Anxiety and work

[Cate194]

Hi all i need some advice. I have been struggling with severe anxiety and depression for about 10 years currently 25 i have just started taking medication for my anxiety and at the moment i am currently job hunting. i have worked retail before and was good at it i am able to put up a front and do my job well so i want to work in retail (currently studying cert 4 retail management) i still get anxious working in retail but can overcome it. My current issue is i am unemployed and not able to even get an interview with a retail store atm even with 2 years retail experience 😕 but a family member's friend was looking for someone to work in their conveyancing office in the city i am unclear on the exact job but to my understanding it is office duties, i am not good at talking over the phone at all i had to leave a call centre job because of this but i feel pressured because it is a family members friend offering the job. I would much rather stick to retail and places that i am able to walk to. this place is in the city and would require me to take a bus which i struggle with. any tips or advice people have would be helpful, i know i am being too picky for someone who is unemployed but i am very prone to panic attacks and my anxiety and depression can be debilitating and i dont want to go for this job get it and than leave it immediately and waste everyone's time and upset this family member as it is a close friend of theirs. thank you in advance for any advice/tips you are able to give me.

[white knight]

Hi, welcome

It is my view you would be wiser to accept the job offer but inform family that they should not have expectations of you about your new role. You should not feel onligated to anyone.

Secondly, you will always get triggered in life be it catching busses, being in crowds etc. You won’t find the ideal job based on your anxiety. You will always need to adapt and tolerate.

As a bipolar man there is many jobs on my resume that weren’t ideal- prison officer, dog ranger, taxi driver and so on but each job led to other opportunities for more appropriate lines of employment. For example, all those job led eventual to the job of private investigator running my own business- see the connection?

To combat daily stresses like busses you can do many things like listening to music with headphones, Reading etc

A few relevant threads to read with your anxiety and job seeking is listed below. You only need to read the first post of each thread-

use google

beyondblue anxiety, how I eliminated it

beyondblue fortress of survival (workplace)

beyondblue distraction and variety

Repost anytime

TonyWK