How well do you manage your job, having a mental illness?!
Question: What's your occupation? Do you work part-time or full-time? What's/are your mental illness diagnosis/diagnoses?
I'm just doing a survey to see how well people with mental illnesses deal with working a normal job.
I'm unemployed & looking for a job & can't find one. I suffer OCD, Tourette's, anxiety, & depression.
I feel like any task I have to do is very overwhelming & difficult, even things such as cleaning the house & cooking.
Does your job come @ you easy or is it overwhelming? I always feel like I don't have any skills or talents. It's like everything I try to do, people always say I'm not good enough, & I get frustrated & feel hopeless.
***Thanks for participating.
Answers: What's your occupation? Do you work part-time or full-time? What's/are your mental illness diagnosis/diagnoses?
I'm just doing a survey to see how well people with mental illnesses deal with working a normal job.
I'm unemployed & looking for a job & can't find one. I suffer OCD, Tourette's, anxiety, & depression.
I feel like any task I have to do is very overwhelming & difficult, even things such as cleaning the house & cooking.
Does your job come @ you easy or is it overwhelming? I always feel like I don't have any skills or talents. It's like everything I try to do, people always say I'm not good enough, & I get frustrated & feel hopeless.
***Thanks for participating.
1) I was working part-time and going to school full-time and I couldn't do it. By it, I mean anything... child-care, retail, ANYTHING, even the simplest of jobs that would be so easy.
2) My official and final diagnosis is general anxiety and depression as well as borderline personality disorder.
All my jobs seemed super overwhelming but now I have gotten help and am ready to face the workforce again.
University lecturer - full time.
OCD/Hypochondria (severe)/GAD
Not easy. A real struggle at times, but I get by. I actually like what I do so that helps. I have had jobs which I hated and that was tough. I couldn't cope with some.
DO NOT listen to other people. Find something YOU like, study for it and get out there. It's really not worth wasting precious life time on doing what other people think you should. Good luck to you.
First, do not ever let anyone tell you that you are not good enough. When people are negative like that, it makes the problems you have worse. Learn to block those people out.
I manage my job very well. I have to take a medication to help me to overcome the problems I have that are very similar to yours. But I take one task at a time focus on it and try not to start another until that one is where I can go to another. I react differently than you do because I do not have and have not ever let anyone tell me there is something I cannot do. I have always been determined to do the best I can regardless of what anyone thinks. It is something you will have to work on so that you will believe in yourself. Do I feel overwhelmed? The feeling tries to come but I can stop it by trying to focus on how to solve the problem that I am being faced with.
I was a regional manager trainee when I was held up at gunpoint. This caused a lot of the problems I had to make matters worse. I went back to school and changed careers. I now am a personal assistant/caregiver/nanny for an astronaut and an attorney. Now I am capable of changing schedules many times with a minute's notice as my job is demanding as my employers by have demanding jobs when something changes in their schedules.
Depression - Diagnosed.
I have been diagnosed with other stuff but I never keep track.. that is what my psychiatrist is for.. lol
Anyway.. I don't manage working, everytime I take on a job or task I go off the rails and pretty much end up a big mess.
I was always upfront with potential employers about my depressive condition, that might not have always been in my best interest, but no way I want to disappoint them only to have to answer questions after I went off the rail.
Good on you for trying, it is a really long process.
Goodluck
I was a day care provider, I only do that as needed. I volunteer at a place for people who have mental illnesses & I can do that pretty well, but I have my days where I can not even go to that place. It's so overwhemling bc I want to work, I want a life away from the illness. Part time & volunteer is what I can do for now. I hope to learn more ways to deal with what I go thru & be able to keep a job. I have PTSD & DD along with other Dx'd's. It does get in the way!
I have lived with depression for over 20 years now. Sometimes I've coped well with it, and sometimes - not so well.
Facing your illness with little baby steps is the most effective treatment I've found. Combined with the appropriate medication, I've actually become very successful in the area of financial services and now make $84k/year - which is something I used to think would be impossible.
The key for me was when I made the decision that I would do whatever it took to get better. Every area had to be worked on. Physically, I needed meds, exercise and a good diet. Emotionally, I needed therapy, a strong support system and the courage to face my fears. Spirtually, I needed to explore what the universe had to offer me and ask my higher power to support me. Then, I started taking baby steps to get better. I found a part time, easy job doing something I really enjoyed. I concentrated only on one thing...my attendence. I made the committment to showing up no matter how I felt. Once I was there, I felt better. I was then able to move into a full time position and focused on other things that started to get me noticed, like problem solving for the business issues that came up. People with mental illness have a keen knack of being creative problem solvers with stuff outside of ourselves. After that, I was finally able to finish my degree which is 95% just "showing up" and doing the work. It took me 10 years to build these skills, but now I'm very successful in my field.
If you are not able to even clean or cook, you either need to throw yourself into getting better (just like with any disease that threatens your survival) or go on government assistance. I don't buy your excuse of not being able to find a job. You either aren't trying too hard, are sabotaging your interviews, or are not willing to move to a town that has jobs. Our country has the lowest unemployment rates ever right now - there is NO WAY that you cannot find a job if you are really trying to find something. Get honest with that and I'll bet you find a job within a few weeks. If its sacking groceries, or cleaning public bathrooms, do it...we all have to start somewhere.
The fact that you can type on a computer is proof you have some skills.
This can be done if you want it bad enough. No job should be beneath you to start with.
One other tip...and this is important. Self-control. Do not talk about your mental illness with anyone unless it is with your boss and you have to explain something. The Tourette syndrome may be something that you have to explain. If it is verbal tourettes, then you must find a job where you can work by yourself so that you do not disturb people. Get creative about what kind of jobs you can do from home. Contact your local mental health facility and ask them for some sort of assistance or to point you in the right direction for finding a job.
And lastly, stay on the meds. It has been my experience that everything goes to heck for me when I go off the meds. Mental illness is just like any other disease, if you don't treat it with respect by taking meds and going to therapy, then you deserve the consequences just as a diabetic would deserve to go into insulin shock if they overeat sugar. Just because you have a disease in your brain doesn't mean that you can not take care of yourself.
It is good that you posted looking for help, but now its time to get off the pity pot (i.e. I have no talents or skills - heck, can you push a broom?). get to work!
Most will not admit they have a problem and often do have a lot of problems with their work. They usually blame others for everything that seems to be bad in their lives.
Those that truly do know they have mental problems make very good workers as long as they can work as their abilities will allow.
Borderline Personality Disorder.
When i am at work I function really well. I am a conveyancing secretary and i love my work. I have areas in my life where I am a high achiever, and areas in my life that are the complete opposite. Sometimes I feel like I'm two people. But work keeps me sane.
I suffer from depression. No one has ever noticed a problem at work. I handle my job very well; my personal life is the mess.
severe depression, and anger issues, i work the night shift security, nobody around to piss me off