Work stres

[Bloodyhell]

Hi everyone.  I'm so glad I found this site.

I have been in my current full time job for 1 1/2 years. It has always been stressful.  I am now getting migraine  & raised blood pressure & anxiety like never before. I don't want to leave this job permanently butI know I need to reduce my hours/days. I'm currently of on mental health leave.

I need to speak to my employer about this but im freaking out at what to say or even to begin the conversation. I'd really appreciate any advice at this time.

[Nerna]

Hello dear... the first thing you should do is see a GP - because you need to tell someone how exhausted you are, and how much this is impacting your health.

Your GP will likely tell you what I'll tell you now: to have some time off to rest, and they will give you a medical certificate. After your GP appointment, prepare a simple email stating that you are unwell and that your GP has advised that you take the following X days to rest, and that you plan to return on X date. Attach your medical certificate.

And in those days - you rest. Truly. Focus on your health. Rest your mind, body and soul. Only until you are recovered, are you then able to have a structured conversation with your managers and colleagues around what support might look like moving forward.

I hope you get better and that things look up for you. Take care

[sbella02]

Hey there, thank you so much for posting here, welcome to the forums.

I'm going to echo Nerna's advice, in that it may be really useful to have a chat with a GP to confirm whether these symptoms may be related to your stress or whether there's something else going on for you. 

Have you heard of assertiveness training? It's essentially the process of getting better at expressing yourself and your feelings to other people in a respectful and confident way. It involves recognising what you're feeling and describing that feeling really well, recognising what is making you feel that way, using lots of "I" statements, and structuring difficult conversations in a really effective way. I'd encourage you to look into it if you're feeling quite anxious about having this conversation with your employer. Otherwise, your GP may also have some good advice and may also be able to give you a letter or some kind of explanation about what's been going on for you in your body, which means that you'd be able to go into the conversation with your employer more prepared from a medical standpoint.

I hope this helps, please feel free to chat some more with us if you'd like, we're here for you.

Take care, SB