What is your occupation? [Archive]

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skippy66

28-02-13, 09:34

What do you spend your day doing?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm trying to discover whether there's a link between health anxiety and 'free time'. I believe the excessive free time I had a few years back, due to me being self-employed with a business that virtually ran itself, contributed to my health anxiety, so I wanted to know what other people did with their days, see if there's some correlation.

Don't answer if you don't want to, but what is your occupation? Do you stay at home or go out to work? Full time or part time? Benefits?

sandramick

28-02-13, 12:03

deffinatley think there is a conection . i worked part time in a pub coped ok cos was with people who understood me . it closed 2 months ago and since being at home full time my panic and anxiety has gone through the roof :weep:.
sandra x

Eek

28-02-13, 12:05

I'm at home full time and my anxiety is terrible. I'm convinced that there's a correlation between being home full time and my health anxiety.

Jenwales

28-02-13, 12:30

I work part time in a shop. My anxiety increases with stress and if they ask me to go in on my days off etc
I have had worsened anxiety over Xmas because of work and through other work related issues
i would say work makes my anxiety worse if I was at home I'd have time to fit yoga and exercise into my regime but then again I've never been at home full time

ruthless

28-02-13, 12:46

I work for a health telephone helpline. I am off sick with anxiety and thought long and hard before taking time off as usually being at work helps me. We are going through a bad time at work at the moment with reorganisation and redundancies so I took the time off and am not sure if I would have been better off at work

carmen2012

28-02-13, 13:13

I always worked full time in admin before I had my child nearly 7 years ago, since then I have been fortunate enough to be able to stay at home..
However I do feel that being at home has contributed to my health anxiety as I haven't got anything to focus on or think about.. My days are pretty much the same school drop and pick up sometimes in between I go to the gym , do house work shopping and tbh I'm fed up and could do with a p/t job that fits in with school.. My hubby also thinks that my anxiety is because I have no interests or anything to think about so I tend to focus on the fact that I'm getting older and my health .

traciec39

28-02-13, 13:13

I work as a make up artist, I mainly do cross dressing males, strange job i know!!!
I do 2-3, 11 hr shifts per week.
Im most anxious on my days off too.

xvolatileheart

28-02-13, 13:28

I work in hospital admin. My extremely stressful job is what set off the first panic attack which led to health anxiety, so unfortunately I can't say working helps for me personally. I would do anything to be able to take some time off and get my head on straight! With that said, I think it's good that I have routine and have to get out of the house regularly, otherwise I might not push myself to get out much.

semper solus

28-02-13, 13:45

I work in IT Support and can be very stressful at times. Ever body wants it and want's it NOW!! It's very demanding and people just expect you to jump as soon as they call.

On a good note if anybody needs any advise on pc problems feel free to contact me I'm more than happy to help out. I might just tell you to "switch it off and on again" :D :D

quinnell

28-02-13, 16:06

i work for my local council ive been off twice in two years both three months im off now with ha got appt with HR next weds this time i think they may get rid of me im at home now and waste my days thinking whats wrong with me i do this day in and day out frightened of my own shadow

Jamesk

28-02-13, 16:13

I am a tax advisor - highly not reccomended for anxious people, so so much to be anxious about. :(

jefferina

28-02-13, 16:24

I find all this posts interesting because im the total opposite! I had to leave jobs because of anxiety which has led me to have 25 jobs and im 29!!!

puppyskin

28-02-13, 16:30

I left full time employment because i felt unreliable(never knew what i was going to feel like)now i do what i can as a musician but i hope to improve my situation.

Tessar

28-02-13, 16:42

i find that my normal work routine keeps me on the straight & narrow.
i have an admin job with a bunch of people i like. i have nice bosses. i did have a hideous job before this one so i really appreciate my workplace & that most people here are very kind & considerate.
i do have stressful days at work which i'm sure we all have. sometimes we just get rally busy or again as everyone must do, i have to learn new things from time to time.
Actually I have something to conquer soon (work related) which is going to really test me; only i have a choice to go once a week if i wanted on a return flight (30 mins each way) to drop stuff off at an offshore office. this will be a huge challenge as i'm scared of flying but it seems to me worth it. I look at it if i can accomplish this, well surely i can do anything (within reason)!
As i'm doing counselling at the moment there are days i feel pretty wobbly; but its my emotions playing me up rather than what I'd call 'real' anxiety. You might say when I arrive at work, the counselling & what i'm dealing with causes me the problem & its not a physical thing as such.

