When do you quit your job?

[TheLogophile]

I’ve had pretty bad anxiety for a while now and in February I got a part time job. I didn’t want the job but my parents had been pushing me for ages to get one and even helped wright my resumes and hand them out. My friend was already working at this place but it was a restaurant. I didn’t want to work at a restaurant but my parents insisted I hand my resume in anyway just in case. I ended up getting the job and have been working there since. I get about 2-3 shifts a week and every time it’s horrible. It’s so fast and busy and just makes me break out in panic attacks. Having OCD doesn’t help at all either. Just the thought of working makes me feel so anxious and nauseous and I just can’t take it anymore. I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist for a while who put me on medication, but it hasn’t helped my work situation at all. I really don’t want to work anymore at this restaurant and want to quit my job. I just don’t know if it’s the right thing to do or not and don’t know how to tell my boss that I hate her workplace. Do I have a valid reason to quit my job or am I just been a dramatic teenager?

[geoff]

Hello TheLogophile, thank you for posting your comment and I'm sorry but it's a sad comment.

There 's always a good way for someone to push you into getting a job and then there's the opposite because if it's not what you want to do then it's not going to work and this is what's happened here.

Your OCD may also be something that slows you down, I have had OCD for a long time, I wish I didn't and I'm sure you didn't have it.

You have every right to tell your boss that the job doesn't suit you, but what I'm more worried about is if you are frightened when you tell your parents and what their reaction will be like.

You are not being dramatic at all, simply because not everybody is suited to every job, and if you stay working in a place you don't want to be, then it's going to cause you some trouble.

A couple of things, if the medication isn't working then ask the psychiatrist to change it, and what I also suggest is asking whether you can see a psychologist who maybe able to help you with your OCD, although I'm not qualified to say.

Let me know how you get on.

Geoff.

[LavenderTea]

TheLogophile,

Thanks for posting.

It sounds like you're in a tricky situation.

Often when people are experiencing anxiety and panic attacks, they experience a loop of negative thoughts, negative evaluations of the situation, and a whole lot of avoidance. When this happens, individuals with anxiety often avoid the situation that causes panic attacks, and this only makes it worse. It might be a good idea to have a conversation with your psychiatrist to help identify these negative thoughts, so that you can work on changing them and reduce the amount of panic attacks that you're having.

When working with panic attacks, it's important to identify what's called "hot thoughts" - these are thoughts that are informed by emotional states. For example, if you're worried about work, this anxiety might lead you to feel scared or to worry more about you having a panic attack at work, and then just feed back into your anxiety. Identifying these types of thoughts is important, because then you can start working on fixing them. It is a good idea to write down these thoughts, and write down how you're feeling, and then challenge these thoughts.

So for example, typically with panic attacks people can feel like they can't breathe, and that they might die, but a way to challenge these thoughts is that, when they begin, think about the other times that you've had a panic attack, and you clearly did not die, and remind yourself that this will pass.

These are the types of things you can do for yourself, or with a psychologist so that you can work to manage your panic attacks. If you're able to do this, it may help you decide whether or not you can continue working at the restaurant or whether you may be suited to a less busy working environment.

Hope this helps!

LT.