Anxiety at work impacts more than 40 million people in the US alone.

Anxiety isn’t just a momentary freakout but something that can (and does) influence every thought, eventually leading to self defeating actions.

Here are four of the most common work related anxiety problems and how to resolve them;

1.Fear of public speaking

This is a big one, impacting the majority of workers out there. It can lead to people turning down jobs with elements of public speaking – ruining their own advancement – instead of dealing with their fear. Fear of public speaking typically involves excessive sweating, increased heart rate and muscle tension just before a public speaking slot. The best way to overcome this is through increasing your knowledge on public speaking – read books, watch videos and familiarise yourself with the topic. If your fear of public speaking is severe, seeking medical treatment may be your best bet. Therapy and/or medication can help you overcome your fear.

2.Feeling like a fraud

We’ve all had those days. You make a mistake at work, you get negative feedback from your boss and you think the world is over.

You feel like a failure. You feel like you’ll never be good enough.

Snap out of it! Resilience is everything are you really going to allow a minor set back ruin your own self worth? Low self-worth can kill your career, not to mention your salary. Be conscious of your self-talk. If you’re constantly telling yourself that you’re a failure, you’re bound to fail. Typically our fear of not being good enough is totally unfounded.

The first step to overcoming this type of anxiety is acknowledging it. Take a moment to self-reflect. Are you letting your inner talk grind you down?

3.Receiving criticism

Don’t get defensive around criticism instead be objective and gracious. You can’t expect to be perfect and criticism is entirely constructive to your development. Take time to process everything before addressing it – ensure above all you have a logical instead of emotional reaction.

4. Fear of asking questions

Instead of helping your learning, you actively hinder yourself, when you are too afraid of looking stupid by asking questions.

If you are so worried about asking a stupid question, write it down first and see if you can figure out the answer on your own – if not – then speak up and don’t be afraid to help yourself. If you are asking a superior it can be a great networking leverage and point of discussion that you can build a rapport from.