Of all the professions I work with at the clinic, by far the greatest number are teachers, with police officers a close second.
You could argue that these professions are high stress environments and might cause anxiety as a result, but I have an alternative theory.
People with high anxiety are almost always over-thinkers…they brood over everything in their lives. This makes them very good at these jobs in particular. They usually have strong beliefs and ethics and are willing to go the extra mile to help those who rely on them. However, when the brooding turns in and against themselves their self esteem plummets and their social anxiety (a fear of being judged) sky rockets.
They face the added burden of limited resources in their job. Plus pressure from their superiors to perform and account for their performance through increasing paperwork and ongoing assessments. This means that they feel under constant scrutiny… a pressure cooker working environment.
For people who are already tough on themselves and who don’t handle harsh criticism well, this is a recipe for long term emotional issues.
I find that police officers are most often young recruits, of both sexes, struggling through their training. Whilst teachers are predominantly female and range in age widely. From trainees to those who are highly experienced.
Their symptoms will vary from anxiety, panic attacks and depression to insomnia, memory issues, and phobias but they will almost always be aware of their lack of confidence. Often comparing themselves unfavourably with their colleagues.
Belief that they are being bullied or singled out by superiors is also common. Sometimes that appears to be justified, sometimes they have become hypersensitive and their performance will decrease under pressure. This may lead to even more intervention and scrutiny.
So what can I do to help?
Actually, these people are some of the easiest people to help at the clinic; they tend to be highly motivated and will take new thinking techniques onboard rapidly and see some of the furthest reaching and fastest improvements of all my clients. They learn to trust and like themselves, to deal with assessment and criticism and to feel (and come across as) more confident at work.
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Sue