Fired From Job - Now What To Do

[Ptsdisnojoke]

I was fired from my job in January after working there 4 1/2 years. I thought I'd work there as long as I could ,but unfortunately the week prior to getting fired I was put in a high stress environment, got into an argument with an employee because he said something that triggered my PTSD, no violence, no profanity, and then to get fired over the phone during a time I was trying to get mental help. I worked very hard for that company and most were like family to me. I feel so torn and it's very hard to cope especially with a 3 year old growing up every day.

I got another job a few months later and that didnt work out because 20 hours in traffic and 50 plus hours were not cutting it being a single mom. I quit that job (this is not typical of me, I am not a quitter). This job was basically handed to me and I didnt have to explain getting fired.

I have a ton of experience and I just do not know what to do. Lie in the next interview, fake them, tell what they want to hear, etc. I really do not know what to do. I feel like the job that fired me just threw me in the trash. People there have done way worse. They knew I had PTSD. I think My salary was more than the other employee's in my department and in 6 months I would have earned an extra weeks vacation. Im trying to put the peices together. Why didn't they let me resign?

How do I explain this moving forward? I now have no idea what I want to do with my life and am not sure if the office is the place for me. I have this 3 year old beautiful daughter looking up to me and I can't step out of this dream. I am so scared to go back to work because what is the point of giving my all to another company who isn't thankful for my hard work.

I know my money is eventually going to run out besides the small PTSD disability check I get each month. I know this is more of ranting, but I am in a major funk and just want to be upbeat again and make a decent living. Can someone please give me some advice.

 

[Changing4Best]

First off, I would just say it didn't work out at that job, but you were a loyal employee when you did work there and be sure to tell prospective employers you worked there for a good 4 years. Be sure to describe your work duties there, if asked. Put that into your resume too. You can explain about the 50 hours a week as unacceptable, because you are a single mom. DO stress that, as it is important that you not get another 50 hour week!

I am praying for you (hope that is OK), that you get another job, and if need be, once you feel comfortable there, do tell them that you are PTSD if there becomes some kind of explanation needed because of something that comes up. However, I would not let it be known, unless something comes up that really needs an explanation.

Good luck, and God bless!

 

[Ptsdisnojoke]

Thanks so much for the advice. My resume is well written. I think stressing the fact I was there 4 + years means something. I need all the advice I can get because I feel like giving up and worthless. I am praying all day everyday. I feel like I am too old for all this. I hate anxiety and just wish it would go away.

 

[Stickler]

Hmm.
Dunno if you can file a ADA suit. You have PTSD. They knew it. They are supposed to accommodate that.
Putting you into an environment where you could get highly stressed is the exact opposite of accommodation.

Just sayin'

 

[Ptsdisnojoke]

Hmm.
Dunno if you can file a ADA suit. You have PTSD. They knew it. They are supposed to accommodate t...

I thought about it and it's probably too late now. I thought I could get unemployment but they won because the day I called in sick to get mental help is the day they fired me via the phone. I was unable to retrieve various instances of discrimination because it was all on my work computer. I wasn't allowed to clean out my own desk. I did speak to a couple of lawyers and they wanted to take my case $$. Which is fine but I just didnt have it in me to deal with it at the time. I am still mentally distraught.

The day of the incident was on a Friday, my boss was on vacay all week, director was out, new girl been there two weeks and the other girl 4 months. I was doing 90% of the departments work all week and cracked Friday. Everything was ok Friday with the individual but my director Fired me via phone on Monday. My supervisor who was on vacay had no part of the firing. This hurts so bad and I am still confused why they put me in that environment. There were other situations I was put in prior to this day. I just don't understand why they didnt let me resign.

 

[Stickler]

...Interoffice politics?
My best guess?
This:
Whoever assigned you to do all that work took the opportunity of your supervisor being gone to set you up, wanted you to lose it and was going to pile on the stress until you did.

The director probably heard a very exaggerated version of how you went off on the other employee, so he didn't even want you in the building?

Your direct supervisor would also get the tabloid version of the incident writ by the person who wanted you gone.

Why they wanted you out? I dunno. You worked with said person.

