I have just started a new job working for a Financial planning company supporting Financial Advisers. My first day I was nervous but left feeling relieved it’s over and excited for the next day.
I have just came home after my second day. My second day coincided with the annual company conference which I thought was a great way to meet everyone in the company. The problem is when I’m nervous I sweat. I was being introduced to everyone and one the the Advisers said loudly “wow you have sweaty hands” I was horrified because she said this in front of people. I cant control my sweats and it makes me feel so uncomfortable. I spent the rest of the day itching to leave and wanted to avoid people rather than introduce myself and get to know people. I know starting a new job is hard to first few months as there’s so much to learn and people to meet, but my sweating makes it unbearable and due to the new job anxiety I can’t control it. I guess I have to just stick with it, but any suggestions would be welcome.
Hi I think there are treatments available for this condition so please try not to worry about it. I would suggest discussing this with your dr and ask for a referral to a specialist in ?Immunology . I am unsure of the name of the speciality this condition would come under but a search on google may provide some ideas. Take care.
Have you approached your GP, regards your Sweats,He may have some suggestions to help.
My problem is when I meet someone I reach out to shake their hand, my rhs Wrist and fingers suffer from Arthritis and they squeeze my hand, It really hurts. I have tried to extend my left hand and people sometimes comment, then go to my right hand. Sometimes a hand shake comes on so fast I forget about it, then I pay for being so slow. I extended my hand to the Doctor the other day and let out an alarmed ouch, He Laughed He knew what I had done
Yeah I think there may be antiperspirants you can get for you hands or if not there are procedures to deal with what they call hyperhidrosis which is excessive sweating. You're lucky it's just your hands to be honest, I get it on my face and unlike with your hands I can't hide that!
I've been experiencing sweaty palms , feet and underarms is the last month or so all due to my anxiety. I'm fine when first waking up in the morning but things get worse as the day wears on. So yea it's your anxiety.
We've moved 5 times due to job changes over the years. New job, new town, new co workers and friends and it gets easier. You think you are stable and comfortable, then a new opportunity comes up, better pay and have to move again. "Sweaty palms" you are not alone. Millions of people go through this all the time. I was surprised to find out many actors and people who speak in public or perform have anxiety attacks. It's almost normal. Fear, insecurity and lack of confidence are all human conditions. You just have to go with it. Even joke about it! Use a song or some phrase of wisdom and repeat it to yourself. I used this phrase from the Bible (I'm not religious either). "Fear not for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will protect you, I will comfort you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" Remember, I'm not religious, but for some reason this passage helped me so much. Use a phrase from a song and repeat it in your head. We're all in this together. This is a challenge of being human. Now get out there and never look back!
Thanks to everyone who has posted. Day 3 was much better. Having anxiety is a constant battle. I was awake by 4.45am and got out of bed early to do Yoga. I found this helped relax me. I also wrote down my fears and said to myself I’m going to smash through them and just smile. Seemed to work. I know it will come back, but it helps to have the tools and knowledge to deal with it when it does.
Does anyone use medication? Does this help? I’ve always been sceptical and tried to resist taking pills, though the thought of having them when the fight flight mode kicks in is somewhat comfortable.
Yes, I just gave you the above pep talk. I use lorazepam, very small dose and have used it for a long time. Airplane travel and all the upheaval of moving, I did have a cancer diagnosis in all that too. The symptoms you express will come back but they'll be less and less traumatizing. One other suggestion, during some of my work days I had to speak in front of about 30 people for orientation. My heart rate would always go up, sweaty palms, fear of forgetting what I'm saying, feeling like I want to run out of the room.
It helped me to take a walk by myself and think of all the "wins" I've had. Interviewing for a new job and getting hired is a win. Love yourself, embrace your weaknesses and think of people who have overcome drastic hurdles to become successful, does not mean monetarily either. I mean successful within themselves.
Your goal is to feel comfortable with who you are. Say what you mean. I used to be afraid I'd make a fool of myself or offend someone. As you get older, you'll see. Trust me, I remember everything you talk about. You're growing up. And always remember you're not alone.
I had to register after I came across this topic. I've struggled with anxiety that seems to get worse with each new major challenge or shift in my life as it naturally progresses. My anxiety started out as just that, sweating when under stress. Innocent enough and completely natural. I cannot stress that enough (see what I did there .
