicians in Cary, we’re aware that what affects one part of the body can affect others. Prolonged periods of intense anxiety may raise blood pressure or blood sugar. This is why, as internal medicine doctors, we’re in the perfect position to help you overcome the health issues that surround this condition.
We’ll look at how anxiety affects your work performance, how anxiety impacts your body, and how we can help.
How Does Anxiety Affect Your Ability to Work?
As we mentioned earlier, there are times when it is perfectly natural—and reasonable—to experience some amount of stress. A job interview or performance review is likely to cause some discomfort, but anxiety takes this discomfort to a whole new level.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America conducted a survey that revealed that, among those who have anxiety, more than half said it affected their work performance and 50 percent felt it had a direct impact on the quality of their work. Another 43 percent said they felt stress and anxiety had a strong impact on their relationship with their bosses or managers.
Five Main Ways Anxiety Affects Your Ability to Work
1. It transforms your relationships with your coworkers and superiors.
Anxiety can make you shun social environments, and in some cases, this may mean skipping a meeting or avoiding conferences and large gatherings. In fact, 73 percent of those with anxiety admit to avoiding social situations.
It can also make it more difficult to develop friendships with your coworkers.
2. Anxiety can cause you to miss deadlines.
Efficiency is the hallmark of running a good business, and productivity often hinges on meeting important deadlines. Failure to do so means others may be awaiting your project completion, creating a domino effect that can make it difficult for the entire company.
3. Anxiety affects your mood.
If you are experiencing the weight of consistent anxiety, you may become depressed or short-tempered.
4. Anxiety can interfere with the quality of your work.
When you’re trying to manage the burden of constant and chronic anxiety, it’s easy to let small details and quality assurance take a back seat.
5. You could be overlooked for promotions.
Because anxiety can cause you to miss deadlines or negatively impact the quality of your work, you may be overlooked for promotions or opportunities that would benefit your career.
How Does Anxiety Affect Your Body?
Anxiety has an impact on much more than your mind—it also has a strong effect on your body, and when you are under constant pressure, you may have physical symptoms that are related to stress.
Some of these can include:
- Forgetfulness
- Pains and aches
- Constipation
- Sexual issues or problems
- Stiff neck, jaw or back
- Fatigue
- Insomnia or oversleeping
- Weight loss or gain
If you have a chronic health condition, anxiety may make these more difficult to control. High blood pressure and elevated blood sugars can result from too much stress.
In certain cases, an underlying health issue may be the source and cause of anxiety. This is one reason why it’s so important to have regular health physicals with one of our Cary internal medicine physicians.
What Are Some Ways to Help Alleviate Anxiety?
Anxiety is unique to each individual, therefore, what may cause stress in one person may not affect another. All treatments have to be carefully refined and targeted toward each patient, which is why we take a team-based approach to healthcare in order to help you.
Some ways to ease anxiety and stress include:
Continue to exercise regularly
We cannot overemphasize how important regular exercise is for your health. By exercising regularly, your body releases endorphins, the “feel good” hormone that is the result of physical activity. Working out to relieve stress and anxiety doesn’t have to be intense—often a regular, brisk walk is perfect.
Avoid or reduce the use of alcohol
Sometimes, alcohol can actually make anxiety worse, so it’s best to keep a close watch over your alcohol intake.
Cut back on caffeine
You don’t have to give up caffeine, but you should be aware that it can exacerbate the symptoms of anxiety.
Utilize stress management techniques
No one method of stress relief works for everybody. Some may find yoga a perfect solution while others may find refuge in meditation. We encourage you to look into options that will help you relax and manage your everyday anxiety.
Get plenty of sleep—but not too much
Sleep is vital to your health, and most Americans are sleep-deprived. Anxiety typically tends to either cause chronic insomnia or oversleeping. Not sure how much sleep you need? Take a look at this useful chart from the Centers for Disease Control.
Concentrate on eating nutritious food
By turning your focus to vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats such as those found in fish, you can help elevate your mood.
Medication
In some cases, medication can be used to help alleviate anxiety, however, medication is most effective when used in conjunction with other methods such as a healthy diet, exercise and getting plenty of sleep.
Therapy
If chronic anxiety has made it difficult for you to complete everyday tasks, then talking with a trained clinical psychologist can make a huge difference. We’ll be happy to talk to you and provide a referral if needed.
Let Doctors at Cary Medical Group Help You Manage Work-Related Anxiety
Work is a huge part of your life. Whether you work 20 hours or 50 hours a week, the stress of work can carry over into other areas, affecting your family, social life and even casting a dark cloud over the activities you once enjoyed.
We recognize the importance of managing and controlling anxiety, and that’s why we have worked with Cary and Triangle area residents to help them life their best, most fulfilling and healthy life.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment. We would consider it a privilege to be your medical home.
For more than 25 years, Cary Medical Group has served as the Cary area’s premier internal medicine provider. We tailor our treatments to provide the finest personalized health care available for each stage of your adult life. Contact us to schedule an appointment.
