Depression, Endometriosis and telling work?

Im totally new to this all, have had depression for years now but only just found out that I have endometriosis. is it possible the endo has caused/made the depression worse?

I am yet to tell my boss at work despite often needing sick leave and time off a fair bitand was pretty anxious about this - have people had good/bad experiences or advice (!) about telling work

Cheers!

[Hughffy]

Hi, I have sat down with my boss and HR and told them everything about my condition and what I experience especially the unpredictable of endometriosis. Along with this I have provided them with all necessary information from endometriosis UK. So far they have been really supportive and helpful.

[Kb3rry]

Hi Rockett, I have been quite lucky in that one of my bosses suffered with Endo before she had a hysterectomy. She has been really supportive and has explained to HR the reasons I am off. But if it wasnt for her then I dont think I would get the same help in the company I work in, a lot of people tend to misunderstand exactly what Endo is. I think Hughffy's advice in giving them all the info is fantastic as this would help them understand what you are going through. I hope it goes ok for you when you tell them. Take care. X

[crystal_willow]

I think it does depend on the company how supportive they are but its best to find out whether they are going to be supportive or not. I would read through the EndometriosisUK publications about work and once you have it in your mind what is reasonable then approach your HR/manager about it. Your can't control how they react but you can put forward your situation reasonably and professionally.

With the depression it is the same, Rethink are a good charity who have a helpline you can call to get advice around managing work etc.

dealing with long term pain etc can have an effect on your mental health so depression could be affected by endo which is why its even more important to take good care of your physical health... your mental health will improve as well.

good luck x

[Imarevel]

Hey have you tried the Endometriosis UK website?? It's full of information, info packs and we even have a telephone service ran by volunteers.

Hope this helps

[Aquitaine]

Hi Rockett -

I also had depression, which went away once I started getting physical symptoms of endometriosis, and I'd say in my case the two were definitely linked. I haven't really had many problems with depression over the last few months, although I've had a lot of problems with the physical symptoms.

I didn't discuss the depression with my employers (somehow, I managed to keep it under control at work), but have had to raise the endometriosis issue as I've needed quite a bit of time off and have been hospitalised three times this year.

I used the leaflet from the Endometriosis UK website, which was fantastically helpful. I work with a lot of men, who are a bit embarrassed about the fact that it's a gynacological problem, so it was great to be able to just give them something they could read and take away without me having to discuss the details.

The other thing that was helpful was being very clear about what I can do, not just what I can't, so that they could see I was going to carry on being a good employee, but we'd have to make a few changes so that I could get my work done. I think it helps a lot if you come with some ideas about how you can stay productive despite the problems with absence (eg. can you work from home, can you work flexibly etc).

Many of my team have been fantastically supportive - even coming and visiting me in hospital, and making sure that my shopping was done. So yes, it was tough telling people, but I did find that I got a lot of support when I needed it.

Good luck, and I hope you start to feel better soon.