Anxiety at work + how to bring it up professionally

Anxiety at work + how to bring it up professionally

From Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast by Caroline Foran

March 16, 2026 · 48 min · Season 15 · Episode 3

About this episode

Caroline Foran discusses workplace anxiety with career coach Louise Thompson, offering practical advice on navigating mental health in a professional setting.

In this particularly helpful episode, I’m joined by Louise Thompson , a career coach who specialises in helping people navigate confidence, leadership and anxiety in the workplace. It's one of the most practical episodes I've done. It's not about when work is causing anxiety, but what to do when you still have to go to work but your anxiety or mental health is getting in the way. Together, we talk about why work is such a pressure point for anxiety, and how to bring more of your human self to work without feeling like you’re compromising your professionalism. We get into the very real fear of being vulnerable at work, how to judge who feels safe to talk to, and how to frame conversations around anxiety, capacity and flexibility in a way that actually supports you. Louise shares practical scripts, questions to ask yourself, and guidance on managing up, down and across — making this a genuinely useful episode for anyone struggling to navigate anxiety at work. Order yourself (or for a friend) a copy of my new book, Everything I Wish I'd Known About Anxiety: A Roadmap out of the Overwhelm and Back to Yourself here Follow me on Instagram @CarolineForan and @OwningItPodcas t, on Tik…

People in this episode

Guest: Louise Thompson

Topics covered

  • anxiety
  • workplace
  • mental health
  • professionalism
  • vulnerability

Keywords

  • confidence
  • leadership
  • mental health support
  • communication

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Tik Tok, Everything I Wish I'd Known About Anxiety: A Roadmap out of the Overwhelm and Back to Yourself

Books & works: Everything I Wish I'd Known, Substack

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