Poll Does Your PTSD Affect Your Employment Status?

[Pixie]

This poll really interests me as I had to stop working almost 6 months ago. I battled on for 5 years full-time before I simply couldn't manage it anymore. I was fortunate to have two incredibly understanding boss' during that time (I was a Personal Assistant) however my symptoms became too overwhelming in the end and it was not helping me, or my workplace. I would even loose hours at a time doing goodness knows what. It was a very tough decision to make but I am grateful to have at least 2 more years off work to continue through my healing...

I am in the process of obtaining a temporary disability benefit from my superannuation, but in the meantime, my work has kept paying me my full wage (under an exceptional circumstances agreement) which has been awesome and much appreciated.

Pixie

 

[onebravegirl]

I am proud to say that I have resumed my Full time job of parenting and House keeping and all that it entails to be a stay at home Momma. Yada Yada the whole deal...Couldn't manage a thing 6 years ago. BUT, I am Back! Yeeha..now the laundry...
O

 

[omolkhua]

Survival is how I view work.

I like many other have had to "start all over." After the event. It took me years to get back on my feet. I took simple classes at a local city college. Art, Reading and Short stories.

I met this wonderful lady got married and we are blessed with a son. He is now 7 going on 8.

I could be totally wrong. There was a previous Poll about male or female and posting.

Genetically and this will sound terrible my apologies. But, as a man I have to provide for my family. As tough as it is to deal with my PTSD on a daily basis. My medication is very helpful and the "tools" I have been given allows me to cope. Mind, you my stress level is sky-high.

Anger, frustration and anxiety rule my world. The meds tone things down enough to cope and tools enough to deal with people.

I am rambling on. The bottom line for me to deal with PTSD is a battle I must win. Please, don't get me wrong I have had and are still having days were I can barely function. For the sake of my family I have to keep it together.

They are my pillar of stone and strengh.

omolkhua

 

[gdf]

Full-time Etc.

Good poll idea...I have worked in human services, fulltime or been in school fulltime all my life. Sometimes I have done both at the same time but paid the consequences. I have always escaped in-patient admission by the skin of my teeth and other than a few weeks here and there being taken off for stress done well and maintain a career. So, I'm either really stupid or too stubborn to give it up when it is best for me to do so. I find working therapeutic and until just lately, didn't find my job as a trigger for flashbacks, etc. In short, I seem to survive.

The key is I keep the other parts of my life as calm and organized as possible. No romantic relationship, kids, spouses etc. to cause extra stress. The number of balls I can keep in the air at any given time is three.

Gina

 

[blueheaven]

Part-time Internship

My job is getting paid to volunteer part-time in human services. It's an internship for people with mental illness and is a fully supported work program. I have a job coach that I meet with weekly. Before this internship, I had not worked in about ten years.

This part-time internship has proven to be a challenge for me. I am on Social Security Disability and I wish I could be financially independent. I have so many doctor appointments and case manager appointments that I don't know if I could handle working full-time and juggling those. I don't want to put too much stress on myself because I am having anxiety attacks just from this internship.

I am very grateful for the disability I receive, as it puts a roof over my head. I only work ten hours at a low wage, so this money I am making is basically for gas money.

 

[cat]

I was signed off work when I was diagnosed 12mths ago & couldn't bear to be at work as it was the cause of many of my triggers. Thankfully due to great support from my work colleagues, gp & psychologist I am now back full time. It has been a challenge to keep my anxiety under control but at the same time its given my self esteem a boost which has made me all the more determined to make it sustainable.

Working with PTSD is difficult & initially I was very disappointed to have missed promotion opportunities but now I'm just thankful to be back doing a job I enjoy.

 

[eyebiter]

I am full time. I lost a job I just loved at HD, two months ago this is were my CPTSD started about a year and a half ago. With awork related fatality.

The competition phone me the next day wanting me to come work for them. I waited about a month and started with them, I was told two weeks ago I was suffering CPTSD I let them know about it.

It is hard to learn the new computer system for me with a lack of concentration... at my old job I was a trainer for the computer systems!

I had a glimmer of my old self Thursday, were a had a bit of confidence and felt "normal" at work.

 

[naturalfirebrand]

Employment Status

I have been self employed since my son finished kindergarten, he is 22 now.

I spent too many years in foster care to give control of my life to any one else. Working for someone else takes away that control. I am a night owl by nature and get most of my work done when I feel up to it, not by how and when society dictates.

The recent economic crisis has not helped when your clients do not feel comfortable spending for items they had already budgeted for. I am changing how I work to try to ride this out. I am working mainly through my website rather than spending 2 weekends a month on the festival circuit.

Linda

 

[Chas]

I have been working at a new customer service job where u deal with people's complaints over the phone.... (not a great idea for ptsd sufferers) . I am just so frustrated right now because i am having a really hard time focusing on what the customers are saying, remembering things i learned in training, keeping my emmotions in check, and thanks to the recent construction projects, i am having flash backs. Today I was "given a stern talking to" about the number of calls i have disconnected.... and the scary thing is I don't even remember doing most of them. I know there have been occasions where i have hit hag up instead of hold, or have accidently hung up while transferring calls, but i have no idea how the rest of them even happened. Often at work i am on edge and constantly scared and i find myself often feeling very detached like I'm not even there... anyways when i was talked to of course i cried since i seem to have zero control over it, and now I'm scared I am going to lose my job... i am really beginning to believe that keeping a full time job with PTSD is a pipe dream considering that the longest i have kept one since the military has been 8 months. I feel hopeless.

 

[TonyG]

I work full time always have and I take sick leave as I get it and then some, mostly when I am busy I am ok but there's a lot of stress in my job and that affects me, if I get teary at work I just go outside for a while mostly I would be the opposite, angry and short tempered

 

[ForagingChef]

I put self employed.

The only way I can work is if I am doing something that I love. For me this has meant cooking. Until 2008 I was an executive chef, not something I feel up to doing again. It was a struggle but I changed my career working instead as a private chef. I started cooking again a year ago after about five years without being able to work at all.

Presently I do not have any clients. Somehow the one thing that always gave me an escape no longer gives me joy. Twenty years working with food and for the first time ever I just don't want to do it any more.

It has been about two months since I last worked. Money is almost gone. A regular gig just isn't in the cards, need to find my joy and hope it comes with a pay check.

 

[afuneralinmybrain]

I've been trying to get disability for about 6 years now. I've been denied quite a few times. I just can't do anything.