This one time, I came across the circular of a job that I needed most for my financial situation. The pay was good, and so was the company for my resume. The ultimate crack for my career. But what I lacked was confidence. The idea of giving it a try scared me. The thought of adapting to a new environment gave me anxiety attacks for nights.
Frankly speaking, it isn’t like that I am not up to the required caliber. I am actually a pretty well fit for the job but I lack the courage to face the interview. I have been googling how to get out of this bubble of insecurity and why can’t get a job because of anxiety.
Take a look at what I have to say about it. Stay tuned
Table of Content
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a dreadful feeling that makes one uncomfortable. It ranges from mild, moderate, and severe. Normally, the feeling of anxiousness is general and a regular one. But terms to a mental disorder if it is significantly showing alterations to your daily life.
The worst thing about anxiety is you barely know when this has turned into a psychological disorder. Numerous events in our lives, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, Shock can make us extremely susceptible to anxiety attacks. You won’t know what triggers anxiety, till you face it.
Anxiety is an initiative to any sort of extreme mental stress or stage one psychological disabilities. Not only it limits your thinking capabilities, also puts an embargo on your rationality. In a moment of crisis, or in a social meeting, it kicks in. You may get cold feet or at times freak out or even pass out.
In the current job market, any employer wants their employee to be confident and smart. Despite having multiple mental or social instabilities people bring out the best of their personalities and present themselves in an interview board. At least, they are expected to do so.
What becomes immensely tragic is how on a new job, a qualified and fit person fails to perform his best for his social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder falls under Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Social phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder refers to the fear of being judged by numerous people in a crowd or any gathering.
People suffering from these kinds of anxiety are usually afraid of participating in a gathering. With the building angst in their heart, they often question their worth and wonder why they can’t get a job because of anxiety.
Anxiety Disorders: Types
Anxiety can be broadly said to be the main symptom of several diseases. It is the most found emotional disorder in today’s world. Irrespective of their age, it is applicable to all. Even though, according to American Psychiatric Association, women are more anxious than men.
Be it in terms of starting a new job, starting a family, maintaining the workplace, the feeling of apprehension or what is about to happen next starts to bother a person. It shapes up as a disease if it corresponds to any sort of past or current mental weaknesses or physical disabilities.
On a subdivision, anxiety can have the following types:
- Panic disorder
Panic is a presumed reaction to fearful or unprepared situations. But it becomes a disorder if these are sudden and injurious to health. The worst thing about a panic disorder is you never know it is about to come in.
Panic disorders are again divided into 4 types:
- Type I: Has a single panic attack
- Type II: Despite having any neurologic or depressive symptoms, if there are repeated episodes of anxiety attacks
- Type III: Recurrent episodes of anxiety attacks that progresses to advanced stages of neurotic degeneration
- Type IV: Any sort of advanced panic disorder that results in neurological disorders and hampers day-to-day life.
- Phobia
Imprudent fear or discomfort of any situation, person, or object refers to phobia. Agoraphobia, claustrophobia, nyctophobia are often found in people with anxiety.
- Social Anxiety disorder
People with social anxiety disorders find it extremely difficult to adjust and adapt to situations that involve new people. For example, a new workplace needs proper interaction with colleagues, boss, and subordinates.
These patients have a constant fear of being judged for their actions and their decisions. As a matter of fact, they can not process any decision-making situations and have episodes of panic.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Psychiatry defines Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as recurrent yet unwanted ideas and a repetitive pattern of behavior to execute that.
- Separation Anxiety Disorder
It is the constant anxiety that follows from the fear of losing loved ones. Individuals having this form of anxiety find it extremely difficult to stay away from the ones they love.
- Illness Anxiety Disorder
Easily put, it is the fear of diseases. Many people get anxious about their surroundings and fear themselves becoming hypochondriacs.
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Inarguably this is the most common and vital cause of anxiety attacks. From personal experiences, we often comply with negative thoughts. It reduces our mental capacity to see the goodness in any situation or people and thus affects us mentally.
Anxiety Disorders: Causes and Symptoms
The common causes of anxiety are:
- Social anxiety disorder
- Various kinds of phobias like agoraphobia, claustrophobia, etc.
- Sudden panic disorders
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
- Hyperventilation
- depression
The symptoms of anxiety include:
- An unanticipated feeling of consciousness
- Excessive breathing
- Hyperventilation
- Frantic movements
- Sleeplessness
- Lack of concentration
- Palpitation
- Dizziness
- Emotional breakdowns
- Trembling and shivering
- Gastrointestinal problems
I Can’t Get a Job Because of Anxiety
Are you someone with a Social Anxiety Disorder? Are you constantly quitting your job because you feel you are underperforming? Or, do you think you can’t get a job because of anxiety?
