Placement Anxiety

I have had a week at my sandwich placement and it’s already too much.

I am having severe anxiety before, during and after work. It’s ruining my evenings to the point I can’t stop thinking about the next day and I feel like I have absolutely no time to relax. I’ve had two anxiety attacks this week before work and it’s completely ruining my appetite to the point I barely eat a full meal a day.

How long shall I keep at it until I decide it really isn’t for me and leave?

Reply 1

PileaP

TSR Community Staff

Hello, I can see from your post your anxiety is becoming a bit overwhelming for you at the moment, you may find this service useful from Student Minds: Student Space
If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you'll see they have a text, email or webchat support service, where you can talk through situations like you have described with a trained volunteer. I do hope that it is useful :smile:

Reply 2

Grim_Squeaker

PileaP makes a good point. Having been on the receiving end of placement anxiety during my apprenticeship way back I can sympathise. In my case it was a hefty dose of imposter syndrome combined with self-doubt about whether I could do the work.

Talking helps, to friends, family or professionals who understand mental health. I spoke to one of our mental health first aiders as well as my supervisor and it helped me understand what was going on and that I was actually holding my own work performance wise.

What is the sandwich placement in?

From the perspective of someone who now supports apprentices/grads/junior engineers in their development, I do encounter this a lot. Breaking down the anxiety to identify the causes can also help.

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The work you are required to perform

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The interaction with colleagues/public

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The workplace environment

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Non-work issues in your personal space that are somehow being overlaid into your work space etc

The above are just quick examples and identifying some of the causes can then help you think about how they are actually impacting you and maybe come up with ways to mitigate or eliminate the issues.