Working with Crippling Anxiety

[laz360]

Hi all,

I have terrible anxiety and at the start of the year I got my first job but quit after one shift and I found it was too much for me and too overwhelming. I have finally worked up the courage to apply for another job and got it. I have worked one shift and have been crying for three days straight after it. I haven’t eaten in days and can barely sleep and when I do the moment I wake up I am filled with dread and can hardly bring myself to get out of bed.

It doesn’t help that my family isn’t being supportive and they tell me that I don’t have it bad and there are people out there worse than me so I should suck it up, and they are threatening that if I don’t keep the job they will no longer look after or support me in any way. I was seeing a psychologist earlier in the year but stopped cause I didn’t have the money for it. I really just don’t know what to do. Every time I think about work i have a panic attack and want to quit but I also can’t help but feel if I can’t do this job then I’m never going to be able to do any, but I know I have to work but I genuinley feel like I can’t and I just don’t know what to do with myself.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Here_I_am]

Hi laz360,

This sounds like a horribly crippling situation to be in. I am really feeling for you as you battle through this.

You mentioned you have been seeing a psychologist in the past but have had to stop due to financial reasons. Can I ask if you have maintained contact with a GP and/or any other supports since ceasing psychological intervention? There are further referrals a GP can make that extend the Mental Health plan beyond the initial six sessions a year, and the inclusion of other strategies such as relaxation techniques, journal writing, meditation, CBT exercises on the fly, breathing techniques, exercise, healthy foods, a million other things, you get the idea... can really increase the effectiveness of psychological intervention beyond the session work we do with a psychologist.

I want to encourage you to reach out to a professional, as it doesn't sound as though your anxiety is shifting on its own, and you describe it as quite a debilitating condition at the moment. Is connecting with a GP or mental health service something you feel you can do?

Are you comfortable sharing what kind of work you've started? Is it full time, part time, casual employment? High stress front-line position or back office clerical environment? Are you able to clarify what it is about the role that is anxiety inducing, or does it have little to do with the role and everything to do with life in general, etc?

I really hope you can find a way to reach out and connect with a professional one on one to work through this. Please keep posting here too; it's a great place to connect and speak freely. There is a massive amount of wisdom and support on offer too. Just take a look around the website, as there is sure to be something of value.

Hope to talk soon.