Work

[Rednip]

Hello all is anyone else having trouble working when you have gad???im finding it very hard

[peaceandlove]

yes man... it sux

[joshbagosh]

I find that at work it's a lot worse than when im home! Every sensation heightens two fold!

[Buttercup]

I have just returned to work after having around 6 months off due to my anxiety. So yes, it can be very hard. Although during my time off I worked mt ass off to get over my problems and am now back at work and pretty much anxiety free. I found that while I was working when I had anxiety it just got worse and worse hence having to take time off to sort it out.

[joshbagosh]

What were your symptoms buttercup and how did you recover?

[erinnc1984]

Hey guys I am new to this forum and I can relate to all that you are saying, at work my anxiety is very high

[ivanas757]

I even called 911 last week . I was only hired temp for now an I doubt they will find a real spot for me now. I am so embarrassed I called 911 but I seriously thought this one was it. And I truly like work. So i don't get why I panic. Yesterday I just had a bad dizzy spell an had to grab the counter. Today I left my glasses at home an I am just dizzy in general. Will this ever stop? I completely feel your pain and all I can say is just keep the faith. One day we will all over vom

[trustit1nce]

Yeah it's hard to get work with this illness.

[ivanas757]

I refused to go on disability though. That to me feel.like complete failure. I mean I am 29 years old. Completely healthy. Other than the anxiety.

[daisy84279]

If you can get disability for anything, please do! My fiancee' has been struggling to get disability for over a year now, and I know its still a long road ahead. He has 2 things wrong with his spinal chord, and 2 things wrong with his spine. He can't get anyone to take him seriously. So please, if you can get disability, don't be ashamed of how old you are. He is only 32. If its interfering with your everyday functions, you need it!

[ivanas757]

I seriously don't think it would be so easy its just something my friends suggest. But I really would want to try and over come anxiety instead of feeling like I failed and had to be classified as disabled.

[octopus]

People at my work are friendly. At first I was nervous about what people think of me. They say I'm quirky but funny and cool. People will accept you for who you are.

[Rednip]

Thankyou for all your comments ,,,I feel so scared at work sounds stupid really ,I've had anxiety since I was a child now I'm in my thirtys and just got worse over the years.

[Serenity 7]

i know completly how you feel.im due back to work next week,and im shitting myself.the thought of my work makes me anxious.and i like my work.have been there for 15 years.so i dont get it.but i do believe that the more you avoid it the more it becomes a phobia.but its the main thing that is causing me to be anxious so i need to face my fear and over come it

[Rednip]

Your right Serenity it does become a phobia and probably habit the thing is I have OCD to go with it so when I do something I have to look and check a million times before I think it's right ,really doing my brain in then when I get home the anxiety starts up all over again and think I havnt done something or checked something .

[Serenity 7]

ohhhhhhhh yip i know what you mean.i have ocd as well.makes it 10 times harder

[ivanas757]

Lately at work its been between 5/6 I start straight panicking. Like all the symptoms. And I get off at 7 so its.clearly anticipated anxiety. But how.in the heck do.I get it to stop.

[Buttercup]

What were your symptoms buttercup and how did you recover?

Hi Josh,
I have three bad "episdoes" of anxiety where it has been so bad it's affected my daily life. The most recent one started with a panic attack at work that happened a couple of weeks after reducing my medication. After the attack I constantly felt on edge and spent the next few weeks at work feeling unwell and stressed. It went from bad to worse and I ended up being off sick. I stopped going out of the house as I was so scared of having another attack. I stopped socialising and would only leave the house to visit my parents or pop to the shops but even when I did that I would have classic panic symptoms like racing heart, sweating, dizziness, shortness of breathe, disorientation and so on. I spent a lot of time in bed as that was the only place I felt safe and when I managed to sleep it was amazing just having a break from my constant fear. I felt generally ill as well- headaches, fuzzy head and constantly feeling tired but I struggled to sleep.

Anyway, my doctor upped my citalopram to 40mg and I was referred to a psychologist but the waiting list was months so I contacted a private psychotherapist who my friend had seen and started weekly sessions which were an immense help. She educated me further on anxiety, found the original root of my problems and taught me how to trust myself again. I eventually got beta blockers from my doc because of my increased heart rate and palpitations which made such a difference to my life. I also started trying to eat better, listen to relaxation cd's and generally look after myself. I started leaving the house again but just baby steps- going to the local shops for a few minutes, walking round the block and so on and then I would build up the amount of time I was out the house until I started to feel more comfortable.

During this time I was also in touch with my work and my HR manager was very understanding and helpful. They offered me support and were very flexible when it came to planning my return to work, they offered a phased return, reduction in duties if need be, less hours, change of department and pretty much anything that they could do to help me be able to return and stay in work.

All of this helped my recovery along with having support from family, friends and my partner. I have now been able to get back to work- I am working in a different service, doing full time hours and am back to enjoying work and my personal life. I do still worry about relapsing but I think if i do I am now better equipped to deal with it. Although I am leading a more "normal life" there are still things that I won't do like go on an airplane, travel too far away from home and go certain places but I am going to work on that with my therapist.

Hope that helped!
B x