View Full Version : returning to work
Iv been off work quite a bit recently, last week been most recent. I'm worried about going back because although i have very supportive colleagues I worry what they must think of me being off a lot. Anyway being at home is also causing anxiety because I'm worried about being off work, serious catch 22 but I'm going to try and go back on Sunday and hope this helps which I'm sure it will??
I am the same Joseph I am worried all the time I am off work and worried what my colleagues think. You say you have supportive colleagues though so I am sure they understand why you are off. I hope Sunday goes well for you.
Have you been off long? I worry because iv made up different reasons in the past why I was off and feel pretty guilty about that, it always felt easier to lie at the time
It will help a lot. I went into a new job after 3 years off work, I'd never been to work with anxiety and I can honestly say it's helped heaps even though the anxiety was screaming at first. Staying at home didn't help me at all, it made me worse and led to agoraphobia, getting a job helped me overcome it.
You have the comfort of going to a job you're already used to, so there's less for you to worry about! As for time off, it's nobody else's business but yours. Mental illness is a real illness and you don't have to justify yourself to your colleagues at all so don't worry about them and just do what you're getting paid for! :)
You're doing the right thing by going back to work, trust me. Avoidance is the worst thing you can do, I'm glad you have the confidence to go back to your job, it's hard and even though I don't know you, as a fellow anxiety sufferer, I'm proud of you! Well done. x
I have lost quite a bit of time off work with anxiety in the past then had an anxiety free year. I fractured my foot in June and have been off work since. On my last sick note the doctor wrote metatarsal fracture and anxiety as the slow healing of my foot set the anxiety off again. I am going to try to go back on 3rd Dec on a phased return.
Annie don't worry, June - Nov is nothing, you're doing well by considering going back to work in Dec, you really are. I'm proud of you too because you're braver than I ever was by even considering it! Anxiety is a horrible thing, it makes you feel like you can't do things when in reality, you really can. x
I am only going to go in for 3 hours a day the first week to see how I cope
3 hours a day is great, better than 0 right? If you don't cope, that's fine. We need time off to heal too, you can try again when you feel ready and it might not even come to that :) x
Occupational health actually told me to take another 3 months off but I think the longer I am off the harder it will be to go back so i will try the phased return, if it doesn't work I can always go back to my doctor for another sick note.
Joseph it is better if you put anxiety on your sick note because then they are obliged to do a stress management plan for you and make sure they don't put too much pressure on you.
little scientist
16-11-12, 21:16
Iv been off work quite a bit recently, last week been most recent. I'm worried about going back because although i have very supportive colleagues I worry what they must think of me being off a lot. Anyway being at home is also causing anxiety because I'm worried about being off work, serious catch 22 but I'm going to try and go back on Sunday and hope this helps which I'm sure it will??
Hey Joseph, I too have been off work, only 3 weeks but it felt like an age to me! I too worried about the time I was having off and how it was affecting the rest of the people who I work with. But at the end of the day, if you have been off, you have clearly needed it to take some time for yourself!
Can you do a gradual return to work maybe? I'm doing part time at the moment to reduce the stress for me while I continue the start up on my medication then hopefully returning full time in a couple of weeks. Today was my first day back. It was hard, but I DID IT! And you can too! Try and reassure yourself with positive things during your days back at work, it might just help :)
Anne, I was signed off with Anxiety so they do know, I mean there has been odd days where iv told a lie Here and there.
Such a strange illness to have, I'm only just getting to grips with it all.
Scientist, well done for getting back, really hope it helps!!
It is a strange and difficult illness to have but at least we know we are not alone when thete are so many of us on nmp. I used to think it was only me feeling like this! I think more employers are starting to recognise it now.
I was off work for 3 months in 1997 when I worked as an analyst in a lab . My experience of it all in general was "better back at work" the longer I stayed off the more I worried and of course my sick pay had run out and added money worries were creeping in . The thing is , it is never as bad as you think once you get in there. Generally folk are kind and the ones that dont want to be aren't worth thinking about . A GP who tells someone to take an extra 3 months off work knows nothing about this condition . Granted we need to give the nervous system a rest but lying in the house worrying isn't having a rest , activity rests the nerves better than incessant thinking/worrying . I might seem to be a bit harsh here but as an earlier poster rightly suggested the longer you stay off the harder your making it for your self . I can add this part " its your own thinking thats perpetuating your symptoms " .
Feel the fear and do it anyway , a book worth reading ( Louise Hay or Claire Weeks , cant remember off hand) .
I do feel for you Joseph but remember worrying thought are just that " thoughts" ( with a perceived negative outcome ) . Its hard , but please try to change the thoughts to lighter happier ones , practice imagining happy outcomes regularly .
I think I'm worrying more about the consequences off me being off, because despite everyones very kind words I have been off work too much and losing my job word make matters a hell of a lot worse!!
Tami, you talk.so much sense, I know if I can get back and do a month without anymorr time off I'll be ok!
Tamo it was occupational health that said another 3 months not my gp..It isn't just anxiety for me though. I had a bad accident in June and fractured 2 metatarsals, dislocated a toe, ligament and nerve damage. This set my anxiety off again. I am still having a lot of problems with my foot and difficulty walking and then the anxiety on top of that. I thought even I can get back just for a few hours a day it may help my anxiety.
I can also vouch for trying to work through episodes of anxiety whenever possible. I have had 3 episodes of sick leave due to anxiety, 8 weeks in 2000, 3 years in 2003 I resigned from this job after a year because the guilt of letting my colleagues down was too much and 12 weeks this year. Work doesn't make my anxiety worse, if I'm anxious and panicky I just am and there's not much I do that helps but working helps improve my self esteem, is good distraction and the money helps too!
I believe it's important not to push yourself too hard though as stress and physical illness will make the panic worse so its finding a balance between work and having enough time for yourself. Your plan sounds good Annie, a sheltered return will help, good luck with that, returning will help you regain confidence and you'll not look back.
Joseph, I feel for you, I try not to take any time off and am much harder on myself than I am on anyone else if I need time off. Try talking to yourself like you would to one of your colleagues would if they were in your position, I bet you'd be more compassionate and understanding if it was someone else, we expect more from ourselves than we do from others. I've been back at work nearly 6 months now and at times it's been very hard and I've thought I would need more time off but I take it day by day, some weeks are fine but others, like this week are awful. Some of my colleagues now why I was off, I think most of them do but the majority do not want to discuss it, I'm very open and will talk about suffering with panic attacks, I think they're at a loss to know what to say as they think its out of character for me.
Good luck with your return
Sam x
Annie i,m sorry to hear of your accident I hope you heal in good time .
Sam I couldn,t agree more with you , its finding that balance .
I had a bad sleep on Fri night because I was too lazy to set my alarm for a 5.30 rise for work( i woke every half hour wondering if it was time to get up ) and the result was I was too tired all day which in turn affected my mood .
I was in AA for 2 years back in 1997( quit drinking for 2 years) and one of my favourite slogans was " dont get Too tired or Too hungry .
My very favourite still is " keep it simple " , easier said than done at times .
Brilliant Sam .
Thinking of you Joseph , always remember "You are not alone " were all here to listen and share .
Love you all
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