Do I stay or do I go
I work in a very high stress area, a lot of addiction, mental health difficulties, child protection issues ect! I love my job and I’ve work in the area for 3 years (only graduated College last year, casual work for a year and a half, full time ever since) but I feel like I’m really not coping well with the stress the job brings.
I’ve recently been diagnosed with OCD and general anxiety disorder and my anxiety has been at an all time high for the last year! The job causes me so much stress to the point of being physically sick, but at the same time I enjoy it so much. I do a lot of self care but nothing seems to be enough! I’ve always known that this area of work has a lot of burn out so I knew it was like a ticking time bomb since I started but it’s hit me so much sooner then I expected and I’m really disappointed with myself for feeling like this! The though of leavings the sector all together fills me with so much anxiety, I’ll be a quitter, people will know I couldn’t handle the stress, I won’t find something else I love to do. But I’m afraid to stay any longer Incase I break!
As I said I always knew there was a time limit on how long I could do this sort of job, and I would go through phases of “I just need to get through this week” and the anxiety would ease after a while, but since this dip in my mental health the last year I feel as though I’ve been saying “you just gotta get through this week” for a year straight and I’m exhausted!! I kept thinking this super high anxiety would fade and it really hasn’t so I’ve excepted it as my new normal and I don’t know if my new normal can cope with this job.
Has anyone ever stepped back from a job they love? Was it the right choice?
@amiablePal9825
I can SOOO relate to what you are saying! I had to do the same thing right before covid started. My job was affecting my mental and physical health to the point that I was totally stressed 24/7 so I can feel your pain.
For me, I started thinking about the long term affects that stress causes us and even though I loved the job, I realized that it was just not a healthy environment to be in for my own sake. I think it comes down to the fact that we typically spend more time at work then at home or any other place. Happiness and healthiness matter. Life is too short to spend it stressed to our limit all the time.
And with that in mind, choose you❤️
@amiablePal9825
You just told my story. I also have OCD and GAD and am in a high stress industry. I was furloughed due to Covid in March of 2020 for 16 months. Upon returning I was outsourced to another facet of the industry that had an even higher stress level. Like you, I went week to week expecting things to smooth out and get better as I became more accustomed. Did not happen. Ended up in the ER. Took two weeks medical leave. Still no good. Tried for two more months and all just got worse. I am now on short term disability. I will not go back. I have been in a love / hate relationship with this industry for 30 years. I will take a huge cut in pay by leaving but it took a near mental break down for me to realize that it is just not worth it. But this is me not you. Try working with your companies HR department. Ask a bout the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Bring the application to your doctor. You may be able to get an authorized reduction of work load or reduced hours. Many companies these days are desperate to keep their employees. It's a start.