 

[KwanYingirl]

I'd sue the f*ckers. I won an ADA suit, not PTSD but a chemical exposure that my doctors kept telling them to improve the air quality. My supervisor said he just wanted to kill me and he made the air worse and my body broke down and now I'm allergic to most chemicals in everyday products. I didn't get what I deserved since I'm never able ever to work around chemical fumes. I lost my career. But my lawyer said if they got my abuse history they'd destroy me in a trial so I settled. I wish that I took it to trial. I think a jury would have compassion. It's a huge pain in the ass but they knew you have PTSD and they put you in a dangerous position. Middle management douch bags. I hate them all. They deserve to be sued. You have shown for 4 1/2 years that with the right accommodations you were a stellar employee. Idiots. I'm so sorry you are going through this. I know exactly how you feel. It took me years to find something I could do for work that doesn't expose me to fumes. I'm disabled and poor and I lost all the friends I had at that job. The loss is a heavy, heavy load. After my suit, my boss was fired. I heard he got fired from his next job too. I think he has a drug problem.

 

[Ptsdisnojoke]

At this point, all my evidence is destroyed. Half the people around say to do something and other half say move on. I did get written up two years prior and I wrote a rebuttle about that. During that neeting two years prior I told them about my diagnosis. I was very open about it. Most of the people I worked with say they miss my upbeat personality. This director just didnt want me there. Ive heard stories of the hire and how hateful she is to others and she doesnt get fired. I was never hateful to anyone. I just had a heated discussion. My dischage report says, I was fired due to fighting.

As for your situation I am sorry you had to go through that and that is very messed up this person messed up your health. Crazy thing googling "being fired with ptsd" I came across another article saying getting fired causes ptsd. I just want to be strong and find my place. I have such a creative mind and a lot of experience and hope I figure out what it meant for me.

 

[Ptsdisnojoke]

Excuse the typo's.

 

[void]

I was fired from my job in January after working there 4 1/2 years. I thought I'd work there as lon...

I'm sry to hear of your difficulty and the stress it is causing.:(

If you are on PTSD disability, why were you working?and why would you be seeking work?
Were you working AND on disability?

Please clarify.

 

[Ptsdisnojoke]

I'm sry to hear of your difficulty and the stress it is causing.:(

If you are on PTSD disability, why were...

I was diagnosed with PTSD after getting hired at the job I speak of. I was battling with major anxiety for 7 years and didnt know it was PTSD. I never had axiety until after I was honorably discharged from the military. I didn't talk about what happened in the military the entire 7 years after. I get paid from the VA for the rest of my life, but the amount is not enough to live on. I believe I can work with this ,but there is more and more to my story.

I was going to therapy once a week on my lunch hour and was going to my psychiatrist nearly once a month. My supervisor told me in July of 2014 that I needed to calm down on all of the appointments. I stopped going, stopped taking my meds, and got fired beginning January 2015. In December I got an end if the year bonus, in 2014 I receieved the best yearly review since I started, and got the biggest raise. I showed them I could work with this disability. A few months leading up to my firing, my supervisor exploded on me several times, giving me 90 % of the work load. One meeting, the new employee sent me a message, why is she doing this to you? I told her, I will prove to her I can do it all. But then the week of the firing, again I was tasked to do all the work and I broke.

I was told during my previous write (2 years ago) I was not allowed to talk about personal business, anything religious, can't use company phone to make personal calls, no personal calls at desk... Employee who sat behind me continued to call his girlfriend on the company phone every day. My supervisor took personal calls with her kids at her desk, every morning everyone came in to chat about personal stuff. I stayed quiet the last 2 years. The two new girls thought I was just a very quiet person. All I wanted to do was a good job, make a decent living, and go home.

 

[void]

I was diagnosed with PTSD after getting hired at the job I speak of. I was battling with major anxi...

Your employer cannot legally pull that kind of bullsh*t.
It sounds like 'wrongful dismissal' and like your rights were trampled, imo.
I am, however, not a lawyer.
If I were you I'd hire one immediately.

You did NOT deserve that kind of treatment. This is why we HAVE laws in the first place.