Anxiety gets better once you have a job?

[froghat]

I've been unemployed for 6 months because I had major panic attacks/anxiety at my last job and I was forced to quit. I've been in therapy and taking meds for about 2 months now and I'm filling out apps for a new job. I think my anxiety is more under control with the meds and using my CBT methods, but I'm anxious about going back to work. I feel like I've been so out of pratice socially and I'm wondering how I will react. My question for those who have gone through this: Once I get back into a normal routine... work and communicating with people everyday, do you think I will recover some of my confidence and feel more relaxed? Right now I just go out shopping or running and then I come back home and worry. Though, last week was my birthday and we went to a baseball game and to a rib place. At the end of the day I felt a confidence that I haven't felt in a while. Just spending hours in public places really helped me. So, I'm thinking I could really take some big steps forward with the new job. What do you guys think?

 

[Sacrament]

It helps, but only if you can actually use that experience to be more of a person, a human being. If you continue to lock yourself up in your bedroom and are still afraid of everything, it'll be the same.

Well, I guess it also depends on what exactly it is that you do for a living. If it's a callcenter or retail or fast-food, the kind of job that you KNOW cannot be a career and is painful everyday you go, it won't help either.

 

[caitlynx]

Because you've already noticed that getting social exposure helps, getting a job with a routine and daily interaction will probably help you a lot. And yeah, eventually, that social rustiness will get better.. it's always worse in the beginning.

 

[freestylemonster]

when I got my first job at dairy-queen, almost instantly I noticed a huge difference in my social skills. All of a sudden I was able to answer questions with longer sentences instead of just single-words plus I actually started to START conversations on ocasion! So getting a job in a fast-paced environment where not asking for help or whatever could mean getting fired is a great thing for someone who is shy or has SA

 

[Lexmark]

It does if you manage to fit in. I only had one job where this happend and I did feel more confident but only a little.
I been unemplyed for about 6 months aswell but start a new job on monday.

 

[Jellybeans]

i'm taking it slow by being a shelfstocker (yeah laugh it up bitches!) but i get thrown into all sorts of shit now that my boss has declared me as 'technology smart' (aka nerd). now i'm meeting/conversing with new people every day, and it's definitely helping. i also tend to fuck important things up, and somehow the more bad experiences i have, the better i feel about life. i quit sweating the small stuff i guess, hence i've been less anxious.

so in short - YES... and step up to it when opportunities come to get more OUT THERE =)

 

[ljwwriter]

Yeah I think having a job will help you. At least then you'll be in the midst of people. But I don't want to mislead you into thinking it will make you this outgoing individual who actually looks forward to going to work everyday, haha. I was misled into thinking this several times and it nearly drove me insane. All you can really do is take it one day at a time, and try your hardest to find some kind of work that doesn't agitate your anxiety to an unmanageable extent every day. A big no-no for me is being a cashier which is like reliving a nightmare over a hundred times a day while trying to count out change and scan coupons and gift cards correctly. I have a friend who doesn't even suffer from social anxiety who refuses to be a cashier. She mixes paint now.

But anyway, yeah, having a job will help you adjust to the outside world and get back into the swing of things socially. But you have to take things slow. I know that can be hard, though, because a lot of jobs out there (especially in retail) will throw you right into the lion's den by your second day.

 

[Moonie]

I think it helps. I work at a retail store and I have become a little more comfortable with talking to people. One of my managers even said, "You are more outgoing than when you first started."