Time off work for Panic/Anxiety

[candee86]

Hello All,

I work full time but have been really struggling to make work recently and have had so much time off in the past year.

I am struggling today and havent gone into work yet because I feel so bad but scared about having more time off because I am in trouble about it as it is!!

Have any of you had lots of time off work because of your anxiety/panic...whats have your work said?

Any ideas on what I can do?

Thanks
Candy xx

[PanicOver!!]

Hi

Have you had a doctors note ref your anxiety and stress
you are caught in a vicious circle the more time of you have the more anxious you become, talk to your doctor as maybe you would be better to have a small break from work to allow you time to get better x

[Thorny]

Hi Candy,

Sorry to hear that you are having a rough time of it.

I am currently off work (signed off by a psychiatrist for 3 wks.) Luckily, my employer has been understanding about the situation (although they are to refer me to occupational health again due to the amount of time i have had off).

I have kept them informed as to what i am doing to try & resolve the issues e.c.t, which includes giving them correspondence with the psychiatrist & telling my manager that they have my permission to contact my gp. Also, I’ve started going into work just for a few hours every couple of days just to keep in contact with them & also to try & break the barriers in terms of anxiety/panic attacks whilst at work.

As Marc said, it can get into a vicious circle. Maybe you could see your gp and explain the pressure you are under from work regarding the amount of time you have had off?

For me, the biggest thing has been communicating with work about what’s going on. The more information they have, the better they seem to understand. Of course, to start with this was horrifically hard to do, but has slowly got better.

Take Care. If you ever need a chat then shout.

Matt

[candee86]

Thank you for that you two, I am talking to my doctor at 12 today so we shall see!

I have been in contact with work a lot and thats fine but it just feels never ending and when I had a meeting with HR they were saying they were understanding but if it carried on then they would have to take a more formal route :S which has really scared me!! I dont even know what that means

xx

[BabyRachel]

I've recently had the same issue with college not work. It has been so stressful and my anxiety has been so bad that I've started to take days off when I just can't cope. It was building up on me, I felt so guilty about taking time off and stressed I wouldn't get my diploma and I decided I needed to come clean and tell them what was going on. It was hard but they were understanding.

I got my psychologist to write a letter telling them how much it was affecting me doing my work/attending classes/assignments. I suggest you do this. Go to your doctor or psychologist and ask them if they could write you a letter explaining this. Once you have told your work about it they may even have ways to help you deal with the stress at work.

Hope things work out soon. xx

[BabyRachel]

Thank you for that you two, I am talking to my doctor at 12 today so we shall see!

I have been in contact with work a lot and thats fine but it just feels never ending and when I had a meeting with HR they were saying they were understanding but if it carried on then they would have to take a more formal route :S which has really scared me!! I dont even know what that means

xx

I also suggest you ask them what will happen from here. It must be worrying to have been told they would take a more formal route, especially because you don't know what that means! Being in the dark i always more worrying. Knowledge is power. x

[lyndon41]

yes i too have had a lengthy amount of time off work for anxiety/panic.keep your employer informed and dont be afraid to tell the truth,also ask if you can do reduced hours or lighter duties for a while but DONT shut yourself away in the hope that they will understand for ever.they have a moral obligation to work with you and if they value you enough then they will.try to go to work on one of your bad days and work through it then gradually it will get easier(trust me i know).it will get better my sweet dont let it beat you.
good luck and keep fighting x x

[candee86]

Thank you sooo much they are such lovely words!! I will try to go to work on Monday I think :S fingers crossed x

[BabyRachel]

Let us know how you went! Hope everything went well for you. x