Informing work

[theunistudent]

Have any of you guys had any experience with informing work / how did you decide to do it ?

To give you some context, The day my sexual assault occurred was the day I got the phone call offering me the position for the current job. With work currently due to past trauma/experiences unrelated to sexual abuse I have learnt how to decompress one part of my life and make it appear as everything is fine and I am competent whilst the other part of my life is falling apart , therefore as a result for the most part my work has been unable to recognise that there would be any reason to question there is a problem as they haven't witnessed the change in personality and rather the side effects of the PTSD (eg. the startle reflex ) they just see it as me being quirky. As a result i've been able to work and it hasn't really been impacted ( though it isn't uncommon that i've finished my work day and then got in my car and had a panic attack and flooding of memories ).

The job is a dream job of mine and looks fantastic on my CV and will really help me with further uni applications so leaving the job is not an option, however due to the nature of the work when I applied for the job they asked on the application if we had any previous mental illnesses so I'm hesitant to let the work know. On top of this I work with vulnerable people and have just taken on more responsibility within the work place and so do not want to lose that or be seen as if I'm less capable.

Here is where the two issues really come in, part of it has to do with involves kids camps , although i am okay during the day when i work with the kids when it gets to like 9pm my anxiety becomes unbearable and i typically take meds which then are rather sedating as a result I would not feel safe being a supervisor I've previously used a number of different excuses why i am unable to do these camps (normally saying I have uni or assignments dues) however i don't know how long i can keep using these excuses for , my second fear is telling them because part of my role is within a church and the guy who did it was a church member (who knows some of the members of the church i work for) and the way the person in my church (which is different then the one i work with) reacted when they found out was horrid and I just dont think i could handle that again and so i just don't know what to do

So i guess i am looking for advice

 

[Ice_Fire]

That's a tough one. I guess, if you're not comfortable telling them about the PTSD, you could say that you have a sleep disorder and have to take medication and therefore you wouldn't feel competent as a supervisor whilst medicated overnight? I don't know whether that would help because I'm not sure if sleep problems per se are classed as mental health issues or not?

 

[minirini]

Gosh, that's a difficult situation. If I were you, I would speak with your doctor or therapist and see what they'd recommend to your employer. You'd likely be able to get away with the anxiety medication "excuse" or maybe even sleep disorder, as that's not classified as a mental illness.