The Importance of Developing Anxiety Coping Strategies Now

While working as an IT professional is without a doubt a lucrative profession, it's also a great example of how money doesn't always buy happiness. IT can be a high stress job that causes several mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression. That's why it is incredibly important for you to try to develop stress coping strategies now, before the demands of the job make it difficult to maintain your mental health.

What Causes Anxiety and Depression?

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact reason that anxiety and depression are so common in IT workers, but many attribute it to any or all of the following factors:

• Demanding Hours – Work/life balance is one of the keys to living a happy life. Yet IT professionals are in one of the most demanding professions available, with few hours available to spend with friends and family.
• Loneliness – Perhaps loneliness is overstating it, but most IT jobs take place away from the rest of the office, working on your own to find problems – problems that you may not always be able to find. That type of stress without much additional support can create greater stress and anxiety.
• College Stress – An IT education can be immensely demanding. While other students are developing healthy social lives and learning more about themselves, IT students are often profoundly busy, rarely taking the time to address their own anxiety or develop their own coping strategies.

There is also the high likelihood that those that choose to go into IT have personality characteristics that lend themselves more to anxiety than, say, doctors or engineers.

What This Means For You, Your Job Search, and Your Mental Health

There are some great careers in the IT field, whether you work in programming, networking, etc. However, the career can be demanding, and it forces many people out of the field or causes them to find little satisfaction or happiness with their choices in life.

That is why it is so important that right now, whether you're already employed or in the midst of your job search, that you start putting into practice strategies that will help you prepare for the stress and anxiety ahead. The earlier you start, the less it will affect you, and the longer you will have a long and lucrative career. Pay especially close attention to the following:

• Sleep – Get sleep. Anxiety and depression are exacerbated by a lack of sleep, and many of those working in the IT field allow themselves to fall into the trap of believing they can handle sleep deprivation. It's very unlikely you can do a good job in the IT field while sleep deprived. It's also very likely your mental health will suffer, as will your ability to cope with stress. Get as much sleep as you can, and focus on developing patterns that help you sleep every night.
• Develop Relaxation Strategies – Find out what relaxes you, and figure out how to integrate it into a plan. You may find watching comedies on TV to be relaxing, as well as spending time with friends. Plan to integrate these strategies into your life, and don't let the day's stress prevent you from implementing them.
• Exercise – As demanding as the IT field may be, it's also physically inactive. That's problematic, because a lack of physical fitness leads to anxiety and depression. Exercise regularly to reduce pent up energy and burn away the stress hormones that lead to anxiety symptoms.

These tips are only the beginning. From there, you should continue to develop ways to manage your stress, and never be shy about seeking out mental health treatment if necessary. Finding a great IT career is important, but making sure that you are ready to maintain your mental health in that career is arguably more so.

About the Author: Ryan Rivera struggled to cope with the pressure of his high stress career, but once he developed effective coping mechanisms, his overall satisfaction increased dramatically – as did his productivity. He writes about anxiety at www.calmclinic.com.