Discussion & help on depression & mental health related issues

[zzr45]

Might be time to start looking for something else then, mate. I know it's not that simple with bills etc, but your mental well being needs to come first. Have you had a look to see if there's anything about?

There isn’t too much without either taking a pay cut and effectively a huge career step back or commuting into Manchester each day. Sadly I’m in an absolute Catch 22 where every other box is checked apart from the quality of the job.

 

[Tipp blue]

There isn’t too much without either taking a pay cut and effectively a huge career step back or commuting into Manchester each day. Sadly I’m in an absolute Catch 22 where every other box is checked apart from the quality of the job.

Can you ask the manager or whoever is in charge for more to do, I've yet to meet an employer who'd turn down such a request.

 

[larrygobfiend]

There isn’t too much without either taking a pay cut and effectively a huge career step back or commuting into Manchester each day. Sadly I’m in an absolute Catch 22 where every other box is checked apart from the quality of the job.

That sucks mate, I kinda know the feeling. I was so bored in work at one point that I was gambling on the football inplays. It's a real shame that you can't help out with other stuff. Maybe ask if you could do a course or something and do that in your down time?

 

[anjelikaferrett]

There isn’t too much without either taking a pay cut and effectively a huge career step back or commuting into Manchester each day. Sadly I’m in an absolute Catch 22 where every other box is checked apart from the quality of the job.

\talk to your manager. Tell them that you feel isolated and excluded and do not have any meaningful work to do. Say it's affecting your self-esteem and well-being. Mental health in work is huge at the moment. There's loads of campaigns about it. If you can throw in a few buzz words like "lack of engagement" "frustration" and "resilience" so much the better, Or is there an option for you to work from home? Would that make you feel any better. At least you would not have to travel and sit in an office all day.

 

[Rob17896]

Yeah the amount of books I’ve gone through on my phone is ridiculous. The only problem is trying to read when everyone else is busy.

Why not ask them about their future skills requirements or areas they feel they could improve in, and get them to agree to allow you to do a course, could be online. Or knowing what they do, find a requirement yourself and suggest it. You have my sympathy as I once did just two weeks holiday cover in a firm where the person I had to report to just skived and insisted I do the same. Longest fortnight of my life.

You need to take things into your own hands because it sounds as though they are either too busy or not forward thinking enough. Either way, don't allow your lifge to be wasted or your health put in jeopardy.

 

[goodisonopheliac]

I'm just going to copy and paste something I wrote on my Facebook. Background: I work in a hospital and I have fibromyalgia, and we have 2 staff off sick, one long-term, and one on leave. I'm a Band 2 admin worker, but I'm also doing extra work, including Band 3 work. I reluctantly consented to doing it as I don't like change. I'm autistic, and one of the side effects is that I deal very badly with change. I got told at short notice that I was going to be in a different room, doing extra work, and I cried my eyes out for ages. I've also been having a lot of anxiety attacks recently.

We had the Equality & Diversity meeting today and were also discussing work-related stuff. Originally it wasn't mandatory but then they decided everyone had to go, and it was running from 1pm-3pm. I said I didn't want to stay overtime because I'm exhausted due to the extra work I'm taking on. Like I said, every time I've just come home from work knackered and I'm in a lot of pain with my joints. My line manager insisted I go, but said I could stay till 3pm and make the time up on Monday by coming in an hour late. My colleagues at [hospital] were fine with me coming in late, though they thought all of us going the meeting was a waste of time as we all had a lot of work to be getting on with. We're 3 staff members down.

So we all get given coloured stickers in the meeting and we have to get into colour groups and my group had one of the women from the Maxillofacial Surgery department who I get on with, but it also had a colleague from [hospital I used to work at, part of the same trust] who I DON'T get on with. She's the one who said Jews killed Jesus. We had to do a quiz about equality and diversity and she said "Goodisonopheliac, you'll know all the answers" and I didn't. There were a couple of people I didn't know and I was struggling with the answers, and I was already stressed, so I just had an anxiety attack and started crying and my line manager took me out. I said that making a disabled person go to a meeting even though they'd said they weren't up to it wasn't really in keeping with equality and diversity, or words to that effect. She said, "You're not disabled, you have a condition, but you're not disabled." She said it wasn't work, it was an event, but it was work-related. She was implying I'd be letting the team down by not going, even though the [hospital] lot didn't want to be there either (and one of them also had to leave early). It was BS. She was going on about how it was supposed to be fun. It wasn't [bad word] fun. It was work-related and hospitals are not fun, especially the management side. She just treated me like a child having a tantrum. I went back in and left at about 10 past 3 and now I'm exhausted. And I'm seeing the GP tomorrow to change my meds.

Is it worth joining Unison? I've been considering it. I took a leaflet home.

