I just turned 25

[QuitaR]

Hey , my 25th birthday was in January. By this year I wanted to have lost 100 pounds , graduated and doing a job i love. Instead last summer i was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression. I work in call center that pays me a lot .... Lately I have been taking so much FMLA I can barely pay my bills.... Everyone says im too young to worry about so much but how do i stop ... I'm absolute done with medication and i have tried to find a counselor with actual tools to help me cope with my disorders... So now I'm here with you guys in a support group because have done all I can .

[RaqXo]

Hey I’m going to turn 25 soon and I’m dreading it because like you I expected more of myself

[RaqXo]

I graduated, have my bachelors but I also work at a call center that does not pay a lot😡. So I’m pretty frustrated

[fauxartist in reply to RaqXo]

One thing that does help you, is having your degree...they will consider you for management quicker...we have our oldest here who worked at a call center taking general calls, and because she had her degree , in media, didn't matter what it was in, they are moving her up.

My dream job was to teach ceramic art...worked as a TA and that was it. Had to do what ever I could to keep the bills paid after that...and it's okay...at least I was working.

Now I know it's hard when our hopes and dreams and goals get side tracked and not fulfilled in our expectation time frame....I will tell you from my own experience if I set a goal....leave it open ended for change....otherwise I set myself up for failure, and disappointment. It becomes very self defeating if you are too ridged on your goals.

Better to work on one thing at a time, then go to the next thing...and forget about time tables or limitations...just do your best and move forward.

[QuitaR in reply to fauxartist]

Yes I am extremely hard on myself. I always say I'm better than this ... Its like tormenting myself.... Its like i refuse to accept that to have a mental illness

[fauxartist in reply to QuitaR]

For me,...my worries came from shame and guilt that I was not quite 'right'....so to speak....I knew I was different than the 'average norm'. But when I realized that this wasn't my fault, and maybe this sensitivity I seemed to have that drove me....made me want to do more, do better, work till I finished an art piece or project...maybe that was the same stuff that drove those few in this world to greatness too.

In college I hung out with fellow artists and those in science, I was an art and biological sciences double major, I met others that were eccentric and creative....had imagination, and courage to be different...I was in my element. So if loosing that part of me meant I was going to be another mindless drone in society just so I could blend in....then I would be happy to stay just a little out off step and be my own person and do my own thing.

It's when our over thinking becomes too over bearing, and our anxiety of the unknown fills us with too much dread, and our worry about what other people think, our dark days filled with to much despair, those things were what I wanted to change.

[QuitaR in reply to RaqXo]

Call centers are easy to get in but hard to get out of.... My job throws me into all kinds of training without raises. Not only dealing with my personal issues but the job does not help... Most people saying going to work helps them escape their issues. But I have been finding it hard lately to go in to work with a smile ...

[Hidden]

I feel for you, living with mental illness can be a real challenge. Life isn't about what you look like or weigh...it's about being loving, kind & helping others!!! I'm here for you! Wishing you peace!

[hypercat54]

Life is what happens to you whilst you are planning it. Faux is very wise in what she says. It's good to have goals but leave them loose and flexible and recognise that life often gets in the way. x

[Hidden]

Welcome QuitaR!

I worked for a call center for five years, and I stayed depressed. The environment wasn't good for me because it seemed to amplify my symptoms, but I stayed until the satellite office closed. The closure was a blessing in disguise for me.

You will find relief. Don't give up!

Blessings!

[hypercat54 in reply to Hidden]

Hi my last job was in a call centre and I hated every single day of it. It wasn't the customers but the management and the unnecessary stress and targets they imposed on us poor employees. I was there just over 5 years too.

I had to stay there to get financially solvent again but I knew it was killing me bit by bit and making my depression much worse. This is still the case. The jury is still out on whether or not it was worth it. x

[QuitaR in reply to hypercat54]

Call center jobs are so easy to come by I don't know how tp get out this field until I graduate

[hypercat54 in reply to QuitaR]

They might be easy to come by where you are but all jobs are at a premium where I live. x

[fauxartist in reply to hypercat54]

at my age it was all that was available to me at the time...there was no work anywhere. I was grateful to have anything. But they are just pressure mills...and no, they are not good for us.

[QuitaR in reply to Hidden]

Thank you delta..... I'm looking for my mini blessing in disguise to pull me away from this place.... I take Medicare calls for an insurance company the calls are 15 _30 minutes each and when my anxiety is high I have a hard time concentrating

[Hidden in reply to QuitaR]

I asked about your meds but I see you aren't interested. You definitely need a plan to survive that high stress environment.

[QuitaR in reply to Hidden]

Previoulsy I was taking Xanax for anxiety and lexapro for depression ... For sleep lunesta... Recently i tried to switch my depression medicine to Zoloft but it made me suicidal ... So now im off everything .... It scared me and plus I don't want to be dependent .... I feel like I'm detoxing

[maaslider in reply to QuitaR]

Hi QuitaR! I hope you didn’t stop your meds on your own, that can have obv very negative effects,even dangerous and side effects can compound your troubles! Especially benzos- Xanax can be hard to taper. I’m sure it is hard to work in a call center when feeling how you do, not surprising you don’t go in with a smile everyday! Both faux and hypercat have good advice,others too. I thought hypercat’s statement was also very wise -“ life is what happens to you whilst you’re planning it” I’ve lost much time/life planning and studying,researching how/what to do or expect or be prepared for something rather than really doing something or taking a chance, educated chance but not requiring the ultra planning that I never followed thru with...Good luck to you, you seem to have an understanding on much of your problems and I think you’ll best those issues! M

[Hidden]

Oh my goodness. I don't know how you do it. When I worked for an airline call center I tried to use humor to get through the calls. When I received transfer calls, I would try to kill them with kindness. I was dying inside. I would feel anxious and depressed. I don't think humor would work with Medicare calls.

What anxiety medication are you taking? Maybe you should try something else. I'm sure the anxiety is affecting your stats too. Thank goodness you have FMLA.

[QuitaR in reply to Hidden]

Thank goodness for fmla but its a blessing and a curse ... Sometimes i wish texas was like California .... They have paid sick days