Top 10 Anxiety-Friendly Jobs

Getting so stressed and anxious as next week the school year begins (in Canada) and not looking forward to another year of sub teaching.
Returning to the work force after many years at home with 4 kids is super hard and competing against peers half my age and twice as clever. I simply can't cope taking on a contract and working 12 hour days with all the prep and marking plus dealing with über demanding parents, self-entitled students (especially in wealthier neighbourhoods), cliquey teacher lounges, and administrators who are vicious. Best of luck to those of you out there who struggle. God Bless

I've had anxiety for years but refuse to take xanax and other such drugs. I'm at the point where I feel like giving in and just taking something but I don't want to depend on drugs to feel better. I'm a hairdresser and it is difficult to deal with the public and so many different personalities. I'm considering quiting after 16 years of being in this proffesion but I'm really scared to do it. I don't know what else I would be interested in or be good at. I'm so confused. I hope to find some clarity soon.

I've dealt with depression and social anxiety for many years. It was controllable. However, my husband had a stroke 7 years ago and our lives have never been the same. He is disabled and unable to work due to Aphasia. He cannot read or write at an adult level. He has right side paralysis but can walk and drive. He cannot make decisions, and his thought processes don't work (he cannot cook a meal) and he forgets things. But he can communicate and drive and even help me with excel problems. Everything has been put on my shoulders...finances, cooking, Cleaning, working full time in a very high stress job. I've noticed that in the last year I've changed. I can no longer concentrate, don't want to wake up in the morning, can't sleep at night and I can't stand repetitive noises...phones ringing, clocks chiming, babies crying. I feel as their is no hope and a cloud hangs over me. My heart races and I shake. My husband says that he has no purpose. He is depressed but doesn't want help. I am on short term disability until Sept.16 because I had a breakdown and have PTSD. I am so frightened that my long term disability will be turned down from what I've been reading on the internet. If I am required to return to work, I know I will be fired because previously I had so many days out sick because of the reasons I listed. And we are required to be very social...Attend retreats and conventions, weekly meetings, daily interaction with whiny and lazy volunteers. From Jan thru June I have to complete my tasks but also answer a non-stop ringing phone for training! Nothing has changed in the last few months even with seeing a psychiatrist and getting my meds changed. Please I need advice!

Don't forget Health Anxiety formerly known as hypochondria.
Thanks for the input, glad to know I'm not alone!

I have been dealing with anxiety for 13 years. Recently realized that i had very bad social anxiety the lazt 2 years. I was able to keep 2 jobs for 7 months. But after that i cant keep one for more than 1-3 months. I constantly feel out of control. And constantly am crying. I am going to start thinking of trying to find a job in some area of these. I have been in customer/foodservice for the last 5 years. I really enjoy it. But cannot get ahold of my social fear. Thabks to all who shared. Not feeling alone is hard.

Childcare should not be on this list. My anxiety has increased since starting at a daycare. 80% of the time my heart is racing in the room I work in because we have two toddlers that are constantly being aggressive towards other children l.

Also, I would suggest that everyone here with anxiety should find a passion, something that really motivates them and makes them fulfilled. Even if it doesn't get you money at first, go for it.
It's difficult to be anxious and happy in the same time. If you're not happy with the profession you're in, can you do anything to change it? Or find something you love and do it on the side. I love my writing life, wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world.

Sorry but childcare work and nursing are very stressful jobs. Also, counseling (except if you like it very much).
I have worked as a therapist, educational counselor and nurse ever since I graduated. I quit more than a year ago because I actually had a burnout from my last nursing job and couldn't cope. Jobs that involved caring for people, taking care of kids are, in my opinion the most stressful jobs ever (but also very fulfilling).
I'm a writer now and have finally found something that works. I have GAD and imagine how it's like to have panic attacks when you're supposed to be at work and take care of a very sick person. It's a no no. No one cares about you as a nurse. There is no counseling for nurses in this country or support. Thank god I'm done with it.
All in all, this was a good article and an interesting subject. Thanks.

Brenda Gleason and Heather, I can really relate and am going through some of the same struggles. Pls contact me if you care to chat. prpbutterflygrl@yahoo.com

Thanks so much for posting. I can relate deeply to all of you. We are all awesome! Much love!

I have bipolar 1,anxiety,paranoia & ptsd. At my age I've had quite a few jobs & all of them to be stressful in one way or another. I've been on SSD for almost 10 yrs until recently I've become a state Certified Peer Specialist & work p/t with my peers. Sometimes my anxieties kick in but it's ok, nothing I can't live through. It's been the best job I've had.

