Bestselling author Jenny Lawson has had a storied career.
Her site, The Bloggess, which features her colorful blog of more than a decade, was ranked one of the top 100 sites for women by Forbes and has been up for numerous awards. She’s written four books, including “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened” and her most recent, “Broken (in the Best Possible Way)”, all of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Most recently, in 2019, she opened a bookstore, Nowhere Bookshop, in her native San Antonio, Texas.
Among the topics Lawson covers at length is her own mental health. She’s written openly about her struggles with depression, ADHD and OCD. She’s also frequently touched on how anxiety has played out in various aspects of her life.
Lawson recently spoke to CNBC Make It via email about tackling anxiety at work.
CNBC Make It: How often do you experience anxiety in your work life?
Jenny Lawson: All the time. It never entirely goes away.
How does it manifest for you?
A gnawing feeling of doom. Worry that I’ll never finish what I need to do. If it gets bad my heart hurts and sometimes it can look like a terrible stomach flu.
How do you manage your work anxiety?
I remind myself that I’ve always gotten through it before and so I’ll get through it again. I take walks when I feel overwhelmed. If it gets too bad I allow myself to take a break for awhile or even for the day. I’m lucky that I can reschedule my work for weird hours so I can work around my brain when it gets too weird. Breathing exercises help me as well. And if all else fails there’s always Xanax.
Has anyone given you tips regarding how to manage it?
Once when I was recording my first audiobook I wasn’t doing well because my anxiety was getting on top of me. Neil Gaiman told me to pretend that I was good at it. I did and it totally worked. Even now if I have to speak in front of people I write “pretend you’re good at it” on my arm first. Also, beta-blockers. Talk to your doctor first though.
Anything else you’d like to add on the subject?
Sometimes anxiety from not being able to work because you have anxiety becomes a snake eating its own tail. I wish there was an easy answer but I remind myself that all the things I’ve been anxious about in the past have mainly worked out alright and that I can’t get back all the time I wasted worrying. It can sometimes help me to worry less. But sometimes it makes me worry more because I’m worried about all the time I’ve wasted and will continue to waste. Anxiety sucks.
