THE RESILIENT MIND BLOG
How to ward off anxiety at work
By Vic Lebouthillier · November 9, 2020
Anxiety at work rarely announces itself politely. It shows up as a tight chest before a meeting, a racing mind at 2 a.m., or the sudden urge to avoid an inbox altogether. A little pressure can sharpen focus, but when anxiety takes the wheel it does the opposite — clouding judgement and draining energy. The encouraging truth is that anxiety responds to practice. A handful of simple, repeatable calming skills can shift your nervous system out of alarm and back into steadiness, often in just a few minutes.
Six calming skills to build into your day
1. Slow, deliberate breathing. When anxiety rises, breathing becomes shallow and fast, which signals more danger to the brain. Lengthening your exhale — breathing in for four counts and out for six — tells your nervous system the threat has passed. A single minute can lower the intensity noticeably.
2. Name what you feel. Putting a precise word to the emotion (“I’m anxious about this deadline”) engages the thinking part of the brain and takes some of the charge out of the feeling. Vague dread is heavier than a named worry.
3. Ground yourself in the present. Anxiety lives in the future — in what might go wrong. Bringing attention to what’s actually here (five things you can see, four you can hear) pulls you out of the spiral and back into the moment.
4. Move your body. A short walk, a stretch, or even standing up and rolling your shoulders discharges some of the physical energy anxiety generates. Motion is one of the fastest ways to change an anxious state.
5. Question the story. Anxiety is a confident storyteller, and its stories are usually worst-case. Ask yourself what the evidence actually is, and whether there’s a calmer, equally plausible interpretation. Often there is.
6. Take one small action. Anxiety thrives on avoidance. Doing the smallest next step — opening the document, sending the first line of the email — breaks the freeze and proves to your brain that the task is survivable.
Turning skills into habits
Any one of these skills helps in the moment, but their real power comes from repetition. Practiced regularly – not only in crisis but in ordinary calm moments — they become the default your mind reaches for automatically. Over weeks, that’s what changes anxiety from something that happens to you into something you know how to meet.
About the author
Vic Lebouthillier is passionate about bringing the latest advances in neuro, social, and behavioural science to individuals, organisations, and communities that need the support.