Hi everybody, I am struggling with my stress since I was a kid. Sometimes it was attacking me as agoraphobia, I was shaking every time that I was passing by the croweded bus stop of my own neighbourhood to go to school and return from!
I started feeling better when I made more friends at the age of 11-12 and went to the secondary school but financial and other family problems always made it easy to stress to really stick with me... I had mild depression and school related stress that made me look problematic teenage and irresposible but I did had good grades because I was studying hard. My major problem was that I often couldn't wake up at mornings because I was having so much stress in the night that I was felling asleep at 01.00, that was really bad for a teenager that has to wake up at 7.00. So the headteacher scapegoated me for constantly running late and told me that I wouldn't never could copy with the real life. That hurt and I can say I believed that what was saying was truth. When you have anxiety disorder and depression you most likely have a low self esteem as well and can leave anyone to tell you that you are of no worth.
I did went to university thanks to my good grades and thought I could make a fresh start butI had some financial issues so I had to take part time underpaid jobs mostly as a waitress that were so stressing for me. I could be really fast, really good at serving the dishes and the drinks and friendly but bosses could stress the hell out of me with yelling and demanding many tasks for less money. So I was stressed and made stupid mistakes only to make them feel satisfied that they were proven I was indeed stupid. Not to mention the rude customers or the competitive and talking-s*it-behind your back co-workers.
As the years went away I fucosed on my studies (early years education) and put my costs to a mimimum so I wouldn't need to work as a waitress anymore, I only did the occasionally leaflet leaving door to door job which was much less stressing and another job that I did and was really less stressing was at a really quiet florist's that I had like 10 customers per day not need to really assist them with the choises and the rest of the time I would have tasks like watering the plants, cleaning up the place and putting seeds in small pots with ground (my favourite task).
After my graduation I had to do more two times the waitress job for a summer period and a Christmas period and I absolutely hated it and then I mostly worked as a nanny which was sometimes good (not having to cope with crowds) but from times to times stressful (sometimes parents would come to me and stress me with their issues). All the jobs I have done till today are way underpaid that I could have as a degree holder and had no the sort of the benefits like paid vacation/ sick leave. I am stuck believing that I don't deserve anything better for me and I am afraid that I will not make anything in my life because of my stress, my low confidence and depression.
I am to a point I really want to fight with my demons, I have been on and off to therapists and anti-depressants but as I don't have a stable income I stay with no support for most of the time, just trying to self cure with comedies, cooking and home relaxing. Two weeks ago desperately to find a job I made the mistake to accept a job as waitress to a restaurant with a huge menu that I can't memorise, lot of employees and letting you know last moment if you work tomorrow or not. I worked there as a paid trainee for 3 times and thought I was doing alright and then suddenly, I woke up two days ago and had a major stress attack, a depressing mood, I didn't want to go out of the house, I didn't want to see or talk to anybody, let alone to speak to strangers and multitask (get the orders right, chating with co-workers and manager, carry heavy trays, friendly chat with customers..) I think I had what I call a stress crisis, I was crying for hours and in the last moment I just decided to just no show up at work and neither I replied to their phone calls for which I felt terrible afterwards, it's something I have never done before. For one more time, I thought I could be normal and didn't listen to myself all these days, when I really wanted to just quit. That would be better, than no show up at all. I
Anyway, I have to get over from what happend and as I am trying to accept the fact that I am not like the other people and I have a disorder to cope with for my rest of my life, I really should do myself a favor and listen to what my soul says. So I want to find a job that is ok for me and my anxiety and I try to figure out what is the best job to do for and I would like to stick with it for some time till I do enough therapy and feel ready and confident to hunt for an education job. So I have an offer for working as a carer at an elderly house with normal pay rates, paid vacation etc. The plus is I can choose how many hours and days I want to work but from a friend who works there I know that many times they change the schedule last moment and that sometimes there are minor physical and verbal attacks from some of the elderly who have Alzheimer so you have to be ready to defence physically and to get upset which I am not sure I can really do.
Or my last hope in finding a no stress environment to work immediately with no experience and getting well paid is to work in a small factor/warehouse that I know from a friend again that it can be repetitive and sometimes boring but it's a no surprises, you know your schedule well ahead before, you work 7,5 hours straight, you have just enough social interaction to don't feel alone with the same people every day. And he told me that it isn't as hard people may think, as a woman they would most likely put me standing over a procuce line feeling small packages. I would like to hear opinions on the caring/warehouse jobs for people with anxiety.

