Posted by Libby on June 16, 2000, at 11:59:52
In reply to 3 Days and Counting, posted by harry b. on June 16, 2000, at 10:07:15
Harry, I took ten weeks off last year and would have chewed off an arm to keep from going back,
but financial situation wouldn't allow more time off. When I went back, it was to a new job because I was forced out of my old one. What they did was illegal, but that doesn't seem to matter.I was surprised to find that some of my best friends before my depression would hardly speak to me when I returned. But I have been suprised by the number people I would never have considered friends who came through with various kinds of support.
I am doing a much less satisfying job than before. I make a little less money. I don't have the active social life I used to have with my associates from work, but I got used to the change much quicker than I thought I would.
The one thing the experience gave me was a chance to reevaluate the importance of career in my life.
Before, work was a component of my self-worth.
Now, work is something I must do to earn an income. To get there, I had to ignore a lot of negative crap from people who wanted to convince me I was worthless as an employee. It helped to
have standards of my own. For me, that meant
1. showing up at work bathed and on time and
2. doing ONE productive thing each week, regardless of whether anyone asked me to.
I've done those things for six months and work is no longer a major stressor for me. However, I still have days when some jerk seems determined to take advantage of my illness/history to further his own agenda. Not as many as I expected, though.Try to keep your expectations reasonable and take your time. Let the people who understand matter to you and ignore the rest as much as you can.
Good luck...
LibbyThere are a surprising number of people out there who understand and go out of their way to help.
poster:Libby
thread:37513
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000610/msgs/37534.html