[starryprince]

Hey all. I have no idea if I'm in the right forum but I figured I'd post it here.

My job is making me incredibly anxious. I'm now beginning to notice how bad my anxiety is. I had to go part-time because I needed to recharge. I'm a peer support specialist and I basically listen to trauma and people's hardships all the time. It can be very hard. We don't have our own cubicle so the bosses tell us where to sit. We have a row of seats in the middle of the office and a row of seats in the corner by the window. I sit in the corner because my coworkers who sit in the middle of the office are too loud. The supervisors constantly have to tell them to be quiet. Today I was told to move to the middle and, as stupid as it sounds, my anxiety has shot up. It's too loud here, there's too many voices talking at once. It never used to bother me before but now it does. I get overstimulated quickly. I've been looking for jobs because the supervisors don't protect us from the abusive callers but my job search has not been yielding any results.

My friend sent me info about a job fair but I'm so anxious that I'm debating whether I should go or not. I never know what to say, my heart beats really fast, I stutter, and I never know what questions to ask. I feel like everyone is judging me.

The problem is that I feel this way in many social situations. It's hard for me to get out there, I've never dated and I'm in my late 20s (not that I'm ashamed of it but I do want to get out there), and I dissociate in social situations when I'm by myself. There are some things I want to go to and I have to go by myself but it's terrifying and I usually end up not going. It even took me a while to do my taxes because I was so anxious, but I did it anyway. I was getting out there and doing things by myself but since this job I just retreated into myself.

I just wish I wasn't so anxious. People think anxiety is nothing but it's hard to deal with, especially when it's moderate to severe. I see a therapist but I never spoke about my anxiety in detail before.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can deal with my job, going to job fairs and just doing things in particular? Thank you for reading this.

[cureforcancer]

the best option is call to doctor

[Skeezyks]

I'm sorry I don't think I have any tips I can offer you. The only thing that occurs to me, with regard to the job fairs, is to take someone with you so you're not there all alone. Perhaps it might help to talk this through with your therapist? Here's a link to an article, from PC's archives, that offers socialization tips for people with social anxiety:

9 Socialization Tips for People with Social Anxiety

[starryprince]

Originally Posted by cureforcancer

the best option is call to doctor

If you mean that I should talk to my nurse practitioner then you're right. I mentioned it but I think I really need to talk about it in therapy.

Originally Posted by Skeezyks

I'm sorry I don't think I have any tips I can offer you. The only thing that occurs to me, with regard to the job fairs, is to take someone with you so you're not there all alone. Perhaps it might help to talk this through with your therapist? Here's a link to an article, from PC's archives, that offers socialization tips for people with social anxiety:

9 Socialization Tips for People with Social Anxiety

I actually went to a job fair before with a friend but I felt so embarrassed because she was really good at it and had way more experience than I did. My friend works so I wouldn't have anyone to go with me. The thing is that I also work on the day of the job fair and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the day off, but there is a chance I can. Thank you very much for the article, by the way. It was very helpful!!