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Depression and returning to work - any help?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hello,

I was diagnosed with depression in June, and have been taking antidepressants since then. One of the main causes of this was my job. I have a total lack of stimulation at work, which mostly involves patrolling a dark, often empty gallery with no natural light for hours on end. Not the best place for someone with depression, huh?! I have been signed off work since mid November because of this, and I've been feeling lots better, alot more like my old self.

But now I'm worried I will lose my job if I don't go back. I have been looking for a new job for months and months, with no success due to the current climate. I really don't know what to do. I don't want to go back, because I will feel as bad as I did just before I left, and it will start all over again. But I can't keep taking time off because I think I will be made redundant if I don't go back soon.

This is making me feel really stressed, I've started getting migranes and I'm having trouble sleeping again. Money is such a major issue, so I can't just quit (as much as I'd like to), but I don't see any other option than going back.

Can anyone offer some advice? I could really do with some help.

-x-

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well as you probably know - Night time work and darkness are not the best working environments for depression.

    I would suggest (depending on where you live) that you get some temporary assistance for money help.

    You should start to be pretty stable if you continue with your anti-depressants and make sure you take them everyday at the same time everyday.

    You should continue to work at your current job -- join a temp agency they will help you get a job that you are quilified for.

    Have you tried talking to your employer? They may be able to work with you in a schedule switch....

    Good luck.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi,

    I work day shifts, 8:45am - 5pm, but I have to work every Saturday and only get 1 sunday off a month. This is putting a strain on my relationship with my Fiance, as he works at night over the weekends, so we're pretty much like ships passing in the night!

    The main part of my job is to look after art galleries within a museum. I enjoyed it at first, but things just really got to me over time. A close friend died 5 days after I started working there, my Fiance got made reduntant a year later, we lost another friend to cancer a few months back, and I'm currently undergoing screening for a cancer that seems to be passed on in my family. So I had all this stressing me out, and spending hours in an often empty room, with no-one to talk to and nothing to do but stare at the walls and pace about like a bear in a zoo, allowed me to keep mulling over all these things.

    I am learning to deal with my grief, and since I've been on my tablets most of the other stuff has been rectified. My biggest problem now is that I'm in a job that really isn't me, and there doesn't seem to be many options for changing the way I work there.

    After speaking to my Union rep, he did some investigating for me, and pretty much said that if I go back and it all starts again, that my boss will begin proceedings to let me go, as I'm not capable of doing my job. The same will probably happen if I stay off sick longer. The whole company is a joke, and there is no support from my department for people with depression.

    I just feel totally unsure about what to do for the best.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you have been seeing a Psychiatrist as an outpatient or even an inpatient they should have somewhere in the hospital that you have attended something called an Employment Retention Worker who can liase with your employer on your behalf.

    I know that not all NHS Trusts have one but it may be worth enquiring to see if they have, and once you have established this if they do have such a person get in contact with them and explain your situation with regards to your job and your concerns about it all.

    Hope this information helps.

    Good Luck
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