Office Anxiety

Many employers are now recognizing that mental health illnesses are just as devastating to the workplace as those of physical illnesses. Mental health illnesses lead to decreased work productivity, which in turn raises costs for employers. By acknowledging mental health illnesses and offering employees help with mental health illnesses, employers are in turn helping increasing the productivity within their workplaces.

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common types of mental health illnesses. Anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million adults in the United States a year. It is the number one mental health illness in the United States and it affects woman twice as much as men. With numbers like 40 million, it is no wonder that it is becoming important for employer's to recognize this disorder and find ways in which to assist their employee's in the management of anxiety.

Life is sometimes in balance and sometimes not. During those parts in life where there is unbalance, people tend to be more vulnerable to feelings of anxiety. Anxiety, in normal proportions, is a trigger that is helpful to growth. Normal anxiety is short term and of low to moderate intensity. Anxiety disorders are characterized by symptoms of anxiety and by efforts to avoid those symptoms.

Because anxiety symptoms are vague, it is often more difficult to describe accurately. The physical symptoms of anxiety include an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Ones palms become sweaty and pupils dilate. The feelings that are involved during an anxiety attack are guilt, grief, and anger. Intellectual symptoms include an altered perception of events, inability to concentrate, indecisiveness, and inability to learn or reason, and worry. Social symptoms include talkativeness or extreme quietness, apprehension with groups of people, and fear of losing control of social situations. In addition, people with anxiety disorder may describe symptoms of fear of death, failure, feelings of hopelessness and despair, and inability to find meaning in life.

All of these symptoms are devastating and could negatively impact the way an employee functions at work. A negative impact upon ones work place thus leads to a negative effect for the employer. Thus, it would be in the best interest of employers'' to encourage and help cultivate the management of anxiety disorders among their employees'.

Anxiety disorders are amenable to therapy with both prescription medications and supportive psychotherapy. Reassurance or being available to listen, behavioral exercises for relaxation, group therapy and stress management classes are all beneficial in the treatment of anxiety. Prescription medications, like benzodiazepines, are also very beneficial in treating anxiety disorders. Both of these types of treatment modalities cost money. If an employee's health care coverage includes coverage for mental health illnesses then, it would make it easier for an employee to seek out psychotherapy help for the assistance in managing their anxiety disorder. A prescription drug plan would also allow the employee the option to use prescription medications to help control the symptoms of their anxiety disorder.

Employers could also incorporate a health wellness plan that includes mental health illnesses into their employee assistance plans. This would not have to be an elaborate production in order to be beneficial for employees. An informational presentation would allow employees the chance to gain insight and understanding into what exactly an anxiety disorder is and how this disorder can be treated. Also, information for employees on how to access help; like counseling centers, group therapy classes, would give employees the information needed to assist them in finding help for their mental health illness without feeling that something is wrong with them.

By assisting employees with their anxiety disorder, employers could increase the work production of their employees and also increase moral. Both of which are positive outcomes for a company.

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