My Story of suffering at work with stress that led to Depression, Anxiety which led to a Brief Psychotic episode

[high_achiever]

Hi everybody

I feel as though I need to tell my story of stress, leading to depression and anxiety in the workplace and the dangers of what it can lead too, as from the title. It will be along story but I feel as though it will help me in my recovery with my team of medical professionals to get better and stay better. The main reasons that I want to tell my story is that in the work place, peoples mental health needs to be taken seriously and preventative measures are a must. After reading through Beyond Blue website, I believe that this type of story is at the heart and essence that peoples mental health must be treated as a national priority. To remove the Stigma, to promote that depression and anxiety are real, it affects people in different ways, and if not treated early and identifying that you need help early, it can lead to much more debilitating problems. I believe that it needs to be promoted at the highest of levels in corporations and government, to make a commitment to educate and take mental health seriously. After all, business only become successful from leadership. Businesses often forget their number one assets. PEOPLE.................And people who suffer from Depression and/or Anxiety can still work.

[Sophie_M]

Hi high achiever, thanks for your post.  Mental health in the workplace is a commonly discussed topic here and there will be members here who will respond to the points you've raised above.

As you've probably seen, we have a character limit on our submission form that puts a ceiling on how much you can post in one go.  That's because our forums are a peer support space for dialogue with our community rather than submitting long stories.  

The limit we set after consultation with our community was 2,500 characters, which comes out to approximately one A4 page of material, still a reasonable length.  

We encourage members to keep their posts short and to the point. Shorter posts increase the likelihood that your posts will be read and responded to, and also speeds up the amount of time it takes to moderate posts. 

We would encourage you to spend time in our community getting to know others, and through conversation allow your story to be fully told over time as you build relationships with others here online.

A couple of threads on how to best use our forums are below:

Newbies guide: 4 tips for getting the most out of the forums

Forums etiquette: give support to receive support

[high_achiever]

Has anyone else suffered a brief psychotic episode that was caused by work stress? and had they been treated so badly by the employer as a result.

[Little_Tina]

Hi High Achiever, How are you? I’m sorry they couldn’t post your story. My husband is going through this at the moment. It was triggered by losing our child, my husband didn’t grieve/have counselling but threw himself into work. He lasted 18 months working 80hr weeks and then just before Christmas holidays, he suffered with insomnia and low mood, commenced antidepressant medication, suffered terrible side effects, ended up suicidal, admitted to hospital, diagnosed with Depression/Anxiety with obsessive rumination, to major depression and now Psychotic Depression. He is now receiving ECT, having 12 sessions and on 2 x anti depressants and a antipsychotic medication. He has no insight to his condition. He blames me for having him hospitalised even though his a voluntary patient. My husbands boss has been very supportive but can only hold his position for another 6 months. I can’t see him returning to work anytime soon. If you have a chance, can you post an abbreviated version of your story?

[Sasha_Rose]

I am someone that is going through this. My boss is a bully. He thinks no one is good enough. I go through modes of anxiety, depression and low self esteem. Hubby is pushing me to find another job but my issue is this job suits my current life. I like my job but mentally it is not a healthy environment. Sometimes you have to say screw this, I come first. I am at that stage but the thought of applying for jobs and going for interviews has me very anxious. When I am anxious I start crying. Not a good thing at a job interview. I am on two weeks break and when I go back, I need to just dial back. Do what I need to do and walk away. I have lately realised that I cover his butt without knowing that I am doing it. I need to walk away when I see things are not right. Slowly I have stopped caring and I just don't go that extra mile any more. Simply in self preservation mode.

[Tiredtoo]

Hi Little Tina

i feel for what you must be going through. I’ve recently come out from hospital myself after suffering burnout from work. I run a small business with my husband & the combination of weaning off my anti depressants just before Christmas and a quiet start to the new year (not as much work as normal), I ended up crashing & burning and became highly distressed & manic. I presented myself to emergency at my local hospital where I was admitted to the psych ward & my stay lasted 6 days. I was a mess & truly needed this break. It’s been a month since my hospital stay & I am still very much struggling with my catastrophising thoughts (about losing the business & our house). I have been put back on the anti depressants as well as anti psychotics (for the anxiety). They help but I am so tired of feeling up & down all the time. I feel like a yo-yo & I’m over it. I just want to get better so that I can go back to work & face any work challenges like a “normal” person again.