 

[COYBL25]

I'm just going to copy and paste something I wrote on my Facebook. Background: I work in a hospital and I have fibromyalgia, and we have 2 staff off sick, one long-term, and one on leave. I'm a Band 2 admin worker, but I'm also doing extra work, including Band 3 work. I reluctantly consented to doing it as I don't like change. I'm autistic, and one of the side effects is that I deal very badly with change. I got told at short notice that I was going to be in a different room, doing extra work, and I cried my eyes out for ages. I've also been having a lot of anxiety attacks recently.

We had the Equality & Diversity meeting today and were also discussing work-related stuff. Originally it wasn't mandatory but then they decided everyone had to go, and it was running from 1pm-3pm. I said I didn't want to stay overtime because I'm exhausted due to the extra work I'm taking on. Like I said, every time I've just come home from work knackered and I'm in a lot of pain with my joints. My line manager insisted I go, but said I could stay till 3pm and make the time up on Monday by coming in an hour late. My colleagues at [hospital] were fine with me coming in late, though they thought all of us going the meeting was a waste of time as we all had a lot of work to be getting on with. We're 3 staff members down.

So we all get given coloured stickers in the meeting and we have to get into colour groups and my group had one of the women from the Maxillofacial Surgery department who I get on with, but it also had a colleague from [hospital I used to work at, part of the same trust] who I DON'T get on with. She's the one who said Jews killed Jesus. We had to do a quiz about equality and diversity and she said "Goodisonopheliac, you'll know all the answers" and I didn't. There were a couple of people I didn't know and I was struggling with the answers, and I was already stressed, so I just had an anxiety attack and started crying and my line manager took me out. I said that making a disabled person go to a meeting even though they'd said they weren't up to it wasn't really in keeping with equality and diversity, or words to that effect. She said, "You're not disabled, you have a condition, but you're not disabled." She said it wasn't work, it was an event, but it was work-related. She was implying I'd be letting the team down by not going, even though the [hospital] lot didn't want to be there either (and one of them also had to leave early). It was BS. She was going on about how it was supposed to be fun. It wasn't [bad word] fun. It was work-related and hospitals are not fun, especially the management side. She just treated me like a child having a tantrum. I went back in and left at about 10 past 3 and now I'm exhausted. And I'm seeing the GP tomorrow to change my meds.

Is it worth joining Unison? I've been considering it. I took a leaflet home.

@anjelikaferrett any advice ?

 

[anjelikaferrett]

I'm just going to copy and paste something I wrote on my Facebook. Background: I work in a hospital and I have fibromyalgia, and we have 2 staff off sick, one long-term, and one on leave. I'm a Band 2 admin worker, but I'm also doing extra work, including Band 3 work. I reluctantly consented to doing it as I don't like change. I'm autistic, and one of the side effects is that I deal very badly with change. I got told at short notice that I was going to be in a different room, doing extra work, and I cried my eyes out for ages. I've also been having a lot of anxiety attacks recently.

We had the Equality & Diversity meeting today and were also discussing work-related stuff. Originally it wasn't mandatory but then they decided everyone had to go, and it was running from 1pm-3pm. I said I didn't want to stay overtime because I'm exhausted due to the extra work I'm taking on. Like I said, every time I've just come home from work knackered and I'm in a lot of pain with my joints. My line manager insisted I go, but said I could stay till 3pm and make the time up on Monday by coming in an hour late. My colleagues at [hospital] were fine with me coming in late, though they thought all of us going the meeting was a waste of time as we all had a lot of work to be getting on with. We're 3 staff members down.

So we all get given coloured stickers in the meeting and we have to get into colour groups and my group had one of the women from the Maxillofacial Surgery department who I get on with, but it also had a colleague from [hospital I used to work at, part of the same trust] who I DON'T get on with. She's the one who said Jews killed Jesus. We had to do a quiz about equality and diversity and she said "Goodisonopheliac, you'll know all the answers" and I didn't. There were a couple of people I didn't know and I was struggling with the answers, and I was already stressed, so I just had an anxiety attack and started crying and my line manager took me out. I said that making a disabled person go to a meeting even though they'd said they weren't up to it wasn't really in keeping with equality and diversity, or words to that effect. She said, "You're not disabled, you have a condition, but you're not disabled." She said it wasn't work, it was an event, but it was work-related. She was implying I'd be letting the team down by not going, even though the [hospital] lot didn't want to be there either (and one of them also had to leave early). It was BS. She was going on about how it was supposed to be fun. It wasn't [bad word] fun. It was work-related and hospitals are not fun, especially the management side. She just treated me like a child having a tantrum. I went back in and left at about 10 past 3 and now I'm exhausted. And I'm seeing the GP tomorrow to change my meds.

