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Hi Lisajane,
Sorry for not responding earlier. I can tell you what I did, but I think it really depends on what at work is specifically giving you anxiety. For me, the first and biggest things were my coworkers and boss. My fear level around my boss was higher, so what I did was come in just once a week for 15 minutes during coffee break to visit with coworkers. Then I gradually increased it so I would come in more frequently for coffee breaks. Then, when I felt more comfortable with my coworkers, I telephoned my boss and spoke to him over the phone. Then, I made up an excuse to meet with him and scheduled a meeting in person. Doing these things made me feel comfortable enough with my work environment to consider going back to work. So now I am going to work 3 times/wk for 2 hrs at a time. I have done this successfully for almost 2 weeks now! Hope this helps.
Can you give me some advice on your exposure work for getting back to work? That is what I am desparetly needing to do. How did you do it and how long did it take you to get back to regular hours? I have made myself go into the office 3 times this week. Yesterday I stayed an hour and a half (longest). It was miserable. Can you give me some hope and advise?
Thanks!
Kittcat,
Well I for one commend you for going back to work! This is a huge accomplishment!
Try not to beat yourself up. Everything in baby steps. Instead of meeting him, maybe you could turn this into exposure work as well.
Ex:
* Smile when you see him in the halls.
* Once you're comfortable, smile and say hello
* Smile, say hello and ask how are you doing today
* Smile, say hello, ask how he's doing and introduce yourself by saying... my name is... by the way.
Danielle, Bilingual Support Specialist
I successfully completed my exposure work (starting back at work), but I am still beating myself up because I am still avoiding certain things. For example, I have a new colleague and I avoided running into him because I was scared to meet him. I dislike meeting new people. So, instead of patting myself on the back for going back to work and working my scheduled hours, I am beating myself up over things like this. I know it's silly, but this whole critical dialogue just keeps running through my head!
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