Do you experience stress and anxiety in the workplace? I know I have. In fact, every worthwhile endeavor I’ve pursued has been uncomfortable at some point.
Reducing workplace stress and anxiety is a challenge. Sometimes it can be unbearable—more than what you’d experience with just your typical micromanaging boss or office politics.
I have some solutions to help you work through these workplace stressors. All it takes is an open and disciplined mind.
Why Avoidance Doesn’t work
Have you ever tried to avoid a person and situation, and inevitably you are pulled into them? Why is that?
The answer is simple and yet a bit esoteric. The things you fear the most are the very things you need to confront in order to grow spiritually.
It still doesn’t answer why, though. To that I say, there is no why—there only IS.
Why we are invited to constantly grow is, as far as I know, determined by the laws of nature. Humans have survived for thousands of years due to sacrifice and pushing ourselves to the limit. It is a constant. That constant has always been to grow and change.
With that in mind, the only way we can grow is by facing the things that we dread facing. We all wish that we could be living millionaire dreams, have everyone love us, and be the most attractive person known to mankind; yet we always seem to find ourselves feeling insufficient and lacking in something.
That feeling of lack is the very thing that needs improvement and will be challenged everywhere you go.
Avoidance of negative situations and people doesn’t work, because the pain is not coming from any external situation, the pain is from your own insecurities. What you see in the world is only projections of those insecurities.
If you quit your job because certain people mistreat you, the next job you get, you will run into the same types of people. The only way to overcome the issue is by addressing the problem within.
negative health consequences From Stress In the Workplace
We so often hear that stress in the workplace is the cause of all sorts of illnesses: hair loss, ulcers, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, muscle tension, migraines, etc. I’m not a doctor, but I have had many of these things come up from a stressful job.
However, instead of choosing to look at those illnesses as something happening to me, I reframed it to look at something happening for me.
In the peak of the most stress I encountered with my job, I burned out. I felt the only thing to do was to go back within and meditate on these problems. What I encountered with an intuitive knowingness was something I didn’t expect:
These illnesses were blocked energy, that are now moving throughout the body due to insecurities that I was finally confronting.
When I realized that, it brought me so much peace and relief. Of course I had some skepticism and doubts, but I chose to override it and not be a victim to what was happening to me. I chose to believe the thoughts that brought me peace and comfort and not the thoughts that made me feel powerless and weak.
Slowly but surely, these illnesses began to come and go on their own. One week I would have a painful mouth ulcer, the next week it would be gone. A month later I’d have headaches and eye twitches, two months later they’d both be gone.
How did they disappear? I didn’t really focus on doing anything physical to resolve them; yet, they went away as fast as they came. As I accepted the things I could not change (illnesses), it allowed me to do spiritual work on the inner parts of me that were still weak. Ultimately, resulting in the illness clearing up and resolving itself.
Related: Health Improves When You Stop Looking In The Mirror
There is Non-Reality and Then There Is Essence
But JT, my problems seem very real! My boss is out to get me I swear! The workload is too much and I have very little pay! My coworkers make me feel bad! My job is just not fulfilling!
I get it. All very real problems. However, how much of your “problems” have you actually discerned are reality and how much are non-reality?
What I mean is how many of your problems are based on the essence or core of the issue and how much is a story you are building up in your head and painting your world with?
The Mean People are really just You
In one of my roles, I had to consult for some of the grumpiest people you will ever meet in the country. I would go into their office, ask them how they were doing, how is their family, how is business going, and all I would get in return is a one word response or even an explosion of frustrations.
There were times I would just sit in my car, mentally preparing to be cussed out. I knew I had to stick it out because I still had a family to provide for, but I was ready to quit if given the opportunity.
Instead, I trusted and relied on God/Higher Power to get me through it. I prayed, meditated, read spiritual books, contemplated on my emotions and insecurities, etc.
Then to my surprise, months passed and here I am getting lunch with the very people who cussed me out previously. I went from being afraid of them and having a shaky anxious voice when I spoke to them, to just joking around like we were old chums.
So what happened? I discovered as I worked on myself spiritually—forgiving these individuals, seeing that their personalities were a repressed part of myself that I projected onto them—my stress began to diminish and I integrated new parts of myself into my personality.
Essentially, I could empathize with them more as a new version of myself began to come forth from the depths of my unconscious.