Personally speaking, there has been a time when I myself could not get a job because of my anxiety. I would quit any job I got picked for. The thought of people passing comments on my performance, looks, presentations, persistently pestered my head. Until I consulted a psychologist, I was completely unaware of having Social Anxiety Disorder or SAD.
From waking up early in the morning as I brushed my teeth, I would look at a reflection of myself. I see how tired and exhausted I am. Am I going to give up again on my career just for my anxiety again? Every time I roll up my sleeves, anxiety stops me from getting a job. Even if the best offer reaches out to me, I am constantly reminded how I might fail this again.
In case you do not know what having anxiety feels like, consider yourself blessed. The emotions and the feelings behind them are uncontrollable and indescribable. It is a sustained feeling of consciousness about anything around you. Mostly observed around the social gatherings. People and their presence trigger it more. You often get scared to get a job because of anxiety.
How to Get a Job with Anxiety?
We are here to help! Kiss your anxiety goodbye with the following ways and pursue your desired career smoothly:
- Choose the right kind of job
If you can’t get a job because of anxiety, it is probably you are not making the right choice about your career. Rather than challenging yourself in one go, challenge yourself with small changes to adapt to.
Pick jobs that will keep you focused and keep your mind off any sorts of ill thoughts. Put aside your negativity and embrace your new opportunities.
- Workable jobs
Works that do not put too much stress on your brain should be your priority. Try to put your mental health above all. Do not increase the workload beyond your capacity. Do jobs like social media management, taxi driving, skill development programs, arts, music, etc.
- Helpful jobs
Helping a fellow increases the mental peace of an individual. It acts as a therapy to anyone suffering from anxiety.
So, a person with a social anxiety disorder or generalized anxiety disorder is prescribed to involve themselves in activities that are helpful to others.
- Social services and Animal services
As mentioned above, jobs that involve people or nature are always therapeutic. Children, the elderly, nature, animals are sectors you can keep yourself busy with. The positive energy around these innocent smiles will channel through your heart and clear out all the negativity inside.
- Jobs with a bigger purpose
Doing better to another person invariably brings happiness and contentment to life. Through others’ smiling faces or teary yet happy eyes, you can find peace and soothe yourself down. It calms down your anxiety and helps to process any previous history of trauma.
Best Low-Stress Job for People With Anxiety
The best start for a person with anxiety or any mental illness is to cater to his demands according to his needs. It is crucial to identify one’s category of anxiety and then to proceed to a particular job sector.
Low-stress jobs can be a great option to help people get over their anxiety. Be it remote work or physical office-going errands, the wiser choice you make, the better for your mental health. There are plenty of options with good pay that feeds your need to be homebound.
Preferably, anxious people want to be in a job that is flexible and has fewer possibilities of complications. Besides the fact of them being calm and actually being able to concentrate on their careers, these kinds of jobs are also beneficial for their mental health.
Some career prospects are listed below that emphasize low stress:
- Librarian
Books are told to be man’s best companion. What better do you think can keep your anxiety off the table than books themselves?
As you join a library in the post of a librarian, the calmness of the place will set your and soul to peace. Your anxiety is likely to be suppressed in such jobs.
- Archivist
Irrespective of the professional qualification, you may like to be an archivist. The job revolves around the historical background and data collection. If historical facts interest you well, you should consider being an archivist.
- Veterinary technician
Animals are always therapeutic. Their selflessness helps them to keep away the sadness from their lives. A veterinary technician works around animals. His heart warms up with the cuteness of fluffy and adorable animals.
- Janitor
A clean environment cleanses your soul equally. The spotless environment near you acts as positive energy to you. Anxiety reduces because of such jobs. A tidy environment retains the tranquility of your mind.
- Graphic designer
Several tech geniuses have anxiety mostly related to their jobs. Graphic designing is a job where the involvement of anxiety attacks is comparatively less. People with their artistic views participate in graphic designing and web development.
- Lab technician
A lab technician is engrossed in his job and has little time to address his anxiety attacks. The work keeps a person busy and he has to be intricately focused on it.
- Fitness coach
Workouts and exercises keep your mind fresh and healthy. Not only your physique gets better, your mental health skyrockets in no time.
- Freelancing
A wide range of freelancing works can be done from home. The timing and routines are flexible and somewhat convenient for a passionate person. Freelancing keeps anxiety off the table.
- Programmer
The best thing about being a programmer is you are never any less busy. Till your desired program functions, you will be on it it’s done. The focus and passion will be highly devoted to this.
