Are you able to work ?

[Rom]

Im wondering how many others out there are like me their anxiety/depression really hinders their work prospects causing them to be largely unsuccessful in getting/holding down a job.

Does your anxiety/depression stop you from working ?

How do you deal with the guilt and shame of not being able to work and does the whole thing depress you more ?

[Vixxy]

I get jobs, then I have to quit because of my anxiety. Since then Im just not going to bother looking for work until I know I can do it.
I dont feel ashamed that I cant work because I know I cannot help how I feel.
If you had a physical problem noone would look down on you for not working and i firmly believe mental health is exactly the same.
Dont ever feel bad for not being "normal"!

[MatthewH]

Ive found that i'm ok with work, but that its out of work i suffer from anxiety. The thing is, ive worked in my job for 8 years, and only suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for 3. I think its the fact that having worked in my job so long, i know that im fine with it. I occasionally have problems at work, but nothing as bad as when im out with my fiancee, or having a night out.

[jothenurse]

I'm presently on a medical leave from work - not sure if I will be able to handle it or not when I return. It is a very stressful job.

[JT69]

Hi Jo,

I ended up having 5 months off work this last time I became ill with dep/anxiety, it didnt help that having taken citalopram in the past and it being sucessfull this past time it didnt work so I had to change med to mirtazipine so this resulted in the time off work being longer than I would of liked. Having said all that, I needed that time. I have a pretty stressful job too and have worked for the company for over 20 years and have never taken much time off...I am one of those people who drag mysel in regardless but this last time suffering as I did I just couldnt, I did try going back on a couple of occasions but had to come home again, I was in such a state.

Time is a healer and you will know firstly if you really do need the time off, as I believe that the distraction helps at times and secondly when the right time is to go back...yes there is an element of "push" involved but you do know when that time is right.

So my advice to you is take the time if you need it and once you feel strong enough go back.

Hard when you are not a person normally taking time off. I felt so guilty at first but had to "accept" that I just would be not good to anyone the state I was in so once I accepted I then took the time to heal.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon.
JO.xx

[doktorjohn]

I'm not able to work but, having been to an Atos medical assessment, the DWP want to stop my benefits. I have to appeal at a tribunal.

If anyone is on a sickness benefit please post here because I have important advice on this matter.

[unspoken]

I'm not able to work at the moment due to anxiety, depression and a general lack of energy and frequently getting ill. I volunteer in a charity shop 3 afternoons a week and that seems to be about as much as I can cope with. I was doing a job in a high stress environment with a very stressful commute and also having a busy social life involving a lot of travelling and I got burned out and ill from it. I am scared of getting another job because I think I won't be able to cope. I did feel bad and embarrassed and thought I was totally useless and a failure because I couldn't cope with the job I had, but since I've been doing the volunteering, I have felt better about myself and I have something to say when people ask me what I'm doing these days.

[doktorjohn]

I will be doing something in the voluntary sector as well. I am happier when I am working but bosses often drive people too hard. I'd love to help out without all that pressure making me ill.

dj

[puppyskin]

I'm not able to work but, having been to an Atos medical assessment, the DWP want to stop my benefits. I have to appeal at a tribunal.

If anyone is on a sickness benefit please post here because I have important advice on this matter.
im on ESA but they declared me fit for work.

[mumble]

I am unable to work and currently waiting to hear back from ESA - after they asked me to go for a medical assessment interview and since I'm agoraphobic, asked my dr to send a letter explaining I cannot go.

[Rom]

Does anyone in this situation feel despaired about the whole choosing and following a career part of life but made even worse by the anxiety etc?

[allergyphobia]

i had 3 weeks off my job due to health problems and anxiety, returned to work and couldnt cope and am now part time which i find a lot better. the fact is i am not enjoying my job, i so i want something new, but the idea of going full time in a stressful new job scares me as i dont think i am ready. i am 22, i want to be starting my career and this is wasting my time and holding me back. half of me wants to go for it and the other half is scared of failure and making myself iller. i definitely despair of this situation.

