# Healing and Wellbeing > Study, Work and Welfare >  >  How does anxiety effect your work/success?

## BrookeAshley

I know its bad to compare myself to others, but sometimes I simply can't help it. I look at other women I went to school with and how they graduated and one went on to be a doctor. I feel bad about myself. I dropped out of college when I was younger, cause I had a good job then that paid well. But life happened, I got married, had a baby, left that job, got divorced... and now I'm at a low paying job and can't make it by. I feel like I have no motivation. I'm lucky if I make it to work and don't quit over anxiety/depression. I wish I did better. I wish I could do better. Its not about believing in myself, its about being real. I know that once the anxiety/depression hits, I'm not going to continue school... I'll end up dropping out and quitting because I will feel I can't handle it.

I see people at work and how they work so hard, and feel ambitious. I have none of that. I'm basically here, watching the time, waiting to go home. Why am I like this? I don't want to be this way. I want to be driven and successful. I want to have a good job and feel good about what I do. I sit here each day, wishing the day away, waiting to go home and get in bed and hide there. I love sleeping cause I feel its my time where I can not think and just feel at ease. Sleeping shouldn't be my favorite part of life. I should be able to wake up and not be late because I don't want to face the day. I'm so over myself and my mind.

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## Marleywhite

I work in an office and I get anxiety when I have to ask my coworker or manager for something. 
When I talk to them I am always scare I might say the wrong thing or I will offend someone.
I also question if people like me or if they are just being nice because it's work.

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## Matt36Tx

I use work as my distraction from my anxiety - I've actually been known to go in to work on my days off (I'm salaried anyway) just to escape the anxiety that creeps up on me from being at home alone while my s/o works. When I first began having problems with anxiety several years ago, it did affect me at work simply because I wasn't used to the effects it had on me and couldn't manage it very well. I've since learned to manage it about 95% of the time, but in times of acute stress at work, it does creep up on me there too. 

I find myself comparing my 'life status' to my friends at times, but really, that is a toxic behavior we should all avoid. There's so many metrics that could be used to determine success that it's honestly impossible to really peg where you'd stand anyway, I'll use myself as an example... I never fathered a child and probably never well, yet most of my friends have. Income - some of my friends make more, some make less, even though it's what most people look at, income is a really terrible metric to measure success. Most of my friends work a 40 hour work week. I'd kill to work just 40 hours, very rarely do I come in under 60 hrs/week. When I was younger and my career was just beginning, I did work 35-40 hours/week and was able to go out more, have hobbies, spend times with friends - can't do all that now. 

So, I'm basically your typical workaholic that stresses too much and doesn't really get the full enjoyment out of life. I look at my friends' posts on Facebook and would love to be with them bbq'ing, at the beach, or watching their kids grow up.

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