I suffer anxiety and depression since I was a teenager. I don't have experience cleaning offices but I've cleaned houses. It has been the most stress free environment for me. I just have to make sure I find my own clients and not through a company to negotiate a more decent payment. If they are not happy with my job, I just move on and look for another client. English is my second language, I'm undocumented and I have extreme social anxiety. So even trying to communicate is nerve racking! So I'm sure that if I can do it, most people with anxiety can do it too.

Working with animals can provoke anxiety as well. They are not all calm and sweet. Half of the pets are nervous themselves coming to the hospital or groomer. Whether it be a kennel worker, a groomer, a vet tech, or so on...you will have to work with troublesome pets, and will have to interact with clients that can agitate your anxiety as well. I work in the animal medicine field and working with a very bad dog triggered the worst panic attack that I have ever had. I ended up in the ER and have not come down out of a constant days of panic attacks. Working with animals has its positive traits and benefits, but don't go into it thinking that your anxiety will be reduced.

I don't get panic attacks, and I can "multitask" to an extent. However, I hate working with others. I can be good friends with a couple of people. But most people don't "mesh" well with me.
I think I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder as well as Anxiety/Depression. I find it VERY difficult to walk down the street, or leave my house. People will always whisper comments about me. I am far, far too old for it to affect me so, but I honestly think it must be something very wrong mentally. A woman shouldn't be afraid to go outside lest the "meanies" are mean to her. It sounds absolutely ridiculous! Everyone I talk to about it, make it out to seem like I am just being a child! It's like asking someone with a phobia to just stop having the phobia... Umm, it doesn't work that way!
So, I think childcare would be a HORRIBLE job to go into. I'm thinking about programming. I am just worried that the jobs are going overseas, or to people on work visas. They don't want to keep paying the high costs for these jobs.
I need something that is not so "math/logic" orientated. I have tried my whole life, but it is the one thing I can't do. I am more artsy and articulate (at least online, I'm horrible in real life).
I might look into landscaping as well. I think that I can deal with a few asshole customers. Maybe. But I can't deal with someone constantly harping on me all day. My only problem is that I am fairly weak as well, which is why programming appealed to me. But programming is math/logic orientated...
It's frustrating there is so little options for people like us!

I suggest you remove Nurses Aide from this list. It is a high stress, fast paced, intense job. Nothing easy there.

I was a nac for many years and it is very stressful. Dealing with difficult patients, causes extreme anxiety. I used to come home from work and have panic attacks because of it.
I have never worked in childcare, but dropping off my kiddos at day care is stressful enough.
I also was a janitor for many years, and that is full as anxiety as well. 99% of them want you to work extremely fast. Hotel housing is really stressful because they want those rooms clean in a very short amount of time.

Writer!!! Hahaha - I had to laugh at this. I am a writer, and have been for 30 years. But trying to write anything when you're suffering from depression is a major cause of anxiety in itself. That said, the ideal job for me IS sitting in an office not being bothered by anyone... if only I could find such a job that actually paid! I've done part-time jobs in the past that involved dealing with the public, but I've found this harder and harder over the years. The last job I tried - in a shop - was all my nightmares come true. The boss hated me, and bawled me out like a naughty five-year-old in front of other employees. So humiliating. I only lasted there a month and it completely trashed the last of my self-confidence. Anyway, an accumulation of problems (not least living with an elderly parent for the last 14 years) has left me feeling so rotten than even the thought of applying for a job makes me nearly pass out with panic. The other day, I had to take said parent for a medical appointment, and I had such a meltdown beforehand (embarrassing) that my hub (bless him) ended up taking us. He doesn't understand what's wrong with me. I know I'm not my normal self, haven't been for about five years, just seem to be getting worse. I even feel panicky about an item of bedding I bought the other day! Just a mattress topper, FFS. Definitely not rational. I know I'm not right - that's why I found this site, after all - but I feel like I'm going down a long grey tunnel with no way out and I'm too ashamed even to speak to the doctor. Sorry for the rant. Every single day I wake up thinking "I can't do this any more" and the cumulative effect is just utterly exhausting. I hate this. Thank you for the site, though.

To Brenda,
Praying for your healing! And for blessings for a better future! You are not alone. <3

Child care Is very stressful and would make anxiety worse the parents and directors are crazy the only good thing about it is that the kids love you no matter what.

