Understanding anxiety, especially for colleagues at work, can be tough. But it’s the little things often than can be the difference between a good day and a bad day.
Sometimes it really is as simple as having a workplace culture that encourages everyone to say hello to each other in the morning; to have a nice evening before going home; and to not be afraid of asking if everything is okay, or giving your line manager or a trusted colleague the heads up when you’re not feeling your best.
Talk
This step isn’t easy because it involves saying out loud that you have anxiety which not everyone will find comfortable, but it’s the most straight forward way to help your colleagues understand anxiety.
In all honesty, the way your colleagues will probably find out about your anxiety is when you’re in the midst of its grip, maybe having a panic attack, and you reach out to someone in desperation for help.
But please do not keep your mental health a secret from your colleagues, the workplace is stressful and a likely environment to nurture anxiety. Mental health awareness in the workplace is only in the beginning of its campaign for change, so the more people who talk and are open about their struggles and sharing their experiences, will fuel that vital conversation.
Seeking out that colleague or colleagues you can trust and talk to is integral in any organisation, regardless to whether you have anxiety or other issues that might interrupt your working day.
If you know some likely common trigger points, let your colleagues know them so they can be aware that certain situations make you uncomfortable.
I’m an over thinker for example and I find too much notice about phone calls with people I don’t know and meetings a bit worrying. I don’t of course encourage people to spring surprise meetings and phone calls on me to combat this but I do find not giving my anxiety the luxury of overthinking a situation can help.
I can also find new groups of people a little overwhelming so in those situations I prefer to be introduced by a mutual colleague to break the ice.
Teach
A panic attack at work is a frightening experience and for me it has often resulted in having to write the rest of the afternoon off to spend it somewhere quiet; there is just no point trying to fight productivity as your brain is likely fried, and you need to just let yourself calm down.
If your workplace is supportive, you can choose to have the afternoon off as sick or make up the hours another time. However, the key lesson here is to help your colleagues understand the role they need to play in the midst of a panic attack, for me these are:
- Take me somewhere private, away from other colleagues and people; a few laps around the car park outside is often an ideal place.
- Help me gain control of my breathing which is short and rapid at this time, make me copy you breathing in and out deeply and slowly.
- Distract me with conversation, just talk to me. Sometimes I can tell you the trigger, sometimes I can’t but ultimately tell me I’m going to be okay and whatever it is can’t get me, and to not fear it.
Support
Depending on the size of the company or organisation you work for, creating a mental health awareness group might be really beneficial to your colleagues. In May every year a whole week is dedicated to mental health awareness and this would be a perfect opportunity to encourage conversation between colleagues.
Set up a lunch time meeting, share food, bring some cake and it’s here you can engage those colleagues that have an interest in understanding anxiety, and it’ll be likely you won’t be the only sufferer.
You can identify common stress points within the office and help find solutions. In time, this might be the sort of meeting you might want to invite a Board director to, or a member of HR in order to present the value and benefit this group has on the organisation.
How do you encourage and support mental health awareness in the workplace? Remember Mind.org is a fantastic resource for further information and support if you or a colleague need it.
Until next time x
