Has your job made you so sick you had to quit?

[IFeelSoLost]

Hello,

After starting a new job 5 months ago I have developed panic attacks and very severe anxiety. I have never experienced panic attacks before. The ironic thing is my job isn't stressful, it's quite the opposite. I'm bored and given little responsibility. I feel all of my skills and education are being completely wasted. I believe these feelings have contributed to my anxiety and have compounded to bring on the panic attacks.

I've never had panic attacks before, but I can tell you this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to face in my life. I have taken the last week off because my panic as become so severe I have difficulty leaving the house or driving.

I have been seeing a therapist for the last 6 months. This has helped a bit, but overall not a ton. I have opted not to take medication other than Ativan/Xanax when I get a bad attack. My therapist pretty much says I can either keep working at this (which I am) and see how it goes or take medicine. So I'm left just taking this one day at a time and doing the best I can.

It's hard to say whether I would be having panic attacks if I were not in the job situation I am in now, but it's fair to say that as long as I am at this job they are going to continue. I'm sure your saying well then find another job. Easier said than done.

Dealing with this condition is taking all of my energy. I'm wondering if it's going to be possible for me to handle it, continue to go to my job, and look for a new job at the same time. Now I don't have a ton of money, but if I quit I could be ok for a month or so. I'm wondering if you think it would be better to just quit and then be able to devote all my time to finding a new job and dealing with my panic. I realize being out of work and looking for a new job, coupled with financial stress could actually bring more stress to my situaiton potentially worsening my panic attacks. I guess I really just don't know what to do anymore. When do you say enough is enough?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did you quit or stick it out and wait to find something else?

Thanks so much for reading and any insight you can provide. My heart really goes out to everyone on this board- it's a lifesaver.

xo

[kdhmps]

I've been there... I quit my awful job and have found a new one. I was doing property management, which I disliked very much. During my two week notice period, I was served with a fair housing complaint which says I discriminated...I assure you I did not, but my awful experience continues to haunt me. Quit and use your energy to find something better! And don't worry about money. As long as you are diligent in sending out your resume, it will be okay.

[PenforPrez]

I've talked here before about my problems with rage in my last few months of working at Wal-Mart in 2005. I was stuck in a crappy position a HS dropout could do with no money, no prospects, and no chance of promotion for so long that I just cracked and became extremely angry. In one instance, I actually had blind rage; I was so mad, I could not see.

It worried me; I'm NOT a violent person. I have a temper, yes, but I'm not in any way violent. I'm still sorting out issues from that, and I lost something I needed in all of that. I don't know what, but it's not there.

I had been looking for a real job, but I kept winding up in the same circle and never making serious progress. I felt like I was going to be stuck there the rest of my life, and that was a fate worse than death to me. I eventually did quit; I briefly took a sales position that I knew wouldn't work, but it got me out of where I was at.

I started in therapy earlier this year, and that has my anger problems well in check. Rage is not fun; I couldn't stand myself, and I doubt anybody else did.

I have been seeing a therapist for the last 6 months. This has helped a bit, but overall not a ton. I have opted not to take medication other than Ativan/Xanax when I get a bad attack. My therapist pretty much says I can either keep working at this (which I am) and see how it goes or take medicine. So I'm left just taking this one day at a time and doing the best I can.

That's all you can do. When you're stuck in a situation like that, you have to make do as best you can. It was enough for me for awhile, but eventually it wasn't.

Hope this helps. :)

Paul

[yankeeyosh]

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}

I'm in the same situation now. I have told my sob story many times...but in a nutshell, I am doing something that a monkey could do, even though I have a master's degree. And it won't change no matter how long I'm here.

Personally, I wouldn't quit unless you had another job lined up. HR will grill you and ask you why you're no longer working. And it is usually easier to find a job if you have a job. But if it is just too much, maybe in your circumstances you should take a break.

[IFeelSoLost]

Thanks for your response. Congrats on getting help for your anger, I hope things are going well for you now.

Do you think the job was the main reason your anger issues arose? You said you never had any prior issues correct? If so, that's similar to me- I have never had panic attacks until this job. I just don't know if going to a different job would make things better or worse.

