In today’s fast-paced professional landscape, anxiety, especially workplace anxiety, is increasingly common. However, individuals can use distancing techniques to gain a fresh perspective on their challenges, such as a layoff or an increased workload, and develop a composed approach to managing their anxiety at work.
The Impact of Distancing to Manage Anxiety
Distancing involves creating a mental space between yourself and your thoughts, allowing you to observe them from a neutral perspective. This technique lets you break the automatic connection between your mind and the negative thoughts, allowing you to analyze them objectively. Ethan Kross, Psychologist and author of the Bestseller Chatter, says that a “narrow view of our situation magnifies adversity and allows the negative side of the inner voice to play, enabling rumination, stress, anxiety and depression”. The following are four ways to distance yourself and see problems from a broader perspective:
1) Zooming Out Like a Bee
One of the key elements in managing workplace anxiety is to practice cognitive distancing. This involves mentally stepping back from the situation and examining it objectively, as if you were a bee. Can you see yourself from above? What do you see? What is your current behavior? What else could you do?
2) Time Distancing
Another effective technique is time distancing. When faced with a stressful situation, remind yourself that time can change things significantly. Consider past challenges that eventually resolve themselves, and consider how this situation might follow a similar path. Ethan Kross also invites you to time travel into the future. Thinking about how you will feel about the problem ten years from now helps you put it in perspective and understand your experience as temporary.
3) Becoming Your Best Friend
Take a step back from your negative thoughts and view them objectively, as if you were talking to your best friend. Your best friend would never be too harsh or negative about your behavior, or it probably would not be worse than you. Imagine that you are listening to a friend express their self-doubts. This mental separation allows you to detach emotionally and assess the situation more rationally. As you distance yourself, you can challenge the accuracy of your negative self-talk and replace it with more balanced and realistic perspectives. Your friend can be more compassionate than yourself.
4) Distancing Your Self-Talk
When talking to yourself, instead of using “I” or “me”, refer to the situation as if you were talking about someone else. You can use your own name, third person: Why did Lucy do this? How could she do that? You can also use the second person: How could you do that? It promotes rational thinking; instead of being more emotional about what happened or will happen and getting immersed in your emotions, you avoid getting embarrassed and ashamed.
In the ever-evolving career demands, anxiety is a challenge that can be overcome. By incorporating distancing techniques into your routine, you can gain a clearer perspective on your circumstances, reduce stress, and approach challenges with a more composed mindset. Remember, managing anxiety at work is not about eliminating stress altogether but about developing strategies to navigate it effectively and maintain your well-being.
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