New here

[867]

Hi,

I've never posted on a site like this before. Was going to call the hotline but my phone cant do outbound calls. Perhaps I'll wait for the online chat option.

[Zeal]

Hi, and welcome to the forum 🙂

You are welcome to share your story/your concerns here with us. Online chat is also an option. If you'd like, you can read through some other forum threads. This forum is a safe and friendly space, so you can talk about what is bothering you without fear of judgement.

The volunteers here have either personally experienced mental illness or cared for someone with a mental health condition.

I hope you feel comfortable exploring this forum 🙂

Best wishes,

SM

[Nickname_65BD5CCF-CA54-46]

Hello,

My first post here was for similar reason, seemed a long time before the chat would open though in my case I avoided the phone because I hate voice calls.

I'm glad you posted. The people here are very good at listening.

[james1]

Hi 867,

Just throwing my support in here as well - we're here to listen to you and give you any support you need.

Please feel free to share your concerns which make you want to seek help. We're here for you.

James

[867]

The thursday before last I tried to knock myself off. Never thought I would be in that position.

I took the Friday (obviously) and Monday off work, thought it was just some sort of blip, got the mental health plan but couldn't bring myself to make an appointment. Then Friday after I got home from work things just started going strange again. I removed anything I could have used to cause harm, by this stage I had no desire to repeat the inital attempt, I was just afraid I may do something implusively.

The weekend was a bit rough and today I just couldn't leave the house. So I took today off as well, I am a little concerned my employer will be a bit suspicous. A "cold", twice in a short space of time does seem a little unbelievable.

I am a national manager at a regulator, I'm not sure position can allow for this headspace to continue.

[Zeal]

Hi again 867,

Thanks for your reply. I am so sorry to hear about last Thursday and your challenging headspace since. It was certainly wise for you to take a few days off work. It's vital that you seek professional help ASAP. Now you have the mental health plan (that was proactive - good on you), please call for an appointment with the mental health professional you plan to see.

I am very glad you do not want to go through what happened on Thursday again. If you don't mind me asking, do you live alone? If you live with someone, talk to them about what's going on. Talking about mental illness can be hard, but even just saying something general like "I'm struggling a bit at the moment" is still helpful. Perhaps phone a family member you are close to. You deserve to have emotional support, whether this is just over the phone, or in-person too. When you need to talk to someone understanding or you're feeling vulnerable, don't hesitate to call beyondblue's 24/7 helpline on 1300 22 4636.

With regards to your employment, it might be best to tell your employer that you are experiencing mental health difficulties at the moment. Perhaps you could get a doctor's letter. Mental health conditions are generally more understood by employers these days.

All the best,

SM

[Walden]

I was an Opps Manager when I had my meltdown. 75 staff.

I'm guessing what is going through your head is similar to my experience. My GP gave me a Doc certificate for stress to cut me some short term slack while I tried to stabilise. You can learn to manage this and function in a career. All starts with talking to a health care professional.

[james1]

Hi 867,

SM and Walden have given you great advice.

I'm working at a bank at the moment and I had a discussion with my manager which was very helpful. He was supportive and understood that I was having difficulty, but that I felt like I could continue working.

It became a matter of - what will work for the organisation, and what will work for you. But without that initial discussion, those two questions will go unanswered.

I also highly recommend you have a chat first with a doctor, then see who at work would be most appropriate to approach about this. It's vital that, if you feel like you can continue working, you're given the opportunity to do so, but that you might need to take steps to reduce the workload or be able to take days off at short notice. That's how my conversation went, anyway.

James

[867]

Yes, I live alone.

I have not mentioned anything to anyone but the GP and this post. Figured it might be a good step.

I very much doubt my employer will be helpful, despite the field of regulation we are in. I suspect disclosure would likely be some form of collective panic attack in response, following that, they'd simply shut me out to "mitigate risk".

If there was someone at work I could trust to be descreet, I would probably tenitively disclose. It is a highly politcal organisation that deals with pretty sensitive subject matter, internally however, no such sensitivies exist. I do not know, maybe I should just disclosure, lest a low mood comes upon me and I let it slip. At least then I give the employer a chance to do the right thing....

I pretty overwhelmed by all your responses. It very heartening actually, really quite beautiful indeed!

Hopefully once I am past this I can look forward to contributing back.

[867]

Apologies,

My keyboard needs a good clean. I keep making typing errors.