Journaling Prompts for Social Anxiety at Work
Navigating office dynamics when you have social anxiety feels like walking through a minefield blindfolded. Every email format, Slack message, and meeting interaction becomes a source of intense scrutiny, leaving you exhausted by the mental gymnastics of trying to appear normal. This hyper-vigilance convinces you that everyone is judging your every move. Getting these fears onto paper acts as a release valve. It allows you to examine the catastrophic predictions your anxiety generates and measure them against the mundane reality of the workplace, reducing the power of imagined judgments.
Journaling Prompts
Write down the social interaction from today that is keeping you awake. What concrete evidence do you have that the other person is actually judging you, rather than just being busy or distracted?
What is the absolute worst thing that could happen if you stumble over your words in tomorrow's meeting? How would you recover from it in the actual moment?
List three times you thought an interaction went terribly, but it turned out completely fine. How does this pattern apply to your current worry?
Identify the physical sensations of your anxiety at work (e.g., tight chest, racing heart). What is one grounding technique you can use at your desk the moment these start?
If you stopped trying to aggressively manage everyone's perception of you, what is one small, authentic action you would take tomorrow?