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Research has indicated that the percentage of Americans who are stressed at work is high—and it’s only getting higher. According to Pew Research Center, a little more than half of adults find that their job is stressful some of the time. However, 29% say that their job is stressful most of the time, with 19% suggest that this stress is overwhelming.

Work stress has significant health consequences that range from relatively benign (like getting more colds and flus) to potentially serious (such as heart disease and metabolic syndrome).

While stress at work is common, finding a low-stress job is hard (if not impossible). A more realistic approach is to adopt effective coping strategies to reduce stress at your current job.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the steps to manage work stress, like sticking to a positive morning routine, getting clear on requirements at work, and adopting smarter time management techniques.

Create a Pre-Work Ritual

After scrambling to get the kids fed and off to school, dodging traffic and combating road rage, and gulping down coffee in lieu of a healthy breakfast, many people arrive to work already stressed. This makes them more reactive to stress in the workplace.

Evidence suggests that having some type of routine can be a great way combat the negative effects of stress. Plus, consistency helps you feel more in control and able to know what to expect.

You might be surprised by how affected by workplace stress you are when you have a stressful morning. When you start off the day with planning, good nutrition, and a positive attitude, you might find that the stress of your job rolls off your back more easily.

Get Clear on Your Expectations for the Day

A factor known to contribute to job burnout is unclear requirements for employees. If you don’t know exactly what is expected of you, or if the requirements for your role keep changing with little notice, you might become extremely stressed.

Not understanding your role in the workplace can be a source of stress. Trying to figure out and meet expectations can be exhausting. Plus, it’s tough to feel good about your work when you’re not sure whether you are meeting or exceeding expectations.

If you find yourself never knowing if what you are doing is enough, it may help to have a talk with your supervisor. You can take the time to go over expectations and discuss strategies for meeting them. This can relieve stress for both of you!

Avoid or Reduce Conflict With Colleagues

Interpersonal conflict takes a toll on your physical and emotional health. Conflict among co-workers can be difficult to escape, so it’s a good idea to avoid conflict at work as much as you can.

When possible, try to avoid people who don’t work well with others. If conflict finds you anyway, make sure you know how to handle it appropriately. Developing some effective conflict resolution skills can help you prevent minor disputes from becoming major headaches.

Plan Ahead to Stay Organized

Even if you’re naturally disorganized, planning ahead to stay organized can greatly decrease your stress at work. Being organized with your time means less rushing in the morning to avoid being late and less hustling to get out at the end of the day.

Keeping yourself organized can also mean avoiding the negative effects of clutter, and being more efficient with your work.

Create a Comfortable Work Environment

Another surprising stressor at work is physical discomfort, often related to where you perform most of your daily tasks (such as your desk).

Even small things like office noise can be distracting and cause feelings of low-grade frustration. Do what you can to create a quiet, comfortable, and soothing workspace.

Choose Chunking Over Multitasking

Multitasking was once heralded as a fantastic way to maximize one’s time and get more done in a day. However, people eventually began to realize that if they had a phone to their ear and were making calculations at the same time, their speed and accuracy (not to mention sanity) often suffered.

There is a certain “frazzled” feeling that comes from splitting your focus and it doesn’t work well for most people. Instead of multitasking to stay on top of your tasks, try another cognitive strategy like chunking.

Walk at Lunch

Many people feel the ill effects of leading a sedentary lifestyle. You can combat the physical and mental effects of work stress by getting some exercise on your lunch break.

If your schedule allows for it, you might try taking short exercise breaks throughout the day. This can help you blow off steam, lift your mood, and get into better shape.

Do Your Best and Reward Yourself

Being a high achiever might make you feel good about yourself and help you excel at work, but being a perfectionist can create problems for you (and those around you).

You might not be able to do everything perfectly every time, especially in a busy, fast-paced job. A good strategy to avoid the perfectionism trap is always striving to do your best and making time to congratulate yourself on your efforts. You may find that your results are better, and you’ll be much less stressed at work.

Listen to Music on the Drive Home

Music has many psychological benefits, including helping to relieve feelings of stress. Research has found that listening to music can help lessen the stress response. High-frequency music, in particular, has been shown to increase oxytocin and lower cortisol.

