I’d like to tell you that it’s fine to take breaks and stop working for a little while, but that’s not a reality for most people. Bills and other financial obligations don’t stop when we don’t feel well. This list is helpful to me and I hope it helps others to think of things that can help them get through a working day. Consider them suggestions. Some tips just won’t apply to your situation. Take what you want and leave the rest!
Working when you are struggling with mental health issues can be very difficult, but here are some tips to help you.
- Be Aware of Your Situation – Understand and accept where you are right now.
- Don’t compare yourself to others – Comparison makes everyone miserable. You are only you.
- Work at your own pace – Rushing can exacerbate or trigger negative feelings and anxiety! ME ! Slowing down a bit is fine.
- Take breaks and rest when you need it – Pushing yourself when you need to take care of yourself will make you feel worse. Remember that more self-care means more productivity later.
- Practice healthy coping techniques such as deep breathing, physical grounding, and emotional grounding.
- If possible, make your workspace comfortable and useful to get through the day
- I mentioned taking breaks to take care of yourself, but there’s more to taking care of yourself, like taking care of your basic needs: drinking water, eating well, if you work sitting down a lot, be sure to get up frequently, stretch and walk around a bit.
- Get help – There are now tons of groups online for mental health or even by industry. There are forums, reddit, telegram and discord to find other people in the same field or struggling with similar things. Other means of support may include hiring a therapist. Talking to someone else about what you are going through can be very helpful and take some of the weight off your frustrations.
- Prioritize – There is always more to do in life, but listing and prioritizing the main things can help focus. I often get overwhelmed, confused, and sidetracked, so I refer to my list of priorities.
- Forgive yourself – It can hurt us not to do what we should be doing or if we think we should go further. As humans, we tend to be hard on ourselves. Give yourself permission to be done for the day. If you’ve done your best, that’s all you can do and your best is enough.
- Take it one day at a time – You don’t have to do it all in one day. Putting a lot of pressure on yourself can trigger negative feelings, overwhelm you, and increase your anxiety.
- Have a relaxation plan for when work is done for the day – Having routines and things in place to relax and unwind is important and will help in the long run. Letting stress build up won’t help your mental or physical health. Finding out what these things are can be difficult but well worth the effort.
Do you have any helpful tips to share about working when you have mental health issues? Please leave a comment below and maybe we can help each other find better ways to navigate work while battling mental illness.
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