Anxiety at work taking over my life..

LegacyUser

Hi all,not sure if Work Problems would be more suited for this,if so,feel free to move.

I'm a 30 year old guy who working in IT in a government department.Despite the fact that I have a secure job,I find myself worrying all the time about making mistakes.I've always been quite insecure regarding this,but in the job I'm in at the moment I'm feeling it worse,there are more serious consequences if I slip up and the atmosphere in the office isn't great.I seem to spend my time,even when I'm not in work,worrying about the "what ifs?".There are times when I can feel my heart pounding,my stomach turning,and I feel short of breath.There have been one or two issues lately which have brought it back into focus.The thing is,by most people's standards I'm a lucky guy - I have a secure job,a wonderful girlfriend who I love dearly and no ties like a mortgage or anything.My gf has been battling depression for the last year and I want to be there for her - it makes me feel guilty that I'm having this problem given what she is going through.Has anyone else had problems like this - if anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate it.Thanks!

Kevster

Hi,

Don't feel guilty in any way for having this problem, and thanks for coming here - it's a good sign that you are at least willing to be helped. What do you think is the source of all of this though? Is it because you feel sad for your partner or have you always been a bit indecisive and worrisome?

Kevin

skooterblue

Ok if you can go back to the late late show a few weeks ago. One doctor said you can put 100 people in a room with flu give them all a jab and it will clearup in 98 of them. Put a hundered depressed people in a room and you will have to treat them all individually.

I am in a similar circumstance to you. I work for a Multinational company and they have been brilliant. First they provide EAPS which is a 24 hr/7 day a week counselling service. So when you are pacing at 4 in the morning and cant sleep you can call them. My GP provided me with Cipramil. Cost over benefit "I" find it brilliant. It takes 2 weeks to kick in. I have dry mouth and sweat excessively. This may or may not work for you. Incase you are worried that I am spokes person for pharmaceutical body, I am totally against any medication except as a very last resort. I am the kind of person who will suffer a headache or flu or cold with out meds. I have tried excercising more, eating porridge and getting out more often. The worst thing you can do here is nothing. I have gone for group help sessions. I have no Major problems in my life so I am thinking its just a medical problem, as opposed to major life incident.

Good Luck, Talk to HR about it. Get help, there is loads out there but you have to research and ask. When you ask you will find more people opening up to help you. Start today and talk to your supervisor or company Doctor.

LegacyUser

OP here,thanks for the feedback all!This is a problem that has been with me a long time,certainly since my first job nearly 10 years ago,so I can't bame it on what my gf is going through.The thing about it is that it comes and goes,a lot of the time I'm feeling fine but if the smallest thing goes wrong I go into panic mode.When my gf started to deal with her depression I went to some counselling earlier in the year,the counsellor suggested a lot of it may have to do with the fact I was bullied in school.It helped to talk to her about it but I don't feel we made much progress.

Skooterblur,thanks for the feedback,sounds like a great company to work for!In all honesty I probably have what most people would consider a handy enough job,the broader issue seems to be how I deal with things,large or small,going wrong in my life.My gf is on Lexapro,not sure if it would be for me,but that said,I think I should probably go and talk to a doctor who might be able to put me in the right direction - before this starts to seriously affect my health.

LegacyUser

OP here again,just a further query for someone who might know - has anyone tried Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as an aid for anxiety/panic? I'm really just trying to get all the information and advice I can,I have a feeling medication is going to be part of the road I'm going to go down. I'm definitely going to the doctor early next week, this whole thing is getting out of hand. I'm writing this at 6.20 am on a Saturday morning having woken up an hour ago. I'm not able to get back to sleep because as soon as I woke up my mind started racing,and sure enough I thought of a bug in some code I wrote for work about a year ago. Couldn't really have been a worse time to think about it given there will be nothing I can do till Monday, but whereas a normal person would be able to put it out of their minds, enjoy the weekend, and think positively, I know that I'm probably going to ruin my weekend and make myself sick from worrying.

wylo

Have you tried meditation, it literally is life changing for some people. Also you should look up affirmations , they are very powerful.