Lived Experience Forum

[MaryMahem]

Work is a major stressor in my life and a significant part of the reason I have PTSD, anxiety and depression.  I have not been coping well for almost 2 years and have tried a lot of strategies to minimise stress at work and create a haven at home, I have asked for help at work and have sort help outside of work.  Nothing seems to be working and I would love to change jobs or take a break but circumstances are difficult.  I am single and am entirely self-supporting so I'm very worried about the financial impact.  Will that be worse than the mental impact I'm dealing with now?

If you have left work, changed jobs, gone part-time, gone onto Centrelink, when did you know that focusing on your mental health was more important than your job?

[Former-Member]

Hi @MaryMahem, have you every thought about going on work cover if work is the cause of it. 

I am a teacher and suffer also from anxiety, depression and PTSD which developed from work from repeated traumas at the school I was at. This lead to childhood traumas re surfacing.

i am now on work cover and have been for all of term 3 and will be for a lot longer. I am still receiving a wage and all my psychologist, gps and psychiatrist bills are covered by work cover. Also my union have been great in giving me advice.

what sort of job are you in? Sorry if it was all about me but wanted to explain a bit about my circumstances.

[MaryMahem]

Oh my gosh @Former-Member - I'm teacher too.  I'm getting to know there are a lot of us on here, and a lot with problems directly related to our work.  

I knew about income protection but hadn't thought about work cover.  Thank you for the tip....  I will look into it.

And you didn't make things about you.  The best part about this forum is hearing other people's stories.  Thank you.

[Former-Member]

Glad i could help. If you are not a member join the union. Am happy to help you navigate your way around work cover. Its was really confusing for me at first too. If you have a HR rep which you should ask her because all the documents you have to fill out are on line now.
Talk soon @MaryMaham

[Owlunar]

Hi @MaryMahem

I went onto the DSP after our house was sold for the Property Settlement and I moved into a really lovely unit - but then the nastiness of the property settlement - the divorce process also and before that the separation and before that the death of my son.

That was too much - but I had reached a stage where I could not continue working full-time - and for a time - part time - and it took ages before I got onto the DSP - I guess having MI is a hard thing to prove and it was a bad time in my life

I did get back to work for a short time - I finished my honours degree and got my teaching certificate at TAFE and had a bunch of small jobs but I injured my spine and developed chronic pain and had to stop work again and this time it was easier to get back onto the pension - maybe because I was already on it or because and MRI pretty much proves the problem

But MI doesn't - obviously people who are trained can recognize the issues concerning being able to work and not being able to work - depression is a really tough thing but who can prove it?

So I guess there has to be a point where we know that we can no longer work without risking our health. When did I know that?

Wow - it's so long ago - but I think it might have been when I had a melt-down at Centrelink - I was unemployed at the time and had a few weeks left to finish my pass-degree and they wanted me to sign something to say I would work full time and for a few weeks I could not do that - finishing my pass-degree was something really important and - yes 

That was the point for me - our health is vitally important - all the money in the world cannot help us if our health degerates too far

And there will always be financial stressors - regardless of income. 

How long can you continue without having a melt-down? - worse - having a melt-down in public? We can't see the future but it will come regardless 

How are you feeling about a regular but lower income? I forget who suggested Work Cover. Another teacher - that has to be stressful in this day and age when it seems everyone expects so much from teachers - and I taught CRE in the infant school (volunteer) and these children were little and I was good at it but wow 

So much is left to the teacher - I am not surprised that teachers burn out

All the best Mary - this decision is one only you can make but finding that point in time is hard to figure out

How long can you go on with all the PTSD, anxiety and depression? I guess that is the question

All the best with it

Dec

[utopia]

@marymayhem. I struggled through a ridiculous amount of stress at my work place for over a year. Eventually, my family spoke to me about my stress levels and how I wasn't coping. One final episode with an unwell client & my mental health was done.
Acute stress PTSD depression and anxiety. NowI'm labeled Major Depression.
So i went on WorkCover - 3 years ago. WorkCover is not easy to navigate or deal with, but it is still preferable to working with my ex employer.
WorkCover - if accepted - will pay 80% of your income (based on your last 12 months of employment - prior to injury).
I'm a single mum with a mortgage and with WorkCover I can pay my bills. With just a Centrelink payment, I couldn't cover my mortgage.
Ultimately your health comes before your job. Start by talking to your gp about your work place stress and how it is affecting you.
I wish you well