What are you asking for? The ability to work late to get the job done? The ability to work from home?

The thing is to name the issue (you don't have to go into specifics) and name (with specifics) how you'll address it.

"I've been having some sleep issues, that have left me out of it at work. My plan is to take the assignments home with me and have them done by the Tuesday morning." (or go in early, or stay late, or whatever your plan is...)

Then you have to follow through and get it done. Supervisors don't really care what your issue is, they just have the responsibility to make sure that the work gets done. If you explain the issue to them, (good) supervisors will help you come up with solutions. If you don't want to explain, you'll have to come up with that solution by yourself.

How long you have to work it out...depends on where you work. Some places will give you months, some will give you a day (if that).


And Walrus, I'm concerned about you. Dissociating at work isn't good. I hope you're getting treatment.

And if not, I encourage you to.

Big hug for you SW... You could ask for a doctors note stating you have to be on modified work duty??... Or go part time for a while

You could be up front with your boss as much as you don't want to BUT I did this as I had to and it does change a relationship although he already sees that there's something wrong... This is simply giving him the reason why

I had to leave my career due to bad memory loss... I was afraid of making a mistake... I'm not suggesting that you have to do this... I just know what it's like and I'm very sorry... Big hug of comfort for you and a blessing... I don't think you're in therapy is that right??

I think therapy will be the thing that helps you to heal and improve a lot of these symptoms... Without it I don't know what else to suggest.....xo

I second SunCloud with the hugs. I don't think I sounded as caring as I wanted to.

Really, really sorry that you're going through this. It's tough.

I don't know how old you are, but when I was in my 20's I helped my friend through something somewhat similar. (She was sexually abused, and had undiagnosed bipolar.) It was tough for her to take the first steps to get treatment, but more than a few years (decades) later, she's got a good normal (if there is such a thing) life.

The other thing to remember, is that there are all sorts of medical conditions that can be easily managed that can cause mental health symptoms.

Anyway, hugs, hugs, hugs,
Patti

Therapy is something I am aiming for down the road, but right now it isn't an available option for me due to a number of reasons. The situation surrounding that challenge is very delicate and complicated. For now I just have to keep saving up money and trying to get a new job that will enable me to afford a place of my own and be able to afford therapy.


As for what sort of accomodations I'm looking for: I really would just like a little understanding that I'm dealing with an issue that causes me to sometimes take a little longer to do things. However, at the same time I don't want people at work knowing about my problem since word of it could get leaked. I still live with one of my abusers, and they have ties to the university too and could potentially find out if word got out. If that were to happen I could possibly find myself out on the street since they have made threats of how they will not be able to handle it if they find out I have any kind of mental health issue.


I can't afford to work fewer hours due to the health insurance laws in the US. If I work fewer hours then I won't be earning the minimum required income to qualify for the cheapest health care package. Them I'll be without health insurance and face possible fines. I wouldn't be able to get on medicaid either, since the state I live in refused to expand it and it is already filled to capacity with a mile long waiting list.

Plus even if I could get on medicaid it wouldn't do much good. The state I live in has a higher cost of living and medicaid pays so little that most doctors here refuse to accept it.

One of our previous governors claimed the state would take care of residents with disabilities, but then cut about 2/3 of the funding to all programs that help people with disabilities in the state. This lead to all but a few shutting down. The ones still running are extremely exclusive and pretty much the only way to get into their programs is to have been in them already before the budget cuts.

It's a very bleak situation for disabled people on this state.

Universities can be pretty laid back, but you might need to work out a plan where you do work at home, early or late. Best of luck.

Doing my job from home isn't possble. Also, I'm already working the maximum number of hours per week that the university is legally able to pay me for. Working fewer hours would mean losing my health insurance and possibly facing fines for not having any.

I do not know what your medical conditions are, and I am aware of the medical insurance issues facing all of the workers on the edge of medical treatment help. You have to work to afford the insurance, yet you can not use the treatment plan to get the medical help you need to function better in the work place because your work situation is "public knowledge". In other words, zero privacy for confidential medical treatment plans.

The hardest thing in dealing with medical issues is understanding that making a decision is our choice, and weighing the consequences of the decision can be a challenge. Hugs.

When your work effort is noticed for the appearance of not seeming to be completed in a timely manner, rather than focusing on the mental part of the situation, put your physical actions to effective work for you to get back in the motion. If you must write down the order of what you need to do, and mark it off as you do it, it will still keep you in motion of working.

The reality is that our work is watched, observed, measured, and it does not matter what we are thinking, it matters what we are doing. I really hope you can get this worked out so you can be more comfortable.

Best wishes. We are all supporting you!

Thanks for the idea on how to keep myself moving at work. At this point I'm trying everything I can to keep myself grounded and moving. I've been trying all sorts of suggested self-help methods of handling my symptoms for a long time now since that seems like the most appropriate course of action to take while saving up for actual therapy.

They're still getting on me at work over this issue.

I feel horrible. The way they talk to me about it makes me feel like I'm being accused of being lazy or seen as a problematic employee.

My anxiety just keeps increasing. It's gotten to the point where some mornings I feel physically ill due to the anxiety.

I feel like hiding and crying right now.

I wish there was a way I could show you how to make your anxiety work effectively for you. I'm going to try to give you a starting point to help just using what you've written here.

Horrible-maybe they are unsure of how to approach you. I would put honorably because they are communicating, maybe not effectively, because you're reading their appearance, their tone, their visible voice.

That personal feeling of "accused of lazy" "problematic" are yours. Focus, determined, hard-working, attention to work, are other choices you can use to make it more positive in your mind and raise your confidence level naturally.

The thing with anxiety, it is natural, it is our "fight or flight" balance, and, yes, it will increase without stopping until you take a physical action to move and move again so that it can go down naturally fast. Feeling sick physically is natural when you are not able to move physically (fight or flight mode both use movement to decide action). Hiding and crying are also normal anxiety reactions when you are not able to decide a movement.

One of the best things I've found is to feel my toes, feet, ankles and to focus on the actual foot motion when my brain is overloaded with anxiety thoughts, and I need to move to keep working. In doing that, it gives me a chance to relax my facial muscles (which improves my confidence), and my voice is back to natural level within seconds. It takes practice, patience, and persistence, all of which we do to feel better.

It will be the little things you do to give yourself that quick boost that will give you the courage to keep facing every fear head on with bravery. You're not alone in this.