Quit job due to anxiety

[Asha83]

hi all,

So today I quit my new job because of anxiety. 2 months ago was made redundant which was great financially however its made me very anxious again. I have always suffered with anxiety, even at my previous job in which I was bullied and went through hell with my boss and company.

After 2 months of being without work I wanted to find something new and with out fail my anxiety has kicked in to top gear and it feels debilitating. Really bad feeling of worry and just generally never comfortable at all especially about learning new things. I have always suffered with it. I even had my pilots licence but its become so bad of late. I started medication after I was made redundant and started seeing a counsellor.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Or can anyone offer some advice.

Thank you for reading.

[Sophie_M]

Hey Asha83,

Welcome to the forums, we are so glad that you've taken a big step in sharing your thoughts and feelings here with our wonderful community. We're so sorry to hear what you're going through at the moment, but please know that you've come to safe, non-judgemental space to talk things through and our community is here to offer as much support, advice and conversation as you need.

We can hear that it's been a long journey for you, but we are glad to hear that you have reached out to a counsellor for support. If you feel it may be helpful, you might also like to take a look at the Beyond Blue "Anxiety management strategies" page to see if it can give you any new ideas: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/treatments-for-anxiety/anxiety-management-strategies You are also always welcome you to talk these feelings through with one of our friendly counsellors at our Support Service, anytime, on 1300 22 4636 or on Webchat 3pm-12am AEST here: www.beyondblue.org.au/getsupport 

Please feel free to keep us updated on your journey here on your thread whenever you feel up to it.

[Croix]

Dear Asha83~

It as been a few days since you met Sophie_M who as usual gives good advice and useful links.

It is not really surprising your anxiety is high. You had a job, it was an unpleasant one being bullied with a bad boss and a more difficult company. Just that alone sets a person's anxiety on high.

Then the job went, whch may have been unexpected. OK, financially it was not too bad, but did introduce an element of uncertainty, if that job could disappear one might be tempted to think so could any others. That would have made anxiety even worse.

It can get so bad it limits you, I know as I've been exactly like that . One fears one will stumble and fail, and it sort of gets to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Plus there is no motivation.

I'm very glad you have started with a councilor, I would imagine though your GP, who prescribes the meds. It is however important to remember that you know yourself best, and are in charge of your treatment. If you 'click' with the councilor and come away a little stronger after a few sessions, a little more able to cope, then things are on the right track.

If however you find things do not seem to do anything for you then please don't be hesitant to talk matters over wiht them and say exactly that. It is no good 'going though the motions', it has to actually help.

I'd imagine anyone who had enough faith in themselves and determination to the extent the got a pilot's license should be able to do this.

You are now in the job seeking stage, which can be pretty soul destroying. May I suggest you partition your life? Maybe job related matters always first thing of the morning, and after lunch a complete change, no matter what. Try to lead a separate life where you mind is not always dwelling on applications and results.

Do other thngs. I find having something to look forward to in the evening, even something small, helps .I anticipate with pleasure reading a few more chapters in a book -what do you think might suit you?

May I ask if you have family or someone in your life to support you, someone to lean on, talk with and share the load? It can help a lot, I had my partner who was a real surprise, more capable and sensible than I'd ever imagined.

As your anxiety decreases you will find, like me, you have more concentration to learn and more success in doing so.

We would like to know how you are getting on

Croix

[Emmie24]

Hi Asha,

Thank you for being brave enough to post about your experiences, I’m sorry to hear that you’re having a difficult time, but I just wanted to let you know that I can relate to your post and am also currently having a tough time trying to get back into the workforce after resigning from a job. I understand when you say that you have worry that doesn’t go away and concerns about learning new things, although it also sounds like you’re a very high achieving person if you have your pilots licence 🙂 I have a university degree and have been working in my career for over 5 years, often receiving positive feedback from managers and co-workers, but suffer terribly from constantly feeling ‘not good enough’ and ‘imposter syndrome’ to the point where I quit my job because I had developed severe anxiety, insomnia, depressive episodes and an autoimmune disease and couldn’t cope. I’ve been out of work now for 5 months and have been seeing a psychologist and started on medication for depression and anxiety. I’m now starting to apply for jobs again but am becoming very anxious when I think about returning to work because I‘m scared it will fall apart again. I wanted to share my story with you so you know you’re not alone, as I’ve found that hearing about other people’s stories that are similar to mine helps to normalise what I am going through.

It’s great that you’ve reached out to speak with a counsellor. Finding someone that you click well with to talk to can be very helpful - it can be a bit of a trial and error game to find the right person to speak with.

The thing I’ve learned is that there are good days and bad days and it’s not a linear process of just becoming increasingly better until you’re fully recovered. I’ve had to accept that I will have peaks and troughs along this journey and not to be too hard on myself when I wake up feeling low or anxious. I still can’t see my path forward, so I’m trying to do my best to get some sort of routine incorporating exercise and and nutrition goals because at my worst I was struggling to get myself out of bed and lost all sense of my normal routine. I love the advice from Croix in the post above, about partitioning life so you can schedule in time to do job searching etc and then spend the afternoon doing something enjoyable.

Would love to hear an update from you at some stage if you feel up to posting again - it’s nice to connect with other people who are having a similar journey.

Best wishes, Em.