Quit a job I was doing well at due to anxiety. Anyone else?

[Wild_Westerner]

Hi everyone, first time really sharing my mental health struggles here.

So I've struggled with anxiety since childhood, specifically social and general anxiety plus depression as well. 

Over the years I've seen a number of counsellors, psychologists and psychiastrists for my condition and made progress even though it has been uneven. 

Unfortunately upon graduating uni and starting full time work I've struggled a lot. My first full time role was in sales which was awful. I hated picking up the phone to make sales and did not perform well. It caused a relapse of my anxiety for the first time in years. 

In any case I handed in my resignation and was allowed to leave without notice. I was depressed for a few months but got on antidepressants which helped me get back up again. I convinced myself that I only relapsed because the job was the 'wrong fit' and proceeded to focus more on looking for jobs related to my degree in marketing. 

I eventually I got a job at a marketing agency and was doing really well, I still had anxiety but it was manageable. I was at a decent company and the work load and environment was chill so I never felt like overwhelmed. I was so confident that I stopped seeing my psychologist and taking my medication.

 I then moved to another agency into a more client facing role, I had my anxieties but was doing well initially. This was until the workload and number of clients given to me was too much to handle and I began to doubt my abilities...

I was hesitant to bring this up with my manager due to mental health stigma even though they would have been understanding. I started to worry again as all my symptoms were coming back to the point where I could hardly concentrate on work tasks.

This time I knew I was screwed as I was doing well in the job but my anxiety still came back. It was so bad I had to quit with little notice. 

It's been more than a month since that, I've gotten a lot better but the thought of working again is terrifying as I don't want to be overwhelmed and relapse again. I'm now back on medication and seeing a new psychologist.

Anyone else have a similar experience? Would love to hear your situation and how you handled it  🙂 

[Beaser]

Hey WW.             Nice to hear back from you and i hope your going ok .  I think with my new job that involved some customer service my anxiety particularly around that flared up .  In hindsight i should have waited a bit longer as it was only a week and a bit since i finished my old job.  I have a meeting with them again next week so ill see how that goes.  I guess ive learnt that i shouldnt rush into these things.     How have you been yourself.     Beaser

[Wild_Westerner]

Hey Beaser thanks for sharing, yeah having customer contact can definitely make things harder. Right now I'm trying to find roles that have SOME customer contact to expose myself but not too much. To provide a general update for everyone, I did manage to survive my retail job interview. Unfortunately I didn't get it and was put in the talent pool (Who knows if they'll ever call me). I probably could have done better if I wasn't so damn nervous but I've applied for a few more retail roles since. 

Finding a job with anxiety is definitely tough but I'm taking it slowly one step at a time. My new psych also helping a little but it is still early days. Feel free to share how you're doing too 🙂

[Beaser]

Hey WW.

Great to hear from you. 

Well done on your interview , you must have done well to make the talent pool .  Dont be hard on yourself for being nervous i think  that is what everyone goes through.

Yeh finding a job with anxiety is tough but we will both get there. 

I found my second day pretty tough , two days of stocktake drained if im honest. 

As i said its great to hear from you and would be happy to hear more about your journey or tell you more of mine.      Brett.