I feel really stuck too and I understand exactly how you felt. It's like I can't make any real progress when I'm dealing with my panic issues and simply dealing with going to a job I can't stand everyday. It seems to promote so much negative energy and I can't get anything accomplished. All my time is spend recovering you know? I know most people say you should never quit before you have a job lined up, but I almost feel like there is no way I will get out of this cycle unless I do. I mean if I could have wouldn't have I by now?

Thanks again and best wishes to you.

[IFeelSoLost]

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}

I'm in the same situation now. I have told my sob story many times...but in a nutshell, I am doing something that a monkey could do, even though I have a master's degree. And it won't change no matter how long I'm here.

Personally, I wouldn't quit unless you had another job lined up. HR will grill you and ask you why you're no longer working. And it is usually easier to find a job if you have a job. But if it is just too much, maybe in your circumstances you should take a break.

Thank you so much for your response! I feel for you and wish you the best. I hope things are getting better for you. Are you going to stay at your current position for much longer? What is your plan? I am so glad I am getting responses cause I really want to know what other people have done/are doing who are in a similar situation. It's really tricky.

I think in regards to HR grilling me why I'm no longer working wouldn't be a big issue- I mean I could just say I am looking for a more challenging position, etc. and I think that would go over pretty well. I think that's a really good reason to leave a job too and potential employers are interested in people who are looking to have job growth/development. (I hope)

Thanks again- keep me posted or PM me on how your doing!

[IFeelSoLost]

I've talked here before about my problems with rage in my last few months of working at Wal-Mart in 2005. I was stuck in a crappy position a HS dropout could do with no money, no prospects, and no chance of promotion for so long that I just cracked and became extremely angry. In one instance, I actually had blind rage; I was so mad, I could not see.

It worried me; I'm NOT a violent person. I have a temper, yes, but I'm not in any way violent. I'm still sorting out issues from that, and I lost something I needed in all of that. I don't know what, but it's not there.

I had been looking for a real job, but I kept winding up in the same circle and never making serious progress. I felt like I was going to be stuck there the rest of my life, and that was a fate worse than death to me. I eventually did quit; I briefly took a sales position that I knew wouldn't work, but it got me out of where I was at.

I started in therapy earlier this year, and that has my anger problems well in check. Rage is not fun; I couldn't stand myself, and I doubt anybody else did.



That's all you can do. When you're stuck in a situation like that, you have to make do as best you can. It was enough for me for awhile, but eventually it wasn't.

Hope this helps. :)

Paul


hanks for your response. Congrats on getting help for your anger, I hope things are going well for you now.

Do you think the job was the main reason your anger issues arose? You said you never had any prior issues correct? If so, that's similar to me- I have never had panic attacks until this job. I just don't know if going to a different job would make things better or worse.

I feel really stuck too and I understand exactly how you felt. It's like I can't make any real progress when I'm dealing with my panic issues and simply dealing with going to a job I can't stand everyday. It seems to promote so much negative energy and I can't get anything accomplished. All my time is spend recovering you know? I know most people say you should never quit before you have a job lined up, but I almost feel like there is no way I will get out of this cycle unless I do. I mean if I could have wouldn't have I by now?

Thanks again and best wishes to you.

[PenforPrez]

Do you think the job was the main reason your anger issues arose? You said you never had any prior issues correct? If so, that's similar to me- I have never had panic attacks until this job. I just don't know if going to a different job would make things better or worse.

If it wasn't the main reason, it sure fueled it. I was grossly overqualified, but Wal-Mart is a gigantic crony pyramid, and I refused to kiss enough ass to hop on the promotion train. Couldn't find anything else, I didn't know what I wanted in life; I was just stuck. The whole career/life situation was intertwined.

I feel really stuck too and I understand exactly how you felt. It's like I can't make any real progress when I'm dealing with my panic issues and simply dealing with going to a job I can't stand everyday. It seems to promote so much negative energy and I can't get anything accomplished.

I think you need to approach that with your therapist. If you're in therapy for it and it's not getting better, something isn't right. How long as you been seeing them?

It is a rush of negative energy. Just the physical act of going there is a downer. That's why you have to watch and make sure you don't go off the deep end. :)

Paul

[winneythepooh7]

My first job post-Master's was a nightmare. I stuck it out for almost a year but wanted to quit everyday. I knew it was a bad place when I started crying in front of my co-workers on a weekly basis saying I couldn't take it anymore. Now that I left and I am where I am now, I am so much happier. My field in general is stressful, but where I am now is nowhere near the psychomadness of the place that I used to work. And people were constantly quitting for the same reasons I did so I know it couldn't have just been me. I am an advocate for if your job is making you crazy, to leave if you can swing it. I understand needing to have a job, and not wanting to quit without something else lined up, but reflecting back, that's probably what I should have done in the first place with that evil place!