Listening to music offers many benefits and can effectively relieve stress before, during, and after work. Playing an uplifting song while you make breakfast can help you start the day off feeling better prepared to interact with the people in your life. Likewise, combating the stress of a long day with your favorite music on the drive home can help you wind down and feel less stressed when you get there.

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One symptom of an anxiety disorder is feeling as if you are paralyzed with anxiety. This paralyzing anxiety may leave you feeling unable to move, speak, and think. Your arms and legs may feel heavy and immobile, you may be unable to form words, and you may struggle to process what is happening around you.

Zimbrean describes what emotional and physical paralysis can feel like and how they can impact your life.

Physically Paralyzed With Anxiety

While the experience can differ somewhat from one person to the next, the physical symptoms you experience when you feel paralyzed with anxiety can be particularly disconcerting.

You may experience physically paralyzing anxiety in the wake of a clear stressor, a major life change, a disaster, or a traumatic event. However, it can sometimes occur without you being aware of the cause. 

Impact of Being Physically Paralyzed by Anxiety

Being paralyzed with anxiety can have significant effects on your ability to function normally in different areas of your everyday life.

It can also cause you to believe that something is physically wrong with you. People sometimes seek medical attention in this case, undergoing several healthcare visits and medical investigations, which may not lead to any significant findings and may even put them at risk for adverse reactions. 

For instance, someone who suddenly cannot move and goes to the emergency room may be recommended to undergo a lumbar puncture procedure, which is invasive, painful, and unnecessary.  

Emotionally Paralyzed With Anxiety

In addition to the physical feelings of anxiety, you may also feel emotionally paralyzed by anxiety. This can make it difficult to cope with what you are feeling and can interfere with relationships and other areas of life.

An example is a person with agoraphobia, who due to anxiety becomes homebound and never leaves the house or needs a companion to do so. 

A more literal version of emotionally paralyzing anxiety is severe anxiety that takes over all your other emotions, making you unable to react to either good or bad events that may happen. 

Impact of Being Emotionally Paralyzed by Anxiety

Emotionally paralyzing anxiety can be more subtle, causing people around you to perceive you as aloof, inappropriately afraid, or preoccupied.

It can affect other areas of your life such as social interactions, intimate relationships, or work performance, causing them to suffer. In some cases, people are so anxious that they avoid going for their healthcare appointments, and their health can suffer as well.

Other Characteristics of Paralyzing Anxiety

When you are paralyzed with anxiety, you may also exhibit several other physical, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms. Some of these include:

• Avoiding any situation that may trigger feelings of anxiety
• Feeling unable to make decisions, a phenomenon sometimes known as decision paralysis
• Social withdrawal and isolation
• Problems concentrating and thinking clearly
• Muscle tension that makes moving difficult
• Negative thoughts
• Shaking, trembling, and numbness
• Rapid, shallow breathing, 
• Nausea and stomach upset
• Rapid heart rate

Treatment for Paralyzing Anxiety

Zimbrean shares some treatment options and coping strategies that can help you deal feeling paralyzed by anxiety.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT can teach you to break the relationship between the emotion of the anxiety and the particular behavior that is getting in your way, such as the inability to move or do things that cause anxiety. 

Medication

Medications may sometimes be necessary to reduce the severity of your anxiety and prevent the recurrence of anxiety attacks. Benzodiazepines work quickly, which is why they are typically used to relieve anxiety symptoms in the short term. Antidepressants can help people who require long-term treatment but usually take a few weeks to begin working.

Coping When You Feel Paralyzed With Anxiety

In addition to seeking professional treatment, Zimbrean also explains that there are a number of self-help techniques that can help ease feelings of paralyzing anxiety. Some of these tactics include the following:

Identify Your Triggers

Identifying the factors that trigger your anxiety can be helpful. However, this is not always possible; sometimes, it is not always easily removed even if the element is identified. 

Utilize Mindfulness Practices

Meditation and mindfulness techniques can help you focus on the present and keep the anxiety at bay. Mindfulness is a practice that involves nonjudgmental awareness of a person’s sensations, thoughts, and consciousness in the present moment.

A 2018 study found that mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety were comparable to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in terms of efficacy.

Care for Your Health

Maintaining your health and undergoing regular health check-ups can help rule out physical health conditions. This makes it easier for healthcare providers to determine that the symptoms you are experiencing are due to anxiety. This is not always easy, as it is often counterintuitive that an emotional condition may cause a physical reaction.