How to ask your shrink for time off work

In My Humble Opinion
1

As I’ve talked about in the depression support thread, I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist lately and am diagnosed with bipolar type 2 and social anxiety disorder. I’m taking lamictal for the bipolar, currently at 150mg and bumping to 200 soon. It’s helping with the mood issues, in that my depression has been lifting but that’s causing other problems. Primarily, my anxiety has been spiraling out of control. Like today we had a staff meeting with about 50 people I work with and know fairly well. Just the normal noise of that many people talking before it started had me on the edge of an anxiety attack. I get so overwhelmed that I’ve been crying at work at some point nearly every day over the last week or so. Even my manager has told me recently (after I revealed my diagnosis) that she can tell I’m right on the edge lately.

The long and short of it is, I need some time away from work. I want to ask my Dr. for it, but I don’t know really what to say. I don’t want to sound like I’m using my issues as a excuse not to mention it makes me feel weak that I can’t power through this any more. Has anyone been through this, either on the patient or doctor side? What is the best way to approach it?

2

You’re suffering from a real medical condition as surely as if you had a broken leg. Talk to your HR department about the FMLA process, get your doc to fill out the papers and take some time off, get yourself better :slight_smile: I had a stress/depression episode once and took almost four months off (with disability payments of about half my regular pay).
Of course I am assuming you’re in the United States; all other western nations should have a similar sort of program.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/

3

Just ask. Tell him/her why, as in, I am afraid I will lose my job if I continue to make mistakes, or have a panic attack, or whatever. Alternatively, ask for yor therapist’s opinion about a break.

Just be aware that you will feel an increase in your anxiety when you have to return to work, and some people cannot return at all once they take a break.

4

Thanks for the advice and encouragement to do what I really need to. I just sent an email to my doctor asking if I could see her as early as possible, hopefully next week. My next appointment wasn’t scheduled until mid-October but I really don’t think I’m going to make it until then and be able to keep up.