hello

[pitzey]

Hi there,

I am new to this website, I have suffered depression now for a few years and have hi anxiety , low self esteem , no confidence etc ... where before I was on top of the world....

A few bad life events have changed me , xmas 2007 my best friend was killed in a car crash, feb 2008 I found out my wife was cheating on me , September 2008 my dad was diagnosed with cancer, feb 2009 my dad died, june 2009 I was made redundant , july 2009 my family caused me lots of grief.

this has had a massive effect on myself and until now I seemed to cope.

I have now been signed off work with depression , my question is has anyone felt guilty about taking time off , and what is an acceptable time to take off ....

regards paul

[MRS STRESS ED]

Hello and welcome sounds like you had alot to cope with there is alot of help and support here :)

[Sparkle1984]

Welcome to the forums! I'm sure you'll find plenty of help and support here - I certainly have. :)

Sorry to hear you've been through a lot of trauma over the years. It is good that you're getting help now.

I can relate to feeling guilty when signed off work. Try not to feel guilty though - you wouldn't for any other type of illness. Don't go back until you feel able to do so. It's better to take some time off now to recover rather than feeling even worse later on and then having to take even more time off. I was signed off for 7 working days (11 days if counting weekends). This was enough time for me to get over my medication side effects and I felt better. It wasn't until after 12 weeks that I felt completely back to my normal self though. Everyone is different though.