The Future Is ... Well, Causing Me A Lot Of Anxiety!

Brian of The National Chefs Union asked me to talk about the ongoing risk of depression in the kitchen.

I drafted articles about the state of the industry and how it compares to what I wrote about mental health in the kitchen in 2017 but then realised that what was going on in my own head was very different. The uncertainty of the future. It made me wonder if this is what is going through anyone else’s mind?

There is a real uncertainly in our future and that’s what I want to talk about. How do we manage that in term of our mental health?

In the present we can only be our best selves, right? That’s forever the case. Once we learn our limitations then we take control of a situation. Do everything we can to take control of what is in our control. The rest will just happen. Be open with our employers. Do our best.

I understand that.

But the future is something none of us can foresee. The future has always been something that causes me huge amounts of anxiety. Not necessarily worrying about what is coming because I know I can’t control that but worrying about what I should be doing today to give myself the best chance in the future. Does anybody else suffer this anxiety? It can cause me to freeze. Panic. Have all these pages and pages of to-do lists all of which could be affecting the path I’m on and my chances of future happiness!

I feel like some days I am on top of this anxiety. I can do one thing on my to-do list that will take me towards my goals and is true to me. But it only works to an extent.

How does anybody else deal with this anxiety? Who doesn’t suffer this anxiety and how and why don’t you?