[wordsmith]

My current job doesn't make me sick or miserable (though it can be exhausting at times). But when I was student teaching, I would come home and sob every single day, and have horrible anxiety. I decided very early on that I could never have a career in something that made me feel that way from the very beginning.

[red]

i was sexually harassed and retaliated against at my old job. it was a terrible working environment and in retrospect, i wish i had quit sooner, but i didn't really have that option. maybe i could have quit and taken a mcjob but i have health issues and i needed the insurance.

what happens with your insurance if you quit? can you continue to get medication and see your therapist?

[cache]

what happens with your insurance if you quit? can you continue to get medication and see your therapist?

Uhhh, well, if you quit, there are no legal obligations. COBRA benefits technically only have to be offered to employees who do anything but quit(e.g. layoff, fired, etc.). However, many employers will offer COBRA anyways, because the insurance companies don't mind the continued business. With COBRA, you can continue your benefits after you leave the company, as long as you pay the entire premium, plus a few extra percent for "administrative fees."

[blueyes]

((HUG))

I could regale you with the excessive ridiculousness of my last job, but I won't. I do, however, empathize 1000% with you - I also experienced panic attacks on the job on a field site, developed migraines, almost developed a stomach ulcer, lost 7 pounds in one week (during the holidays, no less), and generally dreaded going into work. It became so awful that I would feel my heartrate increase as I walked through the door into the office.

If you think you can tough it out until you find a new position, I recommend it. If you believe it will be more detrimental to your health than you can handle, quit and take care of you. Take care of you and your health first. Everything else is secondary.

We work to live - we don't live to work.

[EmberMae]

I've told this story a million times already...but when I was teaching I was under horrible stress and had the worst anxiety and panic attacks I've ever had, along with depression and insomnia. I was taking several different drugs at the time--xanaz, prozac, ambien. And I cried just about every day. I elected to quit because I knew I was in no condition to even continue doing my job, much less look for another on top of it.

But...I wouldn't jump into this sort of thing if there's any other option. It took me six months to find a job, which was only part-time. It took an additional 2 months for me to find a full time job, which is only temp. If you don't have a lot of connections or experience, it could take months and months for you to find any kind of work. Resume gaps are not looked upon kindly, and quitting jobs which you've held for less than a year is not looked upon kindly either. You really have to think if unemployment is going to make your psychological situation worse. In my case, it wasn't good, but it was better than what I was going through in my job. And I did have a savings and my boyfriend's income to get me through financially during that time.

I think that your situation is different from mine in that you're having problems not because your job is actually stressful, but because feeling like your education is wasted stresses you out. Well imagine how you would feel after months of not being able to find ANY job. I don't think unemployment will help, I think it will only hurt. In the meantime, since your job isn't taking up all your time, like mine was, work on a plan to get yourself a better job and start implementing that plan while you still have the old job.

[shimma]

Yes, I have left a job that was making me sick, but I was getting sick because I had 18 hour days, last minute travel all over the place (when I deal well extremely poorly w/motion sickness and time zone changes), and assholic intrusive coworkers.


After starting a new job 5 months ago I have developed panic attacks and very severe anxiety. I have never experienced panic attacks before. The ironic thing is my job isn't stressful, it's quite the opposite. I'm bored and given little responsibility. I feel all of my skills and education are being completely wasted. I believe these feelings have contributed to my anxiety and have compounded to bring on the panic attacks.

I've never had panic attacks before, but I can tell you this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to face in my life. I have taken the last week off because my panic as become so severe I have difficulty leaving the house or driving.

Are you sure this is just your job causing the problems? Is this your first job out of college? Do you have any other source of happiness or self-definition than your job? Because it sounds to me like something more could be going on.

For the record, a lot of us older folks had shitty jobs our first year or two out of college and have gone on to be decently successful. I've doubled my salary and gone from drone to manager in the last 2.5 years, despite my proclivity to work from home judiciously, lack of master's degree, and generally shitty attitude.