All in all I'd say my anxiety has been around for about 11 years now. Early on I would sweat in social situations or any situation that simply was work to be in, you know, anything uncomfortable. However, that never stopped me from enjoying myself. I would be apprehensive at first, then eventually cope and get through anything- sweaty armpits, hands or otherwise. You know what is amazing, I wasn't even aware of it...and no one else cared. In fact, looking at photos of myself from back then, I was sweaty and that was just the way it was.
Meetings, business, no one cared. In fact I used to get compliments for appearing intensely engaged.
How this eventually got worse was becoming self aware. I vividly remember being in a meeting and it was a business dealing I truly needed at the time, and it was all going wrong. The office I was in was warm, and I was on the verge of sweating and knew it. Then once the meeting got more intense, I was sweating so much that a fan was brought in. Guess what, the deal still went forward and I left feeling a little embarrassed but forgot about it soon enough. Later on I became more stressed by the project and I simply worried more and more. So much that I took hiatus from work for a while. I eventually assigned someone else to head to meetings since I honestly couldn't handle the stress.
It was some point later on that sweating became something I was aware of and embarrassed of. It was never the sweating itself, it was the culmination of stress and never learning to truly relax and cope with stress in a good way. A simple natural and healthy function became something I tried to hide and run from. Deodorants, special shirts, avoidance- nothing worked. I even consulted a doctor about having a procedure and he said well, there's a chance of compensatory sweat elsewhere if you cannot learn to refocus and let your body relax. No thanks, and we laughed! And guess what he said, who cares anyways?!
A good friend who is in a big job at a major organization is like me, he sweats constantly. He was once giving an interview the the reporter took notice and asked if he was ok. He told me this as we were both having lunch, sweating in our golf shirts in the middle of summer. I said you know what, maybe we are just sweaty, or do we care too much about things? I told him about my doctor's comment and we had a good laugh.
I cannot stress enough that it's stress that does this. I know I have anxiety now and the issue with me is, I've let it fester too long and at this point, I have trade anxiety (constant) and I just live with it. Come to find it runs in my family as well. On one side of my family, every single person has dealt with anxiety for their entire adult life. Life changes, welcoming a new family member and the stress of that, financial worries, not enough time or money, etc. I choke my anxiety up to many things. Fear of uncertainty and just my body breaking down from stress. We all deal with this stuff and I constantly tell myself- life was always uncertain but at some point I became too aware and focused on things I cannot control.
Sweating made me feel like I was broken and just wanted to run from everything. I've gone through periods of being depressed in the sense that I just felt like this is life now. Not just sweat, that's a by product, but just unrelenting expectation of more stress and fear of uncertainty. Fatigue, just being stressed from stress.
I eventually broke down and tried some therapy and I read a great book a while back by Joeseph Luciani PHD called Self Coaching and he sort of woke me up with the thought that a part of me is anxious or depressed, not all of me. The larger part of me is still moving on with my life. We have to trust ourselves and rely on our inner self. It just stuck with me, the thought that, oh yeah, I do have hardwired things in my DNA that can handle life. After all humans were at one point worried about being eaten by animals and now what, sweat because I don't want to look stupid or I'm afraid of something that's actually not that scary.... We react to things that are not true threats and sweating at work is just that.
If I could give any advice, and believe me, I am not healed from sweating; it would be to just let yourself sweat. Don't treat it as an issue in your life to be embarrassed of. First day on the job is scary for anyone and whomever commented on your hands, always one of those people in any place. Don't focus on that comment.
If you must, keep a small napkin in your pocket and just wipe your hands before you shake hands with people. There are clinical level anti antiperspirant creams as well. I've used some to minimize sweating at times but it's not full proof. If deodorant, try applying at night before bed. That'll help absorb and work in for the next day. Also hand sanitizer is great. The alcohol in it will dry your hands quickly for a brief time. Otherwise just try to slow things down and relax. If you get nervous or anxious, don't focus on it. It's normal. You care about your job and want to do well, that is why you are nervous.
Anxiety is like that. Inside we are afraid of something and the fear fuels itself and it becomes a vicious cycle we get trapped in. You'll do great at work. The spotlight is not on your sweating. It happens, people get it. You'll forget about sweating around folks once you settle in and can focus more on doing your job well. And if it happens again, just be ok with it. Sometimes I'll excuse myself and just grab a paper towel and wipe my hands, armpits, wash my hands etc. and once that feeling of sweat is gone, I feel better, even if I keep sweating.