[doktorjohn]

Basically guys almost everyone who has an Atos assessment is declared fit, and to really stick it to you, they are giving zero or 2 points out of the 15 you need.

Most people win at the appeal but you have to live on 52 quid a week until then. Check out this website:- http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/benefits-tax-credits-minimum/

dj

[Danath]

I lost two jobs last year to anxiety, but i will try again.

[unspoken]

Does anyone in this situation feel despaired about the whole choosing and following a career part of life but made even worse by the anxiety etc?

Yes, exactly! The breakdown I had seemed to centre around what I wanted to do with my life. I was living in outer London, working the other side of central London, nightmare journey, long hours, minimum wage, working with a bunch of people who acted like I wasn't there. My boss was nice but hardly ever there. At first I had quite a lot to do, even though it was monotonous, but it kept my mind busy. I managed to get through the commute with music from my mp3 player and browsing the net on my phone, kind of escapism from the hot overcrowded buses and trains.

Then around mid November I ran out of stuff to do. Someone new joined the team at a higher level than me and all the work got passed on to her. I became the odd jobs person for the whole office but a lot of my time was spend sitting at my desk doing absolutely nothing. I had too much time to think and of course in crept the "is this what I want to be doing with the rest of my life?!" thoughts. Truth is, I didn't want to be working there at all, but I was offered the chance and thought I couldn't turn it down because it was what people would expect of me. I felt increasingly depressed. I already felt anxious there because heights and glass walls and air conditioned atmospheres and telephones and stressy, unpredictable people make me anxious and all could be found there. When I did do work, I seemed to get yelled at for not doing everything quite right, when it generally wasn't my fault. I spent my days thinking about how lovely nature is and wondering why the hell we lock ourselves in artificial buildings. After a few weeks I ended up taking sick leave and when I went back after it I just couldn't hack it any more, I'd tasted the freedom of being able to spend my days at home watching TV, or out walking around in the fresh air, and I couldn't bring myself to get up in the morning, do the commute, sit in the office all day with people I hated, doing absolutely nothing.

So I quit. By text message. Because my boss didn't have the time to call me up and talk about it.

I started antidepressants that same week, my GP said I had severe depression on top of the anxiety. I was in a terrible state. I was racked with guilt and felt like a failure for not being able to cope. That was 5 months ago. With time, counselling and perspective, I can now see that the job was a particularly unfortunate situation with the firm being in financial difficulties. However, when I tried to think about getting another job, I couldn't decide what I want to do with my life. I thought about it for a long time and realised that there is nothing I particularly want to achieve out of life. I've never had any particular goals or direction. This made me feel suicidal. I am doing some volunteering now, in a charity shop. I know I am overqualified for it but I actually quite enjoy it. It keeps me busy. I am worried about what I am going to do to make money though.
- I don't really feel interested in anything.
- Anxiety rather limits my options. Quite a lot of jobs are out of bounds because of it.
- I get tired so easily.

I am thinking that an office job really isn't my thing. My mum still thinks I can be a highflying career woman but I think that is out of the question. No one seems to be able to help me in this. At the moment I am learning to drive because I think it will broaden my choices and allow me to live/work outside of central London.

Sorry for the length of my answer to your question! Yes I do find anxiety makes decisions about what to do with my life harder, is the short answer.

[jothenurse]

JT69
I have been on my leave for about two months now, and my counselor is thinking I should begin to think about going back. I also never called in, but when the anxiety got so strong, and it is a very high stress job, I thought I should take a leave. I still have the anxiety and the panic attacks. My mornings are the worse. I take 1 mg Ativan in the morning and a .5 at noon. I did not do well with SSRI's. I think the counselor feels if I got back to work I would start focusing on work and not so much on my anxiety. I have lost a lot of weight (20 pounds) and I just dread the comments on "Boy, you lost a lot of weight." I am in a supervisory position.
Mornings are the rough time for me - I wake up and feel gaggy all morning and can't eat. I usually can eat better later in the day. My mornings are like "I can't do this anymore", etc.
Any suggestions?