I have been seeing a therapist for the last 6 months. This has helped a bit, but overall not a ton. I have opted not to take medication other than Ativan/Xanax when I get a bad attack. My therapist pretty much says I can either keep working at this (which I am) and see how it goes or take medicine. So I'm left just taking this one day at a time and doing the best I can.

It's my view that if your life sucks so much you need drugs to endure it, then you need to change your life. Understanding that depression and anxiety have chemical basises that are out of your control, but it IS in your control to remove the factors from your life which trigger your chemical imbalances to go haywire. More therapists suck than not, so you need to find one that works for you. If you're not getting a lot out of it, consider finding someone else.

It's hard to say whether I would be having panic attacks if I were not in the job situation I am in now, but it's fair to say that as long as I am at this job they are going to continue. I'm sure your saying well then find another job. Easier said than done.


Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did you quit or stick it out and wait to find something else?
I have extenuating circumstances by which I needed to maintain my health insurance, so I stuck it out, using doctor's notes if my employer bitched about me taking time off for an interview.

[EastCoastQLCing]

I had the same thing happen to me. I started working at this job and starting getting panic attacks and I actually passed out once in the morning when I was leaving for work. I didn't last as long as you have before I called it quits. It was compromsing my health too much. I was sleeping tops 3 hours a night on the weekdays because I would stay up worrying about how much I didn't want to go in to work the next day. And I had no reprieve on the weekends. Friday evenings I would start worrying about Monday mornings. I didn't find a job before quitting. Its taken me about two months to get a new one. Once I quit the anxiety went away though!

[yankeeyosh]

Thank you so much for your response! I feel for you and wish you the best. I hope things are getting better for you. Are you going to stay at your current position for much longer? What is your plan? I am so glad I am getting responses cause I really want to know what other people have done/are doing who are in a similar situation. It's really tricky.

I think in regards to HR grilling me why I'm no longer working wouldn't be a big issue- I mean I could just say I am looking for a more challenging position, etc. and I think that would go over pretty well. I think that's a really good reason to leave a job too and potential employers are interested in people who are looking to have job growth/development. (I hope)

Thanks again- keep me posted or PM me on how your doing!

Thanks... :)

I don't know what my plan is. The problem I am blacklisted from good companies and there are few companies in my field to begin with. Plus, I don't have the "direct experience" or degree that other companies want. I have very specialized skills that no one really cares for. So I fear that I might be stuck here for a couple of years until the blacklisting blows over.

[AshleyJordan]

I have had jobs that made me that sick . . . I'm talking going from a size 6 to a size 2 without a diet, chest pains, migraines, waking up about 5 times a night, bursting into tears on my way to work, etc.
Although my current job is stressful (as noted ad naseum in my other posts), it never gets that bad, even though I have much more responsibility and "experience", or maybe because of that.

[factotum]

I've definitely been through the same thing you're going through now. I was underemployed in retail for a year and nine months. Towards the end, I had a horrible boss. It got to a point where I literally felt physically ill just going into work. And I was so depressed that they wanted to put me on Prozac. I had no luck finding other work, but desperately needed a change. So I quit and went back to school again. I lived off my 401K money, my leftover vacation pay, and my eBay earnings until I eventually found something else I could do part-time while I was getting my degree.

After I quit, it was like the storm clouds over my life had dissipated. Things got a whole lot better. Hopefully, they'll get better for you too if that's what you decide to do.

I personally think that sometimes when situations get that bad it can be a sign that you need to move on, that there's something else better for you out there. You deserve to be happy and I agree with the other posters who said that your health and sanity are what's most important. I wish you all the best, whatever you decide.

[Kitty]

My last job gave me several panic attacks. I still couldn't bring myself to quit without something else lined up - that would have given me equally as many panic attacks.

[wordsmith]

A work panic attack is vastly preferable to me to an I'm jobless panic attack. Being unemployed would be far more stress to me, because I would be pretty much intantly broke.

[kdhmps]

For some reason, quitting an awful job and having to find a new one was less horrible than going to the awful job!

[Goldeneye]

I've had one of those. In fact, it was so extreme that I was faced with three unpalatable options, given that I couldn't take that particular day off for any reason (including calling in sick).

1. Mental breakdown in front of customers and co-workers
2. Violent outbursts in front of customers and co-workers
3. Jumping ship to avoid 1. and 2. above.

Not surprisingly, I chose 3. to preserve my sanity.