[worrist]

I work as a systems and database administrator and sometimes my anxiety gets in the way of my productivity. When we have deployments of new software I tend to freak out and start to play all of the bad events that can occur in my head. I still go through with the deployment but I keep thinking what will happen if something goes wrong and I can't fix it.

I'd like to believe there are others in the same boat. How do you handle your anxiety when you are in IT?

[qwerty68]

I am more of a programmer/pen tester but I understand that anxiety. I have code that I wrote years ago that is still running without issue and it still makes me nervous.

The best thing to do is to thoroughly test, purposely break things in test, and read whatever docs you have on it. In short, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Bad things happen and there is little that can be done to stop it except to be prepared and know what you are deploying as much as possible. Do you work alone or in a team?

It is the worst feeling in the world to deploy code(especially if I wrote it) and bugs show up in production. It still happens to me, but I have the advantage of knowing the software intimately since I wrote it. Happily, any code breakage these days is meaningless but it still sets me off. Other people's code is torture so I torture that code before using it.

You can try relaxation techniques but if it is becoming overwhelming there are med options that don't typically have heavy side-effects.

I still get surprised when what I wrote runs, so I am not sure how valuable my advice is.

I'm a project manager now but I used to work as a programmer. Deployments STILL make me nervous and I'm the "client" now.

Check, check, take a break, check again. See if you can get someone to look at your stuff before you deploy.

Look into mindfulness meditation. Also I know it's hard to relax when this kind of work needs you to be perfectionistic, yet it's not always possible to find and fix all bugs and errors.

Many a time, something we've tested perfectly fine on pilot users (workstation software patches) breaks when we roll it out. People will complain, it's part of the job. Remind yourself you did your best.

Have you heard of "the worry tree" for Generalised Anxiety Disorder? Focus on what you can control. And what you can do to fix stuff if it blows up.

Medications help me, to be honest.

I hear you.

[worrist]

When I look back at events I see that it's the testing and retesting that stresses me out. I begin to question if I caught everything.

99% of the time things go very smoothly. But I tend the focus on the 1% of the time.

[hvert]

I struggle with this also. I think it is a big part of why I don't want to stay at any company for more than a few years and why I am so burnt out on IT. I try to look at how anxious other people in the organization are. Usually, I'm more worried than anyone else. If management doesn't lose sleep over it, why should I? Telling myself stuff like this is easier than actually believing it, though.

I once had a job testing that really didn't work for me. I was not given enough time to test but I was also blamed when bugs were found in production. Is that the kind of environment you are working in or are people generally eager to help solve problems when they pop up?

How do you handle things when it doesn't go well, that 1% of the time? I have had people comment on how cool and calm I seem, which totally confuses me because I feel very anxious (but focused) inside. Remembering that I have handled challenging, time-sensitive situations in the past reminds me that I can cope with them in the future also...

[worrist]

I'm pretty lucky. My coworkers are always there to assist if there is a problem. No blame game here.

I've also had people tell me that I'm cool and calm when under stress. From my point of view it looks like freaking out! I don't get it either. Sometimes I have to remind myself that people can't see what I'm experiencing.

[hvert]

Originally Posted by worrist

I've also had people tell me that I'm cool and calm when under stress. From my point of view it looks like freaking out! I don't get it either. Sometimes I have to remind myself that people can't see what I'm experiencing.

I am glad I am not the only one!! Isn't that weird???

Found this and was like... yep true!

"IT work has long been associated with stress, the result of calls in the middle of the night, aggressive deadlines, angry users, mundane tasks and unexpected problems. "

http://www.computerworld.com/article...llennials.html

I've social anxiety disorder and generalised anxiety disorder.

I used to experience people actually noticing my anxiety but I've learned to mask it better.

I fake good body posture and fake confidence in meetings (helps that meetings are usually task oriented).

I'm usually horribly nervous before deployments, before meetings, when there's bugs to fix, angry users to pacify so my psychologist is big on mindfulness and ACT.

Accepting that I'm bloody anxious seems to help me rather than fighting it.

I just want to say I feel less alone knowing you all have anxiety too, because my colleagues all seem super composed as well.

[Yzen]

I get the same feedback about being calm under stress.

When I have to implement something or give a presentation, I "over plan" it. I will write out a sequence list followed by possible scenarios of what could go wrong and how I will address them if they happen. I am not sure if it is a waste of time since most things don't happen, but it makes me feel less stressed.

[sito]

I have anxiety too. I also work in IT support. I worry about making mistakes