Anxiety is characterized by incessant worry, panic attacks, sweating, shivering, awkwardness, nausea, fainting feeling, fatigue, restlessness, unwanted thoughts, fear, palpitations, and irritability. If you are diagnosed with anxiety, the process of finding the right career can seem distressing and impossible. Although everyone has faced anxiety, fear, and depression at a point in his or her career, clinical anxiety is pernicious and can make professional life miserable.
However, with so many jobs coming up in different fields due to technological advancements, people with anxiety can take control of their career without fear. If you have clinical anxiety, you can make the right choice today by being flexible and honest about yourself, and learning what works best for you.
Not every job can suit you. Therefore, if your job is making you feel doomed day in and day out, you need to do something about it. Since you are prone to anxiety, you do not want to add too many potential stresses that trigger your fear and other symptoms.
The key here is finding the right balance in your career – the job that gives you happiness, and at the same time, reduces your stress level. For instance, a person with social anxiety may not survive in the media and entertainment industry, even if his goal is to become a journalist. So finding your right spot is very important. And what is the right spot? Check it out.
With medication and counseling, people with anxiety can almost lead a normal life and work in various work environments.
Anxiety disorder is now a common mental disorder in the world and is the 6th leading cause of disability in people between the ages of 15 and 34, where women are in the lead. In the USA alone, 18% of adults suffer from clinical anxiety and around 35% of people at one point in their lives will experience some or all symptoms of this disorder. Since anxiety is associated with poor quality of life, you should opt for a low-stress job as they can help you reduce your anxiety level. Anxiety develops when things stress you and you are engulfed in fear. Stress-free jobs ensure that your mind remains focused on positive outcomes. Let’s check out some of the best low-stress jobs for people with anxiety.
Janitors perform various tasks, but primarily they maintain the cleanliness of the building space they work in. In this career, you will work for both indoor and outdoor jobs, such as keeping walkways clear, clearing the drains, sweeping and mopping the floors, cleaning the washrooms, removing weeds, emptying the garbage bins, etc. Since this job involves working alone, mostly after the general business hours, your anxiety level should be at bay. It is a simple task, which does not require any special skills, technical knowledge, or formal education.
Writers are usually self-employed and often work from home, which means it is a low-stress, environment-friendly job. Even with serious deadlines, your anxiety will increase. Freelance writers often work with different clients, such as digital marketing companies, web development companies, magazines, businesses, and websites. You should possess strong command over English and have basic computer knowledge. However, in many instances, employers look for additional degrees, such as a bachelor’s degree in English or journalism. Copywriting, editing, translating, web writing and blogging are jobs are some of the jobs that you could try.
Animals, especially dogs, have a natural calming effect on people with anxiety and depression. Therefore, pet-walking and pet-sitting could be one of the best low-stress careers for people with an anxiety disorder. As a pet sitter, you will take care of pets when the owners are away. The job is an in-house job that involves several tasks, right from bathing and feeding the pet to taking it for walks and going to the vet.
On the other than, pet owners hire pet walkers to take their pets for walks.
Both the jobs are stress-free. What is interesting is that you will be working on your own. And communicating with the pet owners once in a while to report the pets’ activities should not pose as a problem. While formal education is not required, compassion towards pets is mandatory. Since pets are as vulnerable as humans are, you must love them! Additionally, depending upon the state policies, you may have to obtain a public insurance policy to protect yourself from claims lest caused by the pet under your care.
Landscapers and gardeners maintain the grounds and the gardens of companies, facilities, and residential spaces. Their job typically involves working with plants, watering them, removing weeds, adding fertilizers, adding compost, maintaining the shape of the trees and plants to improve their appearance, cutting grass, laying sod, and installing pools and fountains to improve the appearance of the landscape.
Since these professionals typically work alone, the job is relatively a stress-free one. You do not require to have formal education, as you will receive on-the-job training. While working, you will learn to use various landscaping tools, such as using lawn mowers and power tools, and may require to obtain a state license in case pesticides and fertilizers are involved.
A physiotherapist helps patients get rid of muscular, nerve-related, and joint-related problems and reduces pain and stress through massages and exercises. They usually work one-on-one with clients, which indicates it to be a potentially low-stress job for anxious people.
The career requires you to work in a low-stress environment so that you are able to provide the required calmness and soothing experience for clients in pain.
You can find a job in any location, such as clinics, spas, doctors’ offices, and fitness centers, or work as a freelancer by visiting patients’ homes and providing a personalized experience. However, you must study post-graduation and obtain a license or certification, since this job involves treating patients. In certain instances, you may also need to have certain hours of hands-on training and experience to qualify.
Work anxiety can often affect your quality of life, your relationships with colleagues and supervisors, and your personal goals. However, since you must work to support yourself financially, learn these strategies and tips to tackling anxiety at the workplace:
This should be your first step in reducing anxiety at work. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep, eat healthy, maintain a healthy weight, avoid eating too many junk foods for they indirectly influence your stress hormones, exercise at least for 3 days a week for 30 minutes, go for nature walks, engage in social activities, make friends and spend enough time with them, and pursue a hobby. All of these activities will help lessen anxiety at work.
Do not react to stressors. You have the power to choose and change your career. You have the ability to make your career work for you.
Learn more about your strengths and weaknesses and try to embrace them. For example, if you have social anxiety, jobs that involve a lot of social interaction with the public, such as media journalism, interviewing, direct marketing, etc. could make you fatigued and completely depressed. Hence, you must learn to identify what triggers your anxiety or what increases it. Even if you love the career, your mental peace is more important, and therefore, moving away from the danger zone is the best option.
Work pressure can alleviate anxiety by several percentages. Anxious people agree to deadlines and timelines that are beyond their capability to avoid confrontations. This can lead to reduced work performance, peer pressure and unwarranted stress. Being honest with yourself and working at a manageable pace is the key. If you cannot complete something on time, it is better to say it upfront to avoid misinterpretations and confusions.
Calming and neutral language inevitably brings down everyone’s anxiety at work, including yours and therefore, you must practice it proactively. For instance, when you are not agreeing to something someone’s remarks, instead of starting with, “you are wrong and I don’t agree with it”, begin with, “here is what I thought about it” and then finish it with, “what do you think?”
These types of words exchanges make people less accusing and more acknowledging. It also denotes that you are ready to listen to what the other person has to say and work on it.
If you have severe social anxiety, normal and open work environment will not suit you because of stressful interactions with the public. In order to survive, look for jobs that provide alternative work arrangements, such as working from home, freelancing, and telecommuting.
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