Anxiety Before Work
When Just Thinking About Work Triggers Panic
It starts the moment you wake up - or stops you from sleeping
The alarm goes off and your first thought is "I can't do this." Your stomach drops. Your heart races. You mentally scroll through excuses to call in sick. The shower feels impossible. Getting dressed takes forever because you're paralyzed by dread. By the time you leave, you're already exhausted from fighting yourself.
Or maybe you never even made it to bed - you spent all night anxious about the next day. Sunday is ruined by Monday. Every evening is tainted by tomorrow morning. You're living in constant anticipation of work horror that may or may not happen.
Pre-work anxiety is about control, not the work itself
Anxiety before work often isn't about actual work tasks - it's about feeling trapped, exposed, or out of control. Your nervous system is trying to protect you from perceived threats:
Performance threats (being judged, making mistakes)
Social threats (colleagues, confrontation)
Control threats (unpredictability, demands)
Identity threats (imposter syndrome, not good enough)
Understanding which threat your brain is responding to helps us target the solution.
THE MORNING WORK ANXIETY CYCLE
How it builds:
Night before: Anticipatory anxiety begins
Sleep: Disrupted by work thoughts
Wake up: Immediate dread
Getting ready: Procrastination and paralysis
Commute: Building panic
Arrival: Peak anxiety
First hour: Gradually calms
End of day: Brief relief
Evening: Cycle restarts
BREAKING THE BEFORE-WORK ANXIETY
Evening Protocol:
Work shutdown ritual
Tomorrow's plan (reduce uncertainty)
Anxiety dump journal
Physical boundary (change clothes)
Mental boundary (no work thoughts after X time)
Morning Protocol:
Wake-up anxiety circuit breaker
Realistic morning timeline
Anxiety acknowledgment (not fighting)
Power pose/movement
Commute coping strategies
Workday Entry:
Arrival routine
First task predetermined
Safety behaviors that actually help
Check-in with yourself
Permission to ease in
Before-Work Anxiety Solutions:
• Evening wind-down that works
• Morning routine that prevents panic
• Commute anxiety management
• Sunday night specific strategies
• Return after sick day protocol
• Monday morning special support
• Building work confidence
• Making mornings manageable
WHEN IT'S MORE THAN NERVES
Normal pre-work nerves:
Mild butterflies
Preference for weekend
Monday blues
Manageable discomfort
Anxiety that needs help:
Physical symptoms (nausea, shaking)
Calling in sick regularly
Sunday ruined by Monday
Sleep severely affected
Life limited by work fear
You don't have to dread every workday for the rest of your career. Pre-work anxiety is highly treatable. Most clients see improvement within 2-3 weeks, reporting: "I still don't love Mondays, but I don't fear them anymore."