Poll Medical Leave From Work? Did It Help?

[TXbandit]

I am considering taking a medical leave from work. I can't make it to work on time, can't complete small tasks and I just can't do my work to the way I use to. There is no joy left in it. Only misery. It is dead. I feel dead and broken. I don't want to get fired so I am thinking I could take some time and try to recuperate. If anyone has taken a leave, what did you do with your time off and was it better when you got back to work?

 

[Little Flower]

TX. I had to leave after family medical leave. I couldn't function enough to go back to a job I used to love That itself is traumatic because I now feel I backed myself into a corner

Both my mom dad and sister were in hospital then nursing homes. Back and forth. I was working full time and cleaning houses. Now I can hardly leave my room

 

[Lucycat]

I had to take sickness absence as I was deemed unfit to work by my GP. I was off three months after which I had a phased return to work. For me taking this time off was not optional, I simply could not function and was at risk of making catastrophic errors.

It definitely helped me. I did things while I was off like playing computer games, going for walks and watching TV. My concentration was poor at first but as I got better I started doing more like baking and jam-making. I re-engaged with needlework - something I had previously enjoyed. I had no problem filling my time, and I was strict with myself that I did not spend a single day in bed. - oh and it was at this time that I started therapy.

 

[Chava]

I've never taken a total leave, but have quit committees and side gigs and also shortened my schedule at my main job, cut out a day, for a sort of medical leave (had a note from my doctor). It helped not make that point in recovery unbearable. I was able to take a day to meet with a couple different specialists and also just slow down a bit. I wouldn't do well with a totally unstructured break because I think I'd crawl further into a hole. But fewer work hours felt really necessary with the treatment and stuff I was going through at the time. Not sure what kinds of options you have, but it's worth gathering info and also ideas for what you could do to help yourself with a little extra time.

 

[Namenotdiagnosis]

I thought I needed time off from work , job too stressful and add flashbacks, anxiety, and sleepiness nights was all I needed to make that descision final . Buttt I haaaaated it!!!! Still couldn't sleep , in fact less coz I wasn't tired, had more time to think and mope around about how why where and when my life became a total disaster , ate nothing , drank and smoke more, leaving me feel like crap the next day nd getting into that vicious cycle. Housework done by 9 , then niting else to do, Eventhough shopping centre on doorstop I hate big crowds , have no family here to link up with, so really was the worst descision I made. So I continue to plod along in my stressful job, prob sleep a few hours more, dnt drink during week if working, nd look forward to not being alone! I suppose it depends on how much u can fill your day up with. For me, evidently , not a lot !!!!

 

[Suzetig]

I took two months medical leave and it made a huge difference. I too simply couldn't function and probably stayed at work longer than I should have and when I did take time out I was exhausted, stressed and spent four weeks on the sofa unable to concentrate or focus. I then slowly picked up bits, saw people for lunch, pottered around the house. I started therapy around this time and had a supported return to work. I'm still being supported in terms of flexible working hours and limited tasks outside of my core role. It all is helping me stay at work.

 

[TonyG]

I just use the ten days sick leave that I am given, If I said it was work related I could be on stress leave but being a honest person that would cause more anxiety,

 

[Whirlwind]

I say take the time if you can get the appropriate leave. You are US so consider your employer.....are they supportive & professional as in HR? Not knowing your situation, I would keep the reason for your leave private, HIPPA laws serve a purpose. Let the work group draw the conclusion it is a mundane...hernia operation or something.

You are entitled to leave but just a caution on your workplace culture, I have seen medical leaves used against personnel. May not be an issue for you but be aware.

I was very much into my work and rarely took time off but I ended up taking a leave 30 days for a medical reason. The side effect is it was a well needed and long overdue break. I took the time to do things I normally couldn't...long walks outside, got into some old hobbies, lots of rest. I went back to work feeling like a new person.

My last thought is just make the most of the time, have a plan because it goes fast. I don't mean busy yourself unnecessarily, but use the time to recuperate however you like to do that, more sleep, yoga, cook, visit friends....spend some time in the outdoors, go camping! :)

Take care, Whirlwind

 

[joeylittle]

I took time off, but made sure it was going to be very structured with a treatment progression. Without that, I would have spiraled into total immobility.

 

[Friday]

I have a thing where I process things in delay. Don't know if that's me or PTSD. Shrug.

After a "big" thing? I need, need, need to be working. If I can't keep busy, I seriously lose my marbles. It's very bad. And, from past experience, I generally "lose" 6-24months in a tailspin.

That said... After a couple weeks/months? (Average of 1 month) I need time off. Immediately. Usually doesn't have to be long. A few days, a week or two. And I'm good to go.

It's kind of a perilous thing for me, because everyone wants to give the stressed out/ grieving/ injured (et cetera) person some time off to heal right when it first happens. Not a month later. So I have to be pretty firm about taking a rain check. Yes. I absolutely will need time off. Not now. (Please, god. Not now!)

This new PTSD run... I think can actually be laid on the shoulders of a series of unfortunate events. Pretty much every single "worst" thing for me & my coping skills happened in domino like succession. One of those being? A whole lot of time off. Too much time in my head. Too much time not doing. And as @joeylittle said so well ; I totally spiraled into immobility. To the point where, not leaving the house, I had a 'normal' home / lie in day... And was sore for a week. I'd spent about 6 months sleeping, or flat out on the couch. My muscles literally locked up like I'd just started an intense exercise program from sitting up, standing, and walking maybe 200 feet in a day. Whoops. Well, ya know you're depressed when. Yeesh.

Conversely, I've also totally tailspinned by filling empty hours when not working / having no structure to speak of. At one point in my life I was hiking 15k every other day, dancing 10 hours every day, and jumping from bed to bed purely to never have an empty minute in my head.

I answered yes/no on the poll. Time off can be invaluable for me. It can also be lethal.

 

[ghotiff]

I cut down my work hours significantly for a bit. It was needed for me because I was struggling with concentration and getting through my job. It made a huge difference.

 

[Sandstone]

I voted both yes and no

Leave helps if you are either likely to be able to regather yourself during the allocated length of time, or if you are getting treatment that will have improved things . Otherwise, I found it was no better when i went back.

But one really important thing to check is that your boss sees things the same way as you do. In the first few months after my PTSD kicked in, I could only see failure, but my boss insisted "You are working to your usual high standard". How sure are you in your judgement of your performance?