What To Do When Work Makes You Sick And Depressed

Great post on a great topic. You addressed this in some of the post, but never specifically named how important coping mechanisms are. Sometimes people are so wrapped up in the problem at work that all they can do is think about it-- distractions and other coping mechanisms are key. Nourishing your soul with help from a pastor or counselor is necessary, but in addition nourishing your soul with music that soothes or calms you, or cooking a meal, or doing yoga, or going for a jog, or reading a book for fun, or watching a favorite movie-- are all ways to cope with difficult situations. In order to be able to cope with difficult situations at work, sometimes one of the best things to be able to do is to be able to escape it for a while.

I just emailed this to a COO who once told me to hang in there when I told him things were bad. That was after talking to HR and 3 others in Senior Management about what I needed help with over the course of one year. I still care about the people there and hope he uses this as motivation to make it better for others. I did leave on great terms and was told on my exit interview I could come back to work for them. I saved enough to quit and look for another job. It actually is the best thing I've done. It gave me time to network and connect with tons of positive people and it's good to know I have limits. I realize not everyone can do quit, but want to encourage those who want to figure out how. Once you decide to quit, your performance might even get better. Mine did!

what i dont get is why so many people insist that u stick with it. (well its never a good idea to share with too many ppl such thoughts). but its like when you tell someone a story like the one @Thelma tells, its all of a sudden "its happens to everyone" or "are you crazy you want to quit". i find this insulting - its like the dodos that we are, we havent really thought through this . Advice givers: please give us some credit , yes we checked our savings account & chalked some sort of plan. also one tends to get the 'if i were you' tirade, well here's the thing you are not me , so i'm not asking what you would do , im just saying i need you to have my back and show some empathy.

Leslie - i read that post.
there’s another thing , when you are in the lowest pit , you tend to freeze. by that i mean that in our lowest hour we are not the most proactive , enthusiastic versions of ourselves. And all advice on how to find work is usually based on our pro-activeness. people who lose their jobs or find their jobs on the line are really down in the dumps.

For the employed friends point of view , we think ‘gosh he/she is just not doing enough , if only she could do some follow ups…”. the thing is that the mental state at such a time isn’t very conducive to such advice. The person gets so caught up in that mental state that some times its just hard to do anything at all.

It's good of you to bring this up, Leslie. People should be aware that if depression symptoms last more than a week, they begin to run the risk of a major depression which will in turn make them more susceptible in the long run. Someone who has had at least one major episode, generally defined as having several symptoms most of the day for at least two weeks, is roughly 50% more likely to have another episode. Drugs can be effective over the short term, but for many people talk therapy is just as effective. Lifestyle changes and retraining of the brain can bring about long-term relief without or after drug treatment.

All that said, if your job is making you sick, your only option may be to jettison the job. Prevention is always the best cure. Leslie, I hope your post encourages people to see their doctors for suggestions sooner rather than later.

I am so glad this issue is being addressed. Dealing with depression - whether a single situation-related instance, or an ongoing medical issue - can be so frustrating and isolating. Everyone here has tremendous advice, especially having been there before. Even without health insurance, I scraped up the money to meet with a counselor for advice. And if your job is a toxic environment for you, you are not going to be a happier & more productive person by staying. Don't let ANYONE tell you to "suck it up"!