Work related mental health incidents

[kdoll87]

Hello

I am wanting to know if there are people who have had mental health incident/breakddown that were largely caused by work but never did anything about it with the employer (ie claimed workcover).

If so, what were your reasons and do you regret your decision?

I'm 4 years post my incident where I was involuntarily admitted to the MHU which was mostly caused by my workplace however the seriousness of the condition/incident was sumwhat contributed to by pre-existing trauma from a previous workplace and having been succeptible to depression and anxiety in the past. I'm still at the workplace but we were taken over by another company and I have never moved on to a new job for a few reasons including still recovering from my incident, lack of confidence at the idea of transitioning to a new job and also I had a baby recently and have only recently returned to work part-time from maternity leave.

Only recently I have been diagnosed with bi-polar and have ongoing psychiatric monitoring. Though I am currently stable I have only started to feel more like myself again in the last 6 months and I have returned to my uni studies to finally finish the last part of my degree. From a work perspective I still have lost alot of self-confidence even though my skills and experience are worth alot more then what I've accepted for myself in recent years. I sometimes feel angry at my current workplace for how they handled things and also the bullying and trauma I experienced at my previous workplace and how it got swept under the carpet.

I don't know how to really move on except hopefully at some point I will have the confidence to find another job in a good company and get back into my desired career that I spent many years working towards, even if it was that job that gave me the most trauma.

[Guest_7403]

I understand what you mean.

I suffered trauma from incidents at work in 2015, and it wasn't until August 2019 that I finally put for an work cover insurance claim.

I missed significant amounts of time from work, went unpaid for many months, built up massive credit card debts etc

I was too stubborn to admit I had a problem and went on for years suffering alone and putting my wife through hell.

I was embarrassed to apply for work cover as I seen it as a sign of weakness and shame.

My marriage broke down and I'm alone now finally starting proper treatments for PTSD.

I have had to learn from the mistakes of not applying and reaching out for help earlier and my life has suffered because of it.

Hope that helps friend

[kdoll87]

Thank you for sharing with me your experience. I am sorry to hear of what you have had to deal with but I am happy for you that you were able to eventually go down the path of a work cover claim.

I am unsure exactly what I will do and I partly feel worried going through the process of doing a claim will bring on more stress and trauma. I also had a ex-colleague/friend inform me once that if I ever put in such a claim I would never get a job in my chosen career field again which has scared me. It feels unfair that I could be further penalised for trying to do whats right.

[Guest_7403]

Yes that's also a reason i didn't want to apply, the stigma and the fact its recorded forever on my record.

Though there are laws that protect you from discrimination, it's a definite red flag for an employer if you've claimed.

But I guess you have to weigh up the pros and cons for your situation.

Good luck