View Full Version : Getting signed off work sick
Hi
Has anyone here been signed off work sick with anxiety/depression?
What do i need to say to the doctor to get signed off?
People are telling me its the wrong thing to do because I need to keep busy. However I am looking at it a different way, I feel like my work performance is so poor, im missing all deadlines and just not finishing things. I am going to end up getting a disciplinary soon I just know it. I have a meeting with my boss later and I haven't completed any of the stuff I said I would from last week!
I have been keeping a very low profile at work the last 2 months but now people are starting to put big demands on me and I can't even pay my water bill let alone do my work!
I was signed off for 6 months last year, after essentially breaking down in my doctor's office! I just basically explained the situation: couldn't concentrate, even the thought of going into the office led to anxiety attacks, often had to find an empty meeting room while I was there to try and calm myself down...
The only thing you have to bear in mind is to check your company's sickness policy in term of pay. I was on full pay for a bit, but that then stopped and I was on SSP only...which made me more anxious as I wasn't sure if I could afford bills etc.
In the end, I decided to leave that job as they were treating me appallingly, and moved to becoming self-employed. I now choose my own hours, which makes life much easier!
As i am in my 1st year of employment here, I am only entitled to 1 week full pay unfortunately. Is it the company that then has to pay SSP? is SSP more than benefits?
Does SSP come from the government?
My entitlement goes up to 4 weeks pay in October - if I was off sick til then would I qualify for 4 weeks sick pay then?
Just simply ask for a sick note. That's how I have obtained them in the past, they have never been offered to me.
You are doing the rright thing in my opinion, ignore the people saying you need to keep busy, they obviously have no understanding of what you are going through. Sometimes you can push yourself too hard and end up taking a step back. I have read many of your posts and genuinely believe you need a break from work.
---------- Post added at 10:18 ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 ----------
Darren1 I wouldn't even worry about the money. Unless you have a mortgage there are benefits that can help you. I am currently unable to work and my partner works only 16 hours yet because he still is working I cannot get any benefits. So we can't afford anything and it's the 6 weeks too and my poor daughter will be bored stiff! But I don't feel we'll enough to look for work just yet, therefore we are forced to cope.
i love tea
06-08-13, 16:33
Sorry Darren but I disagree with the above.
The telling sentence for me in your post was "What do i need to say to the doctor to get signed off?" If you need to manipulate your doctor in to signing you off sick, you probably shouldn't be signed off.
There is a very good reason that doctors are not keen to do this. For good mental health, we need purposeful activity. You have health anxiety but you are not ill. To be signed off sick would just reinforce the perception that you have of yourself.
In my opinion, the much better option would be to speak to your boss about how you're feeling and ask for help. If they don't know what's going on, they can't help you. I am sure they would work with you to help you meet your targets if you were honest, rather than just hiding away while the problems build up.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but as a fellow health anxiety sufferer whose best friend is a mental health occupational therapist, I believe this is good advice.
Take care
AuntieMoosie
07-08-13, 00:49
Sorry Darren but I disagree with the above.
The telling sentence for me in your post was "What do i need to say to the doctor to get signed off?" If you need to manipulate your doctor in to signing you off sick, you probably shouldn't be signed off.
There is a very good reason that doctors are not keen to do this. For good mental health, we need purposeful activity. You have health anxiety but you are not ill. To be signed off sick would just reinforce the perception that you have of yourself.
In my opinion, the much better option would be to speak to your boss about how you're feeling and ask for help. If they don't know what's going on, they can't help you. I am sure they would work with you to help you meet your targets if you were honest, rather than just hiding away while the problems build up.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but as a fellow health anxiety sufferer whose best friend is a mental health occupational therapist, I believe this is good advice.
Take care
Darren I, too, have to agree with "I love tea" (I love the username too :))
The thing is, if we're depressed or anxious/panicky or all three, the more we retreat from normality the harder it is for us to function and the harder it will be for us to get back to reality.
The more we strip away from our lives, the more we loose control and that feeling isn't nice.
Now I fully understand that sometimes we can become too unwell to continue with some things in our lives and sometimes we have no choice but to take a break from it all so as we can get ourselves back on our feet and ready to go again.
But, in my opinion, that should be the last resort and there are other things we can do before we reach that point.
I would advise exactly the same as what "I love tea" has advised and that is to have a chat with your boss, let him know how difficult you are finding things right now and try to come to some sort of arrangement between the two of you. A lot of companies now have occupational health and they are there to help you, remember companies do not want to loose staff through illness so most of them are very helpful and will work with you to find a solution :)
There is no one size fits all. I just took 6 weeks off and it got me over the line. I had battled my issues every day since January and I heard all the "you need to keep busy" advice from my psych and other people. It wasn't helping me and so I told him that I was taking the time off because I felt that was what I needed to do to get well. I took two weeks off but it wasn't enough. I went back to work and nothing had changed. I was still walking around having palpitations and dizzy spells all day. So I took another 6 weeks off and it made all the difference, so much so that I am now completely recovered from my HA. I put my recovery down to my GP, my psych, my time off work and Claire Weekes. I guess it also depends on the type of work you do. If your job requires operating machinery or driving etc then it is probably better for everyone else if you aren't at work. Some jobs require more of your attention than others and inattention on your part may cause someone's death including your own. I am a school teacher and it is a stressful job at the best of times. As far as getting "signed off" goes I don't know what you should do. In my job sick leave accumulates and I had taken very few days off in the past so I had heaps of sick leave owing to me. My GP understood the concept of needing time off more than my psych did and he had no issue with writing the "unfit for work" certificate. When it comes to our psychological health sometimes even the experts are wrong because they see us for one hour a week and don't have to deal with the day to day that is our lives. We know what we need better than they do sometimes. That isn't to say that my psych didn't help me. He did enormously.
