Thanks Kat, how long were you off for? Are you able to work again now? One of the things I'm worried about is going back too early and then having to go off again which I think would look worse as it would be classed as another absence period rather than one continuous. I've been looking for another job for nearly a year but its been tough due to the recession. The job I have currently is interesting but very stressful and requires me to deal with very morbid and sometimes disturbing information which I find it hard to swtich off from. The number of people who say to me they could never do my job when I tell them what I do often surprises me but when I actually think about it I can see why!
Hi elgrande
Last October I talked to my GP and we thought 3 months might be a good break with the view to getting my health in order and mentally to shake off the last 12 months and figure out the way forward. So my GP wrote a letter to Social Security and they agreed to give me temporary sickness benefits for that time period. It isnt much and realistically doesnt even cover the mortgage, but it all helps.
I got sick in January and basically housebound for 3 -4 weeks which has put everything back and when I went back to Social Security for a review they wanted to put me on permanent disability to which I told them no way. I will work without a doubt as I do think it is a really good thing mentally to do and well, obviously financially I dont have much choice lol but my GP has also asked me to extend my 3 month break so a compromise is that Social Security will help me out for 6 more months with another review at that time. Money wont last that long so I will have to get something, even part time just to help out with the bills. So currently I am still on my break.
A couple of things I found was that the more time I took off the less tolerant my work was. Their tolerance level really dropped dramatically and that added to the stress of it all. The second was that taking a new job when you are not at your best is really not great thing. They dont have the history with you and will be far less tolerant with continual medical appoinments etc than where you have been there a while and already proved yourself. I always made up the time I had off, but it still didnt satisfy my bosses.
I have always worked, never not, so to do this is a first for me. It was a really hard decision to make but I am glad I did. It feels like I am giving me a chance for something better in the future.
Kat