Col

28-02-13, 16:45

Biomedical science graduate, worked NHS PTI labs blood collection, had baby moved into new house went to do secondary science teaching and had a breakdown halfway through the year. So didn't get my QTS allowing me to teach ,did half of work and placements...... GUTTED

So 2 years on not returned have recently tried volunteering for a charity as student support at an inclusion centre - hmmmmmmm ~ stopped going last moth ~ anxiety started up again.

Just sooo fed up but obviously for me, I see work as something that added to my meltdown & horrendous acute panic attacks?????? Needed to stay home to gather myself. Quite like being at home but I always dream of getting back out there BUT I find it hard going to the local supermarket soooo???

I do ponder the more I'm off if it's making me worse in some ways , too much time on my hands to focus on me me me ??? A tricky one for me to answer really! My kids are young so I suppose I've always got stuff to fill in the time.

rubynoodles

28-02-13, 17:00

I am the same.

Work made me very anxious but now I am a stay at home mum I have way too much time on my hands and that has left a very gaping hole to fill with all kinds of anxiety.:huh:

Now I feel as though I am stuck in a 'catch 22' situation because I feel too anxious to return to work -Maybe voluntary work may help although plucking up the courage just to do that seems too much at the moment as well:shrug:

spacebunnyx

28-02-13, 21:10

im a teacher and my anxiety gets MUCH worse during the holidays.. normally by day 5 or so (although not if I go off on holiday or have something exciting to do).

Col

28-02-13, 22:07

Candy6

01-03-13, 00:10

I work in admin for local council. Although I feel I have under-achieved because of opportunities I have given up because of family commitments (which I do not regret for a minute) but I therefore do not feel fulfilled in my job, I do think it helps me a lot with my anxiety issues. I have had many episodes and I have never had time off and given in to them as the distraction definately helps me. I have had to go on reduced hours at the moment (due to cuts) and fear this will not help my anxiety due to having too much time on my hands to think about things. I need a routine and a reason to get up in the mornings.

mrs way to worried

01-03-13, 00:33

I work in a nursery part time I'm currently on maternity leave with baby no 3 been at my job 10 years I'm at my worst on maternity leave but work also stresses me as it should be such a happy job but private nurseries r so corrupt it depresses me :(

lofwyr

01-03-13, 04:34

I am a sculptor full time. The stress is between jobs, trying to get the next commission.

However, work stress and HA are separable for me. When I have work stress, I can deal with it because I know what I am feeling and why I am feeling it, and it lessens the power the anxiety has over me.

HA is an obsessive, out of control free fall, that is always worse when I don't have work to keep me preoccupied.

I prefer to the work related stress, and can deal with it.

Justinf

01-03-13, 04:57

I was a journalist, but am now an editor at a well-known publishing company, full time.

lily413

01-03-13, 20:04

I'm an infant school teacher. My HA is brought on by the stress of my job but its generally worse in the school holidays. Catch 22 right?

secondtimelucky

01-03-13, 20:31

Full time DJ here, HA was a huuuge issue for me to begin with, slowly got my head around the fact that im ok, still have occasional thoughts of 'what if I have a heart-attack while im working' but for the most part, all good :-)

jessicalittler79

01-03-13, 20:36

I think there for sure a connection between free time ..b/c with free time all u do is set and think way to much as I suffer from health anx my self it sucks

Hellsbells1977

01-03-13, 20:57

I can completely relate to the theory of having to much time to think can make anxiety worse... I'm a civil servant, and have/had a lovely monday-friday office job, which gave me a routine and kept me sane.. sort of :D. I foolishly volunteered to work a new late shift, finishing at 2 am, I couldn't settle into the sleep pattern properly (not helped by the neighbours and council commencing major renovation works on the estate over winter, starting at 8am every day... giving me far to much time to imagine symptoms and google them.. ...end result being 10 weeks off with anxiety and depression.

flatterycat

01-03-13, 21:05

I'm a teacher and find my HA is always worse in the holidays.

puppyskin

01-03-13, 21:07

Confused&scared

01-03-13, 22:26

I am a student, find my anxiety is worse during the holidays as I am too busy to worry in term time!!

