I’m 22 y and I graduated from university about 9 months ago now, and have been working in a full time job for the last 7 months. I do like the job as it’s within finance which I’m interested in, but I am much more of an anxious person since I have started it. The company is good, they offer nice benefits and everyone has been really welcoming. However, on weekends or after 5pm, when I’ve finished for the day, I find it harder to relax and am constantly thinking about the stuff I have to do at work and how this is it for the rest of my life now. It annoys me as I feel it makes me weak and pathetic as everyone goes onto working full time pretty much and doesn’t seem to let it bother them. I want to be able to enjoy my time off and be more accepting of the fact I’m a full time worker now.
Answers & Comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_o... and
Understanding Yourself, by Mark Prophet, are generally insightful.
After many years working as an executive in a big corporation, my father was asked how he coped with job stress, and he said he always forgot about the job when he came home from work.
When it comes to work stress, I always think of a favorite psychologist of mine, Emma Seppala of Stanford. I got into her work when I read about an amazing study she did with vets suffering from PTSD. She wrote a book based on careful study of successful people. Her book The Happiness Track is about how to be successful with a low stress life. Here's a takeaway. A very simple thing for conserving your energy - go back and forth between a demanding task and an easy task. I find that watching the clock is very helpful - not spending too much time on a task.
I tell about a number of stress/anxiety things in my answers, and you can click on my name and read. Video - details about what I mention here, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqEM_jlDRZI
When we have a lot of anxiety, it puts worrisome thoughts into our heads. There's two ways to get rid of those thoughts. One is just to calm down. The easiest way to do this is to breathe slowly till you feel OK. Two psychiatrists, Brown and Gerbarg, say a 10 or 20 min slow breathing exercise - 5 breaths a min - is good and 20 min twice a day is a therapy for anxiety. The exercise is inhale and exhale gently, 6 seconds each. When you're calm, you can think your way through a problem instead of just worrying about it. Think about the worst thing that can happen, how likely that is and what you could do if it happens. In a stressful situation, think about the different ways you can respond and decide which one is the most intelligent.
Good habit - always respond to a moment of stress by breathing slowly. When you use the thinking brain, you get control of the emotional brain, and you feel better. Also, replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Count your blessings and remind yourself of your successes.
You need to learn how to leave work at work & close you mind to it when you are not working. If you have to carry it home, leave it outside the front door. Don't bring the work home with you. Learn how to turn it off. Maybe easier said than done but you can work on it until you have mastered it.