Thank you for sharing the major criteria commonly exhibited by anxiety-free occupations. I truly believe this list can provide assistance for future vocational decisions. Nevertheless, I must politely disagree with one of the occupations defined as “anxiety-friendly” (i.e. landscaping). I used to be a horticulturist for four years in a variety of landscaping environments, including construction, maintenance, residential and commercial. Unfortunately, landscaping jobs still involve daily interactions with clients, many of whom are extremely capricious about their properties and are not afraid to show it. I eventually left the industry due to the unrealistic expectations and audacity of the clientele. I thought retail customers were the worst…
However, I would highly recommend commercial maintenance landscaping since it offers less client interaction, lax performance pressure and (relatively) low physical impact in comparison to other types of landscaping jobs.

i have depression and generialized anxiety i never know when it will attack me i can be calm for 1 minute and then it hits me for me anxiety makes my stomach churn so bad it's hard to think it is with me all the time. my therapist tells me to rate them from a 1 being good to 10 being the worst. i do take medication and the depression doesn't bother me, but not the same with the anxiety i take meds. for that too, but i can still have really bad ones. mine started after i gave birth and back in 1978 they told me it was baby blues and would go away. it didn't, i started having one and my emotions flew all over the place there was anger i never felt before there was guilt ,major fear because i felt like a different person was inside me i started not wanting to be alive when they got bad because at that point i wasn't a good wife,lover or mother i would yell and carrying on for no reason sometimes i would sit in my chair i was not able to focus so housework didn't get done food wouldn't get fixed well i ended up in a mental place for overdosing i wasn't trying to kill myself just get rid of the anxiety they told me i have a chemical imbalance a couple of the chemicals i need aren't there or up where they should be and i would have to deal with it. so i have been in mental hospitals a few times for over medicating but i can't help it i need the extra to get calm. so from 19 til today at age 57 it has been a long time for me with this thing i did get disability because i would work and then maybe one day i would wake up and the anxiety would be so bad i couldn't get out of bed and couldn't go to work and face people my husband did divorce me but i couldn't blame him i didn't even like myself very much . i also can't stand big crowds my brother also has it real bad the doctors believe it runs in the family so we get our checks each month but by the time we pay rent our bills and groceries besides our meds we are broke, sometimes right in the middle of the month. this is a struggle i hate not having any money .i know i can't work out of the house because if i have an attack i would have to leave the job. we need money bad .Here it is Easter and my brother and i are home alone and have had no money for at least a week and i need gas so i can see my therapist. today my anxiety is bad how am i going to get to him with no gas i know deep down when i over medicate i am taking a gamble with my life but so far God has been keeping me alive He knows i don't want to die but the anxiety hits me i think at that time i really don't care sorry for writing the message so long i just don't know if i want to live like this for the rest of my life yet i believe in God and suicide is a sin and i do want to go to Heaven brenda

Look, pet grooming and maybe dog sitting/walking or doggy daycare may be the best pet options for an anxiety-ridden person. But from personal experience, a shelter is not. Not only is it considered retail, but even in a no-kill shelter is there animal death and experiencing the secondhand effect of animal cruelty. There is also a deal of "you put this living entity's in your hands" concept and pressure (as with nursing), and I don't recommend that to any anxious person. I wish I had the luck to benefit from Xanax or another drug before I had my mental break at my shelter job, because it was awful.

The fact that CNA is on here confuses me?? I don't know what facility most of the commentors are working at because obviously i need to apply there? I work at a convelescent hospital in the los angeles area and have never been so stressed in my life. Theres nothing like needing to change your patients while one of your ambulatory confused patients is trying to escape and another patients family members keep requesting that you put their incontinent, non ambulatory heavy weight family member on the toilet. Or having 4 showers along with a deep cleaning of the room while one of your patients is demanding a 40 to 50 minute shower, 2 of your other patients who have to shower are combative to the point of kicking you in your stomache and having from 9:00 to 11:00 to finish all this.