Sunshine77

01-03-13, 22:38

Col

02-03-13, 10:39

I was a senior commercial manager in the corporate hamster wheel until this week when I jacked it in because of the breakdown I had in Jan.... planning to take some time and then maybe do some temping till I figure out what I want.

For me there's a fine balance between stimulation and stress - too little brain activity and I will think myself into a state, too much stress and I'll crumble. Need to find that happy medium but right now recovery time is working ok for me.

That's exactly how I feel , it's finding the balance! Some days I don't feel like going to the local shop then other days, career head comes back on and I think I could take on the world? It's very difficult! Fear also of starting a job and it happening AGAIN, then the impact on confidence AGAIN and the feelings of failure would loom! It's sooo disheartening. Some people love to stay home and can! Ive been brought up to 'earn your keep' it's like ingrained in my skin. I know being your own boss is not easy BUT I'm thinking of starting something small up from home. Im in control and even if I make only a small profit it's better than nothing and also it's better than me sat here seething and resentful of loosing all I've worked for career wise , due to breakdown and acute panic attacks! Soo I might give it a go. XXX PS sunshine I didn't realise you had such a high powerd and pressured job & leaving I bet you don't know what to do with yourself, although for your Heath you've made the right choice X

luvlifensmile

02-03-13, 12:45

i'm a social worker in the mental health field...when i'm at work, i feel fine. i think it's because i'm busy all day and i deal with helping people through their anxieties, depression, etc and linking them up to other community resources. funny how a person with their own anxieties can help others with theirs. i am the most requested worker and i think it's because i "get them"...i understand where they are coming from...once i get home, i have days where i'm a hot mess with my own anxieties...mostly the times that i am by myself which is most of the time

shaunnajadelle

02-03-13, 18:48

Degree in Psychology and now I'm training to be an embalmer.. I don't think this really helps as I witness the deaths of people from various diseases regularly haha x

paranoidtree

02-03-13, 19:05

Used to work as a learning and development co-ordinator but left that career last August due to a breakdown, since November I've been employed as a school librarian. Also volunteer in a shop (started yesterday)

daybyday

02-03-13, 19:14

Home maker here.

mrsnobody

02-03-13, 20:18

part time support worker, work has added to my problems

Ats666

02-03-13, 22:36

Nurse...sometimes wonder if I chose the right career path, but I am fine at work, or should I say I am able to cope with it :doh:

Taffy

03-03-13, 12:09

I'm a Firefighter with 14 years service under my belt. Been suffering from HA for since 2010.

Sunshine77

03-03-13, 21:51

That's exactly how I feel , it's finding the balance! Some days I don't feel like going to the local shop then other days, career head comes back on and I think I could take on the world? It's very difficult! Fear also of starting a job and it happening AGAIN, then the impact on confidence AGAIN and the feelings of failure would loom! It's sooo disheartening. Some people love to stay home and can! Ive been brought up to 'earn your keep' it's like ingrained in my skin. I know being your own boss is not easy BUT I'm thinking of starting something small up from home. Im in control and even if I make only a small profit it's better than nothing and also it's better than me sat here seething and resentful of loosing all I've worked for career wise , due to breakdown and acute panic attacks! Soo I might give it a go. XXX PS sunshine I didn't realise you had such a high powerd and pressured job & leaving I bet you don't know what to do with yourself, although for your Heath you've made the right choice X

Thanks Col, I know exactly where you're coming from! There is a part of me now that feels a big fat failure for quitting my job. Another part of me can't believe this is actually me - I wasn't particularly brought up to work hard but I've always been fiercely independent and in order to be independent I've had to work my ass off! I think it's cos I saw my mum dependent financially on my dad for years and then saw her fall spectacularly after the divorce.

Anyhow... thankfully the larger part of me is just sooo relieved to have got off the treadmill. And that part of me knows that my health & sanity are more important. Like you I'm contemplating trying to set something up alone... God knows what though!!

Take care all xx

Louise_B85

03-03-13, 21:58

I work full time as a nurse, I think dealing with sick patients every day alongside it being a very stressful job does not help my anxiety, but i love my job and i cant imagine doing anything else.