Obviously some people do benefit from keeping busy, I am not one of them. Only you yourself will know what is best for you. I actually left a job when I was suffering from post natal depression. I would never go back on that decision. A year later I had a full time job and worked there for 2.5 years with only half a day's sickness. Then I went to college again and started having panic attacks. That's when I got my sick note (I pay for the course and therefore valid sick notes are needed if you are absent). That was in late April and I haven't been back since (although I only needed 1 sick note due to a very understanding lecturer). Obviously I have succumbed to telling you my recent life story hehe, but I strongly believe in doing what You think is right for you. Although a therapists opinion would always be welcomed by me. Having just started CBT I can tell she is going to push me hehe.
Trying to get signed off sick is absolutely the worst thing you can possibly do in your situation.
going to discuss with the doctor tomorrow.
With all due respect skippy you are not qualified to give that advice to the OP. Noone here is. I have read some of your posts and whilst it is admirable that you have managed to overcome your HA without the help of therapy etc it doesn't mean that your methods will work for other HA sufferers. They certainly wouldn't have worked for me.
Darren, you have to make a decision. What is worse? Staying in your job and continuing to deliver an unsatisfactory work performance which may very well end in you getting the sack or taking time off and escaping the pressures you are under at work which may also result in the loss of your job. Can you afford to lose your job? Is it possible that it was your job that brought on your HA in the first place? If the answers to those questions are yes then maybe your best move is to take the time off and accept the consequences. There are always other jobs.
bethanyjay
07-08-13, 14:37
With all due respect skippy you are not qualified to give that advice to the OP. Noone here is. I have read some of your posts and whilst it is admirable that you have managed to overcome your HA without the help of therapy etc it doesn't mean that your methods will work for other HA sufferers. They certainly wouldn't have worked for me.
Darren, you have to make a decision. What is worse? Staying in your job and continuing to deliver an unsatisfactory work performance which may very well end in you getting the sack or taking time off and escaping the pressures you are under at work which may also result in the loss of your job. Can you afford to lose your job? Is it possible that it was your job that brought on your HA in the first place? If the answers to those questions are yes then maybe your best move is to take the time off and accept the consequences. There are always other jobs.
I agree totally with what you have put, I had a breakdown not so long ago with going to my job which was to do with my anxiety, it certainly would not have helped me going day in day out.
Speak to your GP Darren and do what you feel is the best for you. I believe that health is wealth.
Bethany
nomorepanic
07-08-13, 14:41
If you are stuck in a situation that you can't afford to give up work though then it is better to stick at it sometimes.
With all due respect skippy you are not qualified to give that advice to the OP. Noone here is. I have read some of your posts and whilst it is admirable that you have managed to overcome your HA without the help of therapy etc it doesn't mean that your methods will work for other HA sufferers. They certainly wouldn't have worked for me.
I have made no claim to be a medical professional, all I'm offering is my opinion just like every other non-medically-qualified person on this forum.
The methods I used to cure my health anxiety were basically an amalgamation of techniques from the books I've read on the subject - the likes of Claire Weekes. I do appreciate that they don't work for everyone but I believe the vast majority of people will find success with these methods.
Going back to the original poster, someone else pointed out that the way it was worded was wrong - you should never try and manipulate a doctor into giving you time off sick. Go to the doctor with your symptoms and if he signs you off then fair enough. Nic is right that it is better to stick at it, especially if you can't afford to take the time off (in my opinion).
In the end only you can truly know whether you are too unwell to work or not. I have taken time off in the past but it's only been a couple of weeks. I was just too unwell to work and in my job (I am a teacher) if I am not doing my job properly then it isn't fair on the students. However I have to say that once you take time off, going back is much harder and you build it up in your mind so that it is this big scary thing, I can see how in some cases this can lead to being long term sick. If you are going to take time off, then I think you need a structured recovery plan. In my case, I took two weeks off years ago when I started meds. The side effects for the first two weeks were horrendous, on top of being in an awful state anyway. Once the side effects wore off I forced myself to go back even though my anxiety was still through the roof. Once the medication kicked in, work got easier and I gradually recovered. I am someone who pushes themself and will only stop once I reach a complete state of collapse, sometimes it is healthier to step in before you reach complete collapse, sometimes it is better to press in through, but nobody can make the decision for you
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