Not sure what to do anymore.

[hippocampus]

I have suffered with depression for many years & been on & off medication several times. In the last couple of years there have been a lot of changes at work and I am struggling to cope. I feel trapped in a job that is making my illness worse due to stress & fatigue. I have been in the job for over 25 years & have stuck at it due to a 5 year period of unemployment previous to my job. If I give up my job, I fear that I will never be able to get another job. Being broke will make my depression even worse. I have been off sick for over 2 months and they are trying to bully me back into work. The doctor wants me to stay off another 3 weeks until I have seen a occupational advisor. I am not sure what to do - stay off & risk my job or go back & risk my health. I had a interview at work a few days ago, they were very aggressive & unsympathetic towards my problems. They refused to lighten my workload despite them being told that I am supposed to be protected under the disability act for depression. Does anyone enforced this disability act or is it a toothless lion. Thoughts of being better off dead are very strong at the moment. I recently had a potentally life threating health scare, when it turned out to be a false alarm I felt disappointed.

[Hidden]

Hello,

I can totally empathise with you, and my advice would be to go with what your Dr is advising. I am not a professional in providing with you advice, although can say in my opinion what I think,if you are not ready for going back to work no one will benefit most of all you.

I understand, I have just given my job up. It took lots of guts for me to do it but I did. It was the right thing for me. We are all different in our experiences of things, but I have to go along with "no job is worth your life" see my blog I've just written today.

I wish you well and would be interested to know how it goes.

Sue xx

[hippocampus in reply to Hidden]

I have a mental scare from being unemployed for five years in the early 1980,s . I keep thinking, going back to unemployment would be worse than carrying on with work. I have a beautiful wife inside & out who works so hard, & is so loving, I don't want to let her down. She is so understanding but I just get so tired & want to sleep all the time. I have had chronic fatigue for years even when I am out doing something I enjoy. I am not sure if this is what causes the depression or it is a sympton of depression. I have had all sorts of tests for causes of fatigue but the Doctor cannot find anything wrong.

[Suzie40]

Sudden or gradual changes at work can really affect your wellbeing. I attribute a lot of how I am feeling at the moment to my new boss and the changes she is trying to make all the time. People with depression crave routine, consistency and stability. When something / someone comes along and risks all these, it takes away the security that we rely on. Are you a member of a union? Could you call them and find out about your rights regarding time off when you're poorly? X

[hippocampus in reply to Suzie40]

In my job I cannot go home until I have finished the workload irrelavent of how much work there is. So overtime is expected of you all the time. If I try and say no to overtime life is made very uncomfortable. Threatened with being tested to make sure I am up to the grade. Being rang up at home demanding to know why I have not completed the job. One of the changes involved at work makes my life awkward because I am left handed & the work enviroment has been changed to favour right handed people. I have worked in my job for over 25 years and being left handed has never been a problem until now. Your right I just want consistency & stability - to do my basic hours & go home without any hassle.

[jpars]

You are protected by The Equality Act formerly known as the Disability Discrimination Act.

Your employers have a duty of care to you.

I would tell you my story but it would completely hijack your thread! it is much like yours but other way round - work say stay off, GP says fit for work (he put it in a report for them to reduce stress at work, the rest of the report was fine, although I am currently signed off another 2 weeks, he said I was fit for work and I'm really upset)

Anyhow I have been lucky enough to deal with the Occupational Health Dept and it sounds like you don't have one. It sounds like you need representation or an advocate.....job centres have a Disability Employment Advisor to help people in work stay in work, I think they would be your best hope. I contacted them before my work offered to contact GP and they were going to negotiate for me. Think about giving it a try. All the best xx

[hippocampus in reply to jpars]

Thank you I did not know that the job centre could help people in that way.

Before I went sick I was given a note from my doctor for lighter duties as I had a suspected heart problem as well as depression. My boss decided to ignore the doctors note & sent me off to do my full duties. The following day I was taken to hospital in an ambulance with chest pains. I had been suffering with depression for some time, after my treatment from work over my heart scare depression has set in deep.

[hamble99b in reply to hippocampus]

you could also contact the citizens advice bureau.

I would go by what the gp says. not work.

the disability rights act [equal ops] has & is helped many.

have you had your thyroid levels checked?

cfs affects your wellbeing, and makes it harder to manage depression.

let us know how things go.

regards,

sandra.

[Hidden]

Hi I have been in your situation before. I was out of work for 2 years and when I got a job I was determined to keep it regardless. I hated the job and was off work with stress and depression. My employers were unsympathetic too. But the law says that under Health and Safety your employers have to make reasonable adjustments to help you stay in work. The key words though are reasonable and subject to business needs. I was sent to ATOS for assessment. I ended up with an extra 8 days depression leave and extra breaks. This helped. But they said it was impossible to change my key issues as this was part of the job.

Are you in a union? If so have a word with them. You should also ask your employers for a stress risk assessment. They should also be referring you to ATOS for assessment.

I was there 5 and a half years when I got sacked for illness. They can do this. I will say though that even though I can't get another job and am poor, I don't regret leaving as the place was killing me!

Hope this is helpful. Good luck and let me know how you get on.

Bev xx

[Hidden]

PS the above includes your being left-handed. They should be making sure with adaptions if necessary that you are not placed at an unfair advantage with other employees. Its also a good idea to contact ACAS (employees rights).

[coatpin]

Go see your gp, tell him how you feel, workwise, they cannot sack you for being ill, as advise from ACAS,,look them up. They deal withemployment law, if they did sack you, you could sue them. simple.

At this stage it wouldnt be usefull to you , to be preasurised into going back to work, you willbe ill again in no time...

Talk to someone about Depression Alliance. Or MIND maybe they will direct you,,, to someone who could deal with your fears . good luck x