Understanding your anxiety

One of the reasons HeadsUp exists is to help people who are anxious about moving into employment, education or training. According to the NHS, “Anxiety is something everyone experiences at times, and feeling anxious is a perfectly natural reaction to some situations”. I also know plenty of people with anxiety, and know that everyone’s anxieties are deeply personal and truly individual. How can we help then?

At www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/anxiety there are some “Top Tips to Cope with Anxiety”. The great thing about these tips is that they are all adaptable to your own situation. For example, “Understand your anxiety”. This isn’t a one condition/ one cure approach, but the application is universal: you might initially think that you’re anxious about starting a job, but after thinking about it more closely it could be that your anxiety is more to do with using public transport or meeting new people. We can help you to understand your actual barriers and help to devise strategies to overcome them.

Another top tip is to “challenge your anxious thoughts”. Anxiety isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a response to certain situations. I used to apply a “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” test when turning up to a previous job. Thinking about the worst-case scenario, and then mentally working back from there to a more likely reality meant that by the time I got to work I was more relaxed and ready to deal with situations. In turn, this meant I was easier to get on with and people were more likely to be supportive.

If you do suffer from Anxiety, take a look at the link. Whenever you’re ready to take a few more steps towards employment, education or training then why not give us a call?