Is it worth joining Unison? I've been considering it. I took a leaflet home.

Yes Join Unison.

This makes my blood boil. Employers play lip service to equality and diversity by saying "oooh look at us, we've given everybody a cake and put colouring books for adults in the canteen to help with stress for mental health awareness" (absolutely what they did in my place of work this week) but when it actually comes to supporting staff they couldn't give a toss.

You should never have had to go to that session. What I would suggest is ask for an Occ health referral to discuss whether you are covered by the Equality Act. The definition of a disability within the Act is is your condition long term, does it affect your day to day life,i.e does it have a substantial negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Long term is 12 months or more. If the answer is yes then you are covered by the Act. I would be gobsmacked if you were not covered. Also for the purposes of the Act they look at your untreated condition. For instance a diabetic who can control his condition with medication is still covered because they look at the effect it would have if he was not getting treatment.

Following that the employer should be putting reasonable adjustments in place to help you attend work, stay at work and be able to do your job. If you find attending meetings difficult then you should not have to go - your line manager could always catch you up on what was said. They should be looking at things to ease your fibromyalgia while you are at work. Not sure what you do but if you use a computer a lot, do you have a specialised mouse , keyboard, chair etc Could you have additional breaks. I would also see if any sick absence you have related to your disability be ring fenced and not considered for future sickness absence management. .And with the NHS ( a bit like my employer the Civil Service) being such a huge organisation, there would be very few adjustments that are considered unreasonable.

It very much looks like your line manager only considers visible disabilities to class people as disabled. there are lots of so called invisible disabilities out there that can't been seen but are no less real.Definitely join a Union though - take a rep into any future meetings with your line manager.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

 

[anjelikaferrett]

I'm just going to copy and paste something I wrote on my Facebook. Background: I work in a hospital and I have fibromyalgia, and we have 2 staff off sick, one long-term, and one on leave. I'm a Band 2 admin worker, but I'm also doing extra work, including Band 3 work. I reluctantly consented to doing it as I don't like change. I'm autistic, and one of the side effects is that I deal very badly with change. I got told at short notice that I was going to be in a different room, doing extra work, and I cried my eyes out for ages. I've also been having a lot of anxiety attacks recently.

We had the Equality & Diversity meeting today and were also discussing work-related stuff. Originally it wasn't mandatory but then they decided everyone had to go, and it was running from 1pm-3pm. I said I didn't want to stay overtime because I'm exhausted due to the extra work I'm taking on. Like I said, every time I've just come home from work knackered and I'm in a lot of pain with my joints. My line manager insisted I go, but said I could stay till 3pm and make the time up on Monday by coming in an hour late. My colleagues at [hospital] were fine with me coming in late, though they thought all of us going the meeting was a waste of time as we all had a lot of work to be getting on with. We're 3 staff members down.

So we all get given coloured stickers in the meeting and we have to get into colour groups and my group had one of the women from the Maxillofacial Surgery department who I get on with, but it also had a colleague from [hospital I used to work at, part of the same trust] who I DON'T get on with. She's the one who said Jews killed Jesus. We had to do a quiz about equality and diversity and she said "Goodisonopheliac, you'll know all the answers" and I didn't. There were a couple of people I didn't know and I was struggling with the answers, and I was already stressed, so I just had an anxiety attack and started crying and my line manager took me out. I said that making a disabled person go to a meeting even though they'd said they weren't up to it wasn't really in keeping with equality and diversity, or words to that effect. She said, "You're not disabled, you have a condition, but you're not disabled." She said it wasn't work, it was an event, but it was work-related. She was implying I'd be letting the team down by not going, even though the [hospital] lot didn't want to be there either (and one of them also had to leave early). It was BS. She was going on about how it was supposed to be fun. It wasn't [bad word] fun. It was work-related and hospitals are not fun, especially the management side. She just treated me like a child having a tantrum. I went back in and left at about 10 past 3 and now I'm exhausted. And I'm seeing the GP tomorrow to change my meds.

Is it worth joining Unison? I've been considering it. I took a leaflet home.

Forgot to say be very careful what you post on social media about your work. Make sure your privacy settings are nailed down and even then I would never say where I worked. I've seen folk whose friends have grassed them up to HR for stuff they have posted about work. Employers- especially in tbe public sector are obsessed with social media and doing people for bringing the organisation into disrepute with what they post.

 

[Rob17896]

I'm just going to copy and paste something I wrote on my Facebook. Background: I work in a hospital and I have fibromyalgia, and we have 2 staff off sick, one long-term, and one on leave. I'm a Band 2 admin worker, but I'm also doing extra work, including Band 3 work. I reluctantly consented to doing it as I don't like change. I'm autistic, and one of the side effects is that I deal very badly with change. I got told at short notice that I was going to be in a different room, doing extra work, and I cried my eyes out for ages. I've also been having a lot of anxiety attacks recently.