- Land scraper
Is there anyone whose mind is not refreshed by greenery? The wind as it hits the leaves of the palm tree over your head? Isn’t it the most blissful feeling ever?
The task of a land scraper is to keep his nearby land clean and to hold its maintenance.
- School bus driver
School bus drivers deal with adorable children. I mean, who does not feel ecstatic to have a few children giggling around right? This way their mind remains fresh and they stay anxiety-free.
- Stocking works
In case retail work interests you but you want to avoid social interaction amongst people, you may look for a job in the stock market. The work is more of a behind curtain kind and requires less amount of socialization but more monetary offerings.
- Cosmetologist
A cosmetologist or a beautician enhances the physical appearance of a person. By trimming hair, doing makeovers, and making the nails look pretty, any person feels better about themselves.
- Transcriptionist
This high demanding job in the field of media requires very little exposure but plenty of patience and perseverance. An anxious person can show his skills by audio typing the notes passed to him.
- Virtual Assistant
The work encircles around nothing meetings, virtual meetups, client presentations, etc for a better and easy-going task to any parent company.
How Are Anxiety Disorders Treated?
Now that we know, anxiety is a kind of mental illness, we must know it requires treatment. The stereotypical approach to any sort of mental illness must be avoided to its best. Social anxiety disorders should be fed well with medicines and proper attention.
Unlike old times, mental health awareness has struck to be at a better and bigger platform. Several jobs and their employers kingpin the need for their employee’s best health for gaining optimum results.
In medical science, a lot of progress has been made by researchers on treating mental illness correctly. The clear cut emphasizes being put on a healthy and mentally stable lifestyle.
Medically speaking, there are two ways to treat anxiety disorders. One is psychotherapy and the other is medication. But best results are shown when these two are paired together.
Medicines are unable to cure anxiety but it puts you in a better shape from the regular intervals of attacks. It helps to function better and improve the symptoms.
Regularly prescribed medicines to a person with anxiety disorders are:
- Anti-anxiety medications
Benzodiazepines lower anxiety, panic, and tension. These work faster than any other group of medicine but you may develop a tolerance to them. After a time, the effectiveness decreases.
- Anti-depressants
Anti-depressants improve mood and reduce stress. There are often paired with anti-anxiety medications to make them more effective.
- Beta-blockers
Highly efficient with patients having blood pressure, they eliminate the major features of anxiety: heartbeats, shakes, and trembles.
Apart from medication, psychotherapy has shown outstanding results in patients with anxiety disorders. It aids in properly dealing with the emotional response to anxiety. A person thus copes up with the negative feelings and deals with them in strength. It has the following approaches to any anxious person:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Can’t get a job because of anxiety? Did you have your psychologist suggest cognitive behavioral therapy? If so, then you must know it will help you to recognize thought patterns and exclude exasperating feelings. It also provides modules on how to manage and develop them.
- Exposure therapy
Social anxiety disorders like those appearing at the workplace is related to exposure. People with that have the fear of being judged and hate the extra attention put on them. In exposure therapy, people learn to deal with these. Exercises and relaxation techniques are taught here.
FAQs
- Can anxiety make it hard to get a job?
Yes, anxiety makes it hard to get a job. The concept of being in a new place and new environment with new people can be overwhelming. Anxiety makes it difficult to make the most of it for any person.
- Can anxiety be a disability?
Social anxiety disorders that originate from PTSD, phobias, panic disorders can be termed as disabilities. But these mental disabilities can be treated well and must be given the proper medical attention.
- Can I work with an anxiety disorder?
You can definitely work with anxiety disorder but it can get difficult with time. If you are diagnosed with diseases like clinical depression or anxiety, the best is for you to consult a doctor and undergo the treatment procedure. This way you may heal quickly and perform best.
- Does anxiety damage your brain?
The hippocampus regulates the emotional part of the brain that initiates stress, anxiousness, and tension kind of feelings. Long-term anxiety leads to structural degeneration and impaired functioning of the hippocampus. As a result, it can progress to neuropsychiatric disorders.
The Last Words
Giving up on opportunities for your physical binding is saddening. You want to achieve the next big thing but the inner monster of anxiety, depression, phobias, PTSD strike in and ruin your day. There could be so many reasons why you can’t get a job because of anxiety. What is important is how you must know how to face it, embrace it and deal with it.
You must not let your opportunities go for the sake of such mental problems. Focus on personal wellness, meditate and keep yourself calm and composed. Know that the best way out of this is by your mental strength.
Stay strong and crack that job over! You got this!
