Dealing with Anxiousness at Work

I have anxiety, and I work at a call center. Most of the time, I can handle it.. but some days my anxiety is worse than others.. or I have particularly bad phone calls.

My question is, what are some ways to cope with anxiety/anxiousness/stress WHILE working?

I try to just breathe deeper. If you can do it long enough, it might trick the rest of your systems into calming down. It helps me about 75% of the time.

Breathing is a big tool for me as well. I also use a lot of distress tolerance skills when it gets bad.

I also use certain things about my job as an oasis. While some might regard certain tasks as menial, if they take me out of my space for a moment and allow me to move around a bit, it helps me ground a little. It gives my body a chance to send feedback to my brain, telling it that things are okay. So, if your job includes such things, go clean the break area or put paper in the copiers.

Thanks so much for the ideas!

I work at a call center, so getting up isn't an option most of the time. I have to sit and wait for the next call. On days when it's slow, I can do more to calm down. On days when there is no breathing room between calls, it wears me down.

I too work at a call centre (have been for the past year and a half). I can relate with the stress of a bad call.

My tip is to just realize how small the issue is. Yeah, they can yell at you, curse at you, but in the end what does it matter?

It does generate a lot of stress, I won't take that from you. What I do is sit back for a second and take a deep breath and ask myself a simple questions (straight from "The Power of Now). "What, at this moment, is lacking?" Everything seems so temporal, small, and puts things back into persepective after I ask myself that and really think on it.

Just take it one call at a time. Once you hang up, hang up in your mind too. The call is done once you hear that click.

Thank you so much. One of the things that stresses me out is when I need to ask for questions (because I'm customer service). A lot of times my client takes a while to respond. This affects my call quality, and I have little to no control over it. At the same time, I'm worried about the customer that's calling in. They are taking time out of their (often busy) day to call in, and I have to put them on hold until I wait for a response. It's frustrating, and I have no idea how to handle it.

Thanks again for the ideas, especially the "What, at this moment, is lacking?"

Arisaig wrote: Just take it one call at a time. Once you hang up, hang up in your mind too. The call is done once you hear that click.

This is good advice in general. When something is over, let it be over. Thanks!

Whatever situation is making you feeling anxious will be over... I know that sounds like not much comfort, but I find that remembering that time moves forward whatever, so whatever is happening will soon pass, helps me a great deal.

As does taking time out to breathe and separate myself from the anxiety inducing situation.

It can be difficult in a call centre because angry people can make it feel personal - it's not personal. Whatever the person is saying, they can't see you, they don't know you, and once the call is over they'll be gone. Remember that their frustrations are not with you, they're with your company and that's why they make things difficult. Slow things down a little if you have to, take pauses to think if you have to.

I suggest something to fidget with that is silent and small. Worry stones, stress balls, fidget spinners, and various fidget cubes all work for me. A mantra that you can say in your head silently between calls while practicing the breathing that others mentioned is also a useful technique. ( I use the Jedi Code ). Also, meditation prior to work and at your break can also be a good way to center yourself putting you in a better frame of mind prior to going in or re-center yourself before heading back to work. Finally, on really stressful flights ( I hate flying ), I carry a small handkerchief that I spray with a calming scent. ( I use spearmint and eucalyptus but there are many calming scents on the market)

Those are short term in the moment fixes. However one of the things that worked for me is getting into longer meditation habit leading to less anxiety over all. Further, you might wish to try self-hypnosis. Journaling is another way to help. Hope these help in the short and long term.

I have a set of Chinese baoding balls ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baoding_balls ) that I keep next to my phone. If I'm not typing, I use them. I especially like to use them while on longer phone conversations. It gives me something tactile to do with out having to concentrate too hard on it, but it is just enough relieve some tension sometimes. I also take them with me when I walk through the office. Like Cabur says, it is good to get up and do some simple mindless tasks once or twice a day.