I've never been able to hold down a job, my anxiety is to the point where I'm in the gas station halfway to the soda cooler and I almost pass out from being so nervous, running back to the car(that my husband has to drive because I'm too anxious) I thought how am I ever gonna make it in life?!, after finding out some news and realizing I really need to start supporting my growing family, I reached out for something I have passion in (animals), that was so stressful but I pushed myself, showed up and made myself not pass out. she called me the next day and said she'd love to have me. My first day is tomorrow and I'm not going to lie I've had to take Xanax 3 times today to keep my mind off of worrying. But I really feel like dog grooming will be my savior. Animals can be stressful. But when you bathe or groom dogs 7/10 times there's a front counter that deals with customers. You only have to deal with the pups and the co workers who will hopefully become close with you and you won't feel so uncomfortable.
I hope dog grooming helps because I will not let this anxiety beat me.
Maybe it's an option for any other person with SAD who happens to have a love for pets.
This list also mentioned dog training, that may not be as easy going, because you have to speak to that dogs owner on a regular basis, but it could work for someone who has a little less sever SA

Don't agree with this list at all. I am a hairdresser with social anxiety, and every day I am haunted by my own demons. I can't take it any more. I am at a loss, and my anxiety seems to cause depression. I don't know what to do...

I would take you seriously, however, you ignorantly chose to denigrate C.N.A's. My job is not "simple physical labor". I suggest you educate yourself before taking yourself so seriously to write such nonsense.
Signed,
Me, a hospice aide with a social work degree. :P

I am a 20 year old woman that had a very sever major depressive episode and is just beginning to function at all. I'm in university with the goal of research in genetics or microbiology. I need to find a job this summer, and I feel so panicked about it. Last summer when the depression was beginning to worsen I had a secretary job in a injury lawyers office. I was high stress and a abusive environment, and after my "friend" saw me having a panic attack I was fired.I also have mild aspergers and pretty significant dyslexia. I have panic attacks even looking for them, and I feel ridiculous. But when someone grew up being told nasty things about the fact she couldn't progress at the same rate as the other children, you tend to be messed up. Other fun things are inability to navigate/spatial awareness. I can't even drive. I have absolutely know idea what I should do, I feel completely trapped and doomed. Any advice?

I work child care and I am doing my very best to get out of it because of the constant stress and anxiety I get. Kids are wonderful, but the job is very very stressful. Yes, children are a lot less "scary" than dealing with adults but there's a great chance you will have to have contact with the parents, which is very stressful.

I seriously wanted to come on here and see if another person with real SAD posted realistic jobs for another SAD person. These are jobs for someone with normal anxiety that most people have. People with SAD cant do most of these jobs. Childcare?
I actually gound that jobs like data entry, librarian etc are the best but those jobs are becoming outdated now. So I was looking for other suggestions but it looks like an extrovert suggested them. Eeegads!

I am currently looking for a low anxiety job since my cashier position isn't working out... My anxiety makes me sick a lot which makes me depressed and have more anxiety because work is "concerned" with my attendance (they're probably gonna fire me soon) so yeah right now I'm mega anxious bordering on depression.

Rory, you seem to be dealing with the same issues that I do. If you ever want to chat, email me at animals_CW@yahoo.com.

I saw a job working in a veterinary practice, but was put off by the fact that people's animals might die, and they'd be upset in person or on the phone. I don't know if I could be around that kind of environment. I also suffer from depression, I have a degree in computer animation and want to make 2d animations or write comedy scripts for tv,because I like making people laugh, or thriller scripts for film, because I can channel my own anxiety and fear into it...but finding the motivation when you feel nothing will get you anywhere is very difficult.

I would put propane tech on that list or propane delivery. I worked in propane for 8 years as both delivery and tech. Both jobs you usually go in the morning get your orders for the day and go out and do your job. As a propane deliverer you may not have to interact with anybody during the day. As a tech you may have to deal with 4 or 5 customers a day. I loved being a tech but I suffered a back injury. I have had two surgeries including a fusion. Both of these jobs are very good for people with anxiety if you don't mind hard working and both pay pretty good.

Nurses aide jobs are not stressful. Boy are you wrong. In a nursing home or even in private homes, how many times do you think "nurses" actually sit with a dying person. Hold their hands when they take their last breaths. Comfort the family after. Or get to have the brunt of the complaints from patients. Take the verbally, physical ,mental and even sexual abuse from patients. Maybe that isn't enough to cause anxiety or stress to be kept off this list of jobs. Ever have an elderly person cry for hours, days because they just lost their spouse or have to tell a dementia patient every 5 mins that their spouse has just died because they can't remember so they get to relive the death over and over while you sit with them and comfort them. "Nurses" don't have time for this!!! Stressful enough?

Hello. I have to disagree with childcare being less anxiety filled. You have to deal with the parents of the children aswell. Not only do you have to take care of 5-10 children, you also have to make sure every child is safe and you also have to keep the parents of these children happy. Child care is an extremely stress filled career. They even offer a class for early childhood education on how to deal with stress in the workplace.

