You're anxious to go to work due to common triggers like performance pressure, difficult colleagues or managers, heavy workloads, unrealistic deadlines, lack of purpose, or imposter syndrome, which create a sense of threat your brain tries to avoid. It could also stem from a toxic environment, poor work-life balance, or underlying issues like Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), but identifying your specific trigger (e.g., presentations, specific people, overwhelming tasks) helps you find solutions like asking for help, taking breaks, setting boundaries, or seeking professional support if it's persistent.
8 Healthy Ways to Handle Anxiety at Work
Potential causes of work-related anxiety
It's perfectly normal to feel a little scared or anxious at the prospect of working. After all, going to work can be pretty stressful. But if you're feeling really bad or scared about the idea of working, it might be indicative of a larger problem.
The 5-5-5 rule for anxiety is a grounding technique that uses deep breathing and sensory focus to calm the nervous system: breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, and exhale for 5 seconds, repeating this cycle while also identifying five things you can see, five you can touch, and five you can hear, helping to interrupt anxious thoughts and bring you back to the present moment. It's a simple way to reset, calm your mind, and shift focus from worries to your physical sensations and surroundings.
Such environments are characterized by several detrimental features:
Teas for stress and anxiety relief
Things you can try to help with anxiety, fear and panic
Supplement options
Although further studies are needed, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to anxiety and depression. Supplements may help manage symptoms of stress and anxiety in those who are deficient. Vitamin B complex supplements may also help lower stress and anxiety levels.
If so, you're not alone. Dreading work isn't just about being tired or needing more coffee—it's a deeper feeling. Maybe you're overwhelmed by your workload, dealing with toxic dynamics, or feeling like your job just doesn't fit anymore.
Feeling nervous, restless or tense. Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom. Having an increased heart rate. Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation).
There's nothing wrong with telling your boss you have bad anxiety, and you need time and space to deal with it. And remember, this is a guide. You'll need to take the advice you see here and make it work in your own environment. Only you can make the decision to share your mental health challenges.
It's normal to feel a little nervous before heading to work. Still, when anxiety becomes a daily struggle, it affects our mental and physical health. Whether it's the fear of confrontation, an overwhelming workload, or a general sense of unease, going to work can be stressful.
Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don't see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you're drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up.
It is likely that most employers have at least one employee with a mental health condition. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other nondiscrimination laws, most employers must provide "reasonable accommodations" to qualified employees with disabilities.
Defining high-functioning anxiety
They often are successful in careers or other roles, yet internally struggle with persistent feelings of stress, self-doubt and the fear of not measuring up. They feel extremely uncomfortable inside and struggle with significant self-criticism.
The 30-Second Reset: A Pause That Changes Everything
A short pause—just 30 seconds—gives our nervous system time to calm down and gives us space to choose how we want to show up in the moment. That might mean taking a slow, conscious breath. Relax your shoulders.
Yes. A student with an anxiety disorder has a disability if their anxiety disorder substantially limits one or more of their major life activities. An anxiety disorder can, for example, substantially limit concentrating, which is a major life activity under Section 504.
Magnesium can help manage anxiety and insomnia by regulating serotonin and improving brain function, explains Dr. Madrak. Plus, it can improve other areas of our health, including digestion, cardiac function and sleep patterns. Suggested dose: Up to 250 milligrams before bed.
Vitamin D. Every tissue in our body has vitamin D receptors, making it essential for how we feel on a daily basis. It also plays a key role in the production and release of dopamine and serotonin. A vitamin D deficiency has been associated with mood disorders, including anxiety and depression.
Stay away from foods that contain simple carbohydrates, such as sugary foods and drinks. Drink plenty of water. Even mild dehydration — when the body doesn't have enough water and other fluids — can affect your mood and make you more anxious. Limit or avoid alcohol.
The biggest red flags at work often center around toxic leadership, poor communication, and a high-turnover culture, signaling deep issues like micromanagement, lack of transparency, burnout, and disrespect, where problems are normalized and employee well-being is ignored in favor of short-term gains. Key indicators include managers who don't support staff, excessive gossip, broken promises, constant negativity, and environments where speaking up feels unsafe or pointless, often leading to high employee churn.
The "3-month rule" in a job refers to the common probationary period where employers assess a new hire's performance, skills, and cultural fit, while the employee learns the role and decides if the job is right for them; it's a crucial time for observation, feedback, and proving value, often with potential limitations on benefits until the period ends. It's also advice for new hires to "hang in there" for three months to get acclimated and evaluate the job before making big decisions.
Five key signs of work-related stress include physical symptoms (headaches, fatigue, sleep issues), emotional changes (irritability, anxiety, mood swings), cognitive difficulties (trouble focusing, poor decision-making), behavioral shifts (withdrawal, increased substance use), and performance decline (lower output, errors, procrastination). These signs often manifest as a persistent feeling of being overwhelmed, leading to physical tension, mental fog, and strained relationships at work and home.