Fear of Going To Work - Anxiety

[Alison]

I am new to this forum and am currently on suspension from my job (as a counsellor) due to attendance issues (a lot of missed days - Fridays) as well as discrepancies in my paperwork ie. claiming mileage for days that I was off. This was simply do to an oversight - I've never been good with details and have wondered if my mental health and treatment may be to blame.

I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder over 10 years ago and have been on medication and under the care of a psychiatrist since. I have since had issues with attendance and jobs. My job has some stress involved but nothing in comparison to what I've had in the past. I love this job and I am good at it when I'm there.

There is very little accountability as the job requires me to travel and attend different sites. My first thought when I wake up is how can I justify not going today, how can I get out of it. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it....I have done it on days where I've had alot to do and on days that would be very low key.

Has anyone else experienced this????????? Is it connected to my mental health or is it something else??????? Just looking for people who've had the same experience and any advice that you can give.

 

[Jazzey]

Hi Allison,

I also suffer from anxiety. I'm also diagnosed with major depression. On my worst days, I do exactly what you're saying in your post. I wake up wondering whether I can afford (work-wise) not going to work. And if the answer to that is yes, I spend the rest of the day anxious about all that isn't being done.

Lately, I've been playing a few mind games with myself. So, for instance - when i get up with this thought, I tell myself that I have to go in for a couple of hours - just get a few things done. And then, if I'm still feeling that way, I can come home. Usually, by the time I force myself to get to work (which is quite the endeavour), I forget about why it is that I was needing to stay home...

Alison, do you have a therapist? Are you on any medications?

 

[Alison]

Thank you so much for replying so quickly. I don't have a therapist - but do have a psychiatrist and am in the process of finding a therapist. I feel the same - I usually spend the whole day in bed sleeping because if I get up and think about it then I will become anxious like you said worried about all of the things I'll need to do to make up for this missed day.

I like that mind game....a couple of hours in manageable...I rarely feeling the anxiety once I'm there...so this should help....any other tricks.

What I'm also wondering is whether to tell my employer about my mental health struggles etc???

---------- Post added at 07:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ----------

Yes...I'm on wellbutrin 150 mg, Zoloft 125 mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg - all taken early morning

 

[Jazzey]

I personally don't believe in sharing about mental health issues. Having said that, it really depends on your employer and the relationship that you have with your employer.

Other tricks: 1) at night, I right down a list of only 2 things that have to be done the next day (I limit it to two otherwise I sink); The mere fact of writing it down is almost an internal commitment that it will get done the next day. Typically, by the time I get through those two first priorities, I write two more...I monitor my mood throughout. Typically, by 4:30PM I'm fairly exhausted but, because I've gotten all of these items done, i don't feel guilty about it. ; 2) When I'm at work, I take an hourly 10 minutes break to stand up, stretch, close my eyes a little, maybe think about me for a few minutes and how I'm feeling. That helps too for some reason. Then, when the minutes are gone, I can usually sit back down and get the next chunk down.

It's all about breaking the workload into chunks for me. Manageable hourly chunks...These are tricks that work for me Alison. But, I'm imagining that depending on the type of work that you do, you too can play around with these types of tricks...

I would strongly urge you to find a psychologist, or therapist. I find it's helped me calm my anxiety quite a bit...

 

[Alison]

Thanks so much...those are great ideas and are definitely doable. You've given me a sense of relief by just knowing that someone else experiences this as well.

Do you find you miss or overlook details due to medications or other mental health struggles?????