Brilliant list there. I especially took an interest in the animal caring part, I am an animal lover, and working with them seems a lot more relaxing than working with humans. I hate social anxiety, I only wish that employers would take it more seriously, rather than thinking that I am "just a bit shy."

I can safely tell you from experience that childcare of any kind is NOT a low anxiety job. Especially when you're dealing with preschool, special ed, inclusion classes, no training, no support, fear of being fired, crazy parents, etc. No, do yourselves a favor. If you suffer from anxiety, please do NOT go into education. I have been in it for 8 years and I have been trying to get out of it for 8 years and it's hard. No one wants to hire me because I was a teacher and my old career has changed so much I can't go back without job experience which I can't seem to get. I can't get anything but teaching jobs and I don't want those. I can't afford to go back to school. Can't afford to work part-time. People advising you tell you the same BS which never works. Education is getting worse.
Working with animals, tutoring, counseling, prep cook and nurse's aide are also not good. The person who wrote this has no idea, really.

I guess it sounds odd for me to say this, but now I'm wondering if I'm more anxious than the average anxiety-ridden person. I'm a writer (published), and I obsess about people judging me by my written words. I've been a CNA, and I had nightmares about my ONE job in a Code Blue -- unplugging the crash cart and getting it to the room. I ran a summer camp one year, and I didn't sleep for ten weeks (I didn't know you could stay awake that long and not die.). I tutored GED students and felt like whenever they failed to pass the exam, it was my fault. And now, now, well, I'm a therapist. Yep. Now I obsess about my clients' progress, or lack of, and that's with several years of graduate study and a second, yes, a second master's degree. My anxiety levels are unreal. If I were a novel, nobody'd believe me.

Im having social anxiety . And working in sales . My work is based on making relations with tough customers who dont respond and ignore your talking . Just imagine how could be ur suffer in such job . However i dont have the luxury of choosing or change the job . Just accepting my destiny till situation change in a magic way . Or my mind collapse and break down.

I am currently a CNA, nurses aid and love it and would agree with it being on the list. I think it really depends where you work and what shift like the author States, however. I work the pm shift, which is really helpful in reducing my anxiety because there are no doctors,social workers, etc. Around. I work in a rehab/skilled nursing facility, the top rated in my area. I also have developed a great relationship with the nurse that i work with 85% of the time. I mainly work alone one on one with parients, sometimes needing the nurse or another nurse's aid's help, but i really like that i have control over my hallway of people that i take care of and can plan my night. Obviously things come up and sombody might not want to go to bed when you were thinking they would, but then i go to the next on my list. No job is ever going to be free of stressors. I have had days in the past where I had shifts that were so busy and stressful. But how i manage my anxiety is plan ahead. I prep all the roooms with towels, etc. During slow times. Its a great job, i would recommend changing shifts or settings to find the right fit for you!

Soph I completely understand what you're going through. I've worked in large offices and find frequent interactions difficult. Also in my current role when things have been busy I have been getting intense anxiety with mind racing at home.
I am finding smaller offices do help.

Thank you for this article. The many comments are especially helpful. I struggle with anxiety and bipolar disorder as well as an avoidance personality disorder. When I try to work, the stress builds until one day I can't face going to work or calling them or answering their calls or even listening to the messages. I'm 41 and have gI've up on being able to hold a job. I was just denied disability because the judge didn't feel my disorders are serious enough. I have toyed with the idea of dog grooming as I have a dog I love, but I don't know if outside stressor would screw me up. I'm so scared of and tired of failing

It's really interesting to read what everyone has written and know im not alone with what I'm feeling. I work in admin as I thought working behind the scenes in an office would be less stressful then people facing, but I actually deal with lots and lots of staff and colleagues, and multi tasking is big. luckily I have a great small team who I'm comfortable with, but i definitely get high anxiety when I have lots of tasks to do at once and my mind gets foggy. Physically I also clench my jaw. I'd love a nice quiet environment to work in, admin is fine at quiet spots, but I can't seem to shut off at home and in a constant state of worry about what might happen thetnext day.
I completely agree with the coping strategy where you break the day into chunks and just focus on each part broken up.

I agree with most of the listed jobs, but I really have to disagree with the childcare... sorry. I consider it (at least for me!) an extremely anxiety-filled job just because of the noise and all that hassle with kids. I can handle my own son but taking care of several kids... forget it! Well, I also have Asperger's so maybe that's the main reason why I need my own peace. Luckily I can work from home, which is a perfect solution for me. No commuting, no communicating with others (other than online), just perfect for a complete introvert!