We had the Equality & Diversity meeting today and were also discussing work-related stuff. Originally it wasn't mandatory but then they decided everyone had to go, and it was running from 1pm-3pm. I said I didn't want to stay overtime because I'm exhausted due to the extra work I'm taking on. Like I said, every time I've just come home from work knackered and I'm in a lot of pain with my joints. My line manager insisted I go, but said I could stay till 3pm and make the time up on Monday by coming in an hour late. My colleagues at [hospital] were fine with me coming in late, though they thought all of us going the meeting was a waste of time as we all had a lot of work to be getting on with. We're 3 staff members down.

So we all get given coloured stickers in the meeting and we have to get into colour groups and my group had one of the women from the Maxillofacial Surgery department who I get on with, but it also had a colleague from [hospital I used to work at, part of the same trust] who I DON'T get on with. She's the one who said Jews killed Jesus. We had to do a quiz about equality and diversity and she said "Goodisonopheliac, you'll know all the answers" and I didn't. There were a couple of people I didn't know and I was struggling with the answers, and I was already stressed, so I just had an anxiety attack and started crying and my line manager took me out. I said that making a disabled person go to a meeting even though they'd said they weren't up to it wasn't really in keeping with equality and diversity, or words to that effect. She said, "You're not disabled, you have a condition, but you're not disabled." She said it wasn't work, it was an event, but it was work-related. She was implying I'd be letting the team down by not going, even though the [hospital] lot didn't want to be there either (and one of them also had to leave early). It was BS. She was going on about how it was supposed to be fun. It wasn't [bad word] fun. It was work-related and hospitals are not fun, especially the management side. She just treated me like a child having a tantrum. I went back in and left at about 10 past 3 and now I'm exhausted. And I'm seeing the GP tomorrow to change my meds.

Is it worth joining Unison? I've been considering it. I took a leaflet home.

I dont know anything about the union, but do know anxiety is crippling and can be quite a serious issue. I am sure a note from your GP will make them tread carefully. I understand the change issue as well. I manage somebody with autism. Other staff are understanding as well, we never change anything without giving this person sufficient time to accept the idea.

Get that note and explanation of your condition, then ask for a meeting that is witnessed and recorded. You are being treated poorly, probably just through a lack of understanding, either way outline your issues and do not worry

 

[Rob17896]

Too right. A silly destructive machismo culture. These people rise to management positions and perpetuate the cycle!

Countries with a better balance are more productive....funny that.

 

[goodisonopheliac]

Thanks for your advice. @anjelikaferrett, my Facebook is private and I don't friend people from work. I have one mate who works in the same trust, but not the same hospital, but I can trust him not to grass me up. I'm going the GP later to ask if I can change my meds, because apparently Venlafaxine can trigger anxiety attacks. I always know something's about to go wrong when I start feeling sick. I was like that during Liverpool v Barcelona and I remember as a kid, my stomach used to go a bit weird when I was anxious about something.

I think one reason I hate the sneering at 'snowflakes' is because it buys into the idea that you shouldn't have to make allowances for people who might have issues of some kind. If you're like me, you've got something wrong with you which makes life a bit harder, you're just being a snowflake and should suck it up and deal. And incidentally I've seen a few people on here suggest the Everton team go on an SAS team building course, and all I could think is, "If my work made me do that, I'd refuse." I can't imagine anything more nightmarish, trying to do an assault course while an army man screams abuse at me, in front of my super fit colleagues (I've got a few who are into boot camp and stuff like that).

My neck and shoulder hurt right now. Bring on the weekend.

 

[goodisonopheliac]

Meds update: I'm tapering off my Venlafaxine to 75mg for 2 weeks, then doing a sort of handover where I take both Venlafaxine and Sertraline for a week, then just Sertraline. I'm dreading it but Venlafaxine is an arsehole of a drug and I just want to be off it.

 

[davids]

Alright @Foot Long Hot Dog how are you now mate?

? Not been on the forum for a while now.Hope he's OK.

 

[goodisonopheliac]

I took an overdose last night. i ate my old Venlafaxine pills and had to go to hospital. I rang an ambulance because I did it on the spur of the moment and thought, "My G-d, what have I done?" It was partly work - we're understaffed and I'm having trouble adjusting - and partly getting into an argument with one of the blokes from Space. He said some pretty hurtful things to me, just because I said it was embarrassing he was going round trolling people under a fake name. He took it really badly and kept going on at me even when I apologised. I had enough and just snapped. Took me 12 hours to get seen, Monday is always busy at the MRI. Not as many drunken City fans as I expected though.

I'm OK now, I just feel tired and sick and hollow.