The people who you think are out to get you, are really just parts of your repressed personality being projected onto them.
To resolve this, you must stop placing blame on them and internally accept those aspects of yourself.
Your Soul Chose The Job Because It Knew Where You Would Experience The Most Growth
Every job you get is just a stepping stone to the more complete version of yourself. Your ego wants to place blame on external circumstances, but misery will only be resolved if you see your jobs as part of your whole spiritual journey.
When you look at your past life, every job you had served some sort of ultimate lesson or purpose. Perhaps you haven’t learned the lesson and that is why you are still either at that job or a job that is similar to last one you had.
But with job progression, if done right, each one will lead to a better experience than the one prior.
Sometimes these jobs are there to teach us things like:
- Forgiveness
- Unconditional Love
- Going within to address stress
- Overcoming illness
- Learning the value of determination and discipline
- Accountability and responsibility
- Reading people’s essence and inner motives
What If The Stress of The Job Gets Worse?
This may happen. As you do spiritual work to reduce stress and anxiety in the workplace, you may find that the people and situations do not get better, but continue to take a toll on you mentally and emotionally.
Some people and situations get better while others get worse. From my experience, your health will be fine (if you are doing spiritual work), but your soul feels as if it is constantly berated with negative energy.
This is when you are learning to discern what is non-reality, what is true, and the essence of someone or something.
An example would be that you did a ton of spiritual work and even though you’ve been able to get along with some managers, coworkers, or customers, you still feel as if your soul is trapped or not thriving. This is a sign that for long-term growth to continue, one must move on to a new job and environment.
My suggestion is to tolerate it, keep up with your spiritual work, and look wisely for your next move to get out of that situation. This may require you to make dramatic life choices like move, go to a new industry, or take a pay cut.
However, no job is worth keeping at the expense of your soul. Plan your exit, find a more peaceful environment, and make sure to choose better next time.
Reducing workplace stress and anxiety: 5 Key Mindset Shifts
- Take it as a sign of growth.
Every job you work, whether miserable or not, is not happening to you, it’s happening for you. Reframe it to see it as a gift from God/Higher Power, and that it is a call to learn and become a stronger version of yourself. - Don’t make changes out of fear.
Before you make the jump to quit your job or do something you might regret, give it time for the lessons to come up. Don’t make a drastic change or force an outcome out of an irrational fear. It might be that after doing a couple months of spiritual work, the problems resolve themselves and you actually start to enjoy your job. - Always have a creative outlet on the side.
Have a creative outlet, side hustle, or even hobbies if you wish. The reason is that you need a form of self-expression to make you feel mentally sane. You are not just a cog in the work wheel, doomed to live a mundane life of work, eat, and sleep. You have gifts, and when you can express them while also pushing yourself to get better at them, it will bring so much fulfillment that it’ll make your 9-5 day job seem like a joke. It’s hard to be miserable when you’re able to express your gifts regularly. - Let pain be your compass and spiritual work be the solution.
Pain is a good indicator to tell you that something is “off.” It typically is a sign that there is something within yourself you are not accepting or have come to grips with. If pain persists, the best solution will always be more internal growth. Do more spiritual work to uncover the lessons you need to learn. - Pain will motivate you; peace will pull you.
Pain is actually a great motivator. When I have made positive changes in my life, it has always been because my current situation caused me so much pain that I was looking for a way to find peace. Don’t seek pleasure or peace. Try to find the pain in your current situation that will push you to pursue something better. (The irony: there will always be pain in your current situation and always room to get better…).
You Will course correct forever
The perfect zero-stress job is a myth. I’ve had plenty of jobs growing up and each one I moved onto, there has always been something I disliked about it.
You’re probably thinking, “Well, what’s the point then? If each job is something I’ll end up disliking, why keep searching?”
Well, that is the ultimate mystery isn’t it? One can choose to constantly make excuses and stay at their stressful job; no one is forcing you. However, there are others who may want to know where the road leads.
The spiritual path is not for the faint of heart. It will feel as if you are constantly being pushed through the eye of a needle. Your life will be like a ship trying to reach its ultimate destination, constantly course correcting into the unknown.
But if you have the courage to pursue it, constantly working to improve your life in every aspect, you will hopefully reach a paradise that very few have experienced.
Let’s keep the course!
Related: Why You’re Stressed When Your Body Feels Too Relaxed