What would you do, stuck?

[Anonymous]

I feel like my mental health has taken a very quick nose dive.
There are a few things that have accumulated over the past 2 months, that I think feed into this.
My clinical psychologist told me I need to take a break from work, but I have 4 job interviews, a talk to medical staff to do next week and patient appointments.. it's not the ideal time to just take a break.

I'm literally holding out for next week to be over but I'm not sleeping (2 hours max) and I'm not really eating or engaging well with my work.
I've got days worth of work to catch up on but getting through it all is really hard because everything is taking so much longer to do.
An task that would usually take 1 hour is taking 2 and i can't work any quicker and some of my work can't be passed onto anyone else.

I feel conflicted, but I am not meeting my basic needs so I'm really frustrated that I'm not going to feel better anytime soon until I literally reach breaking point

What would you do?

[provokeesmokee]

It sounds like you work with patients.

You owe it to them, and your team, and yourself, to take a break.

It isn't ideal, but having a full mental breakdown - where you're heading - will be worse.

Imagine you DON'T take a break. You're burntout. You're crying yourself to sleep, or worse can't sleep.

You start messing up at work. You get written up a few times, making your stress worse. Soon, you're breaking down in front of colleagues or clients.

You're forced to go on leave, your patients and team are still impacted but have to deal with not only your sudden absence but your mistakes before your leave.

Everyone's worried about your health.


Now imagine TAKING a break.

You work with your bosses to determine if there's coverage. Whether or not there is isn't your problem - it's your boss' job to manage resources on their team, including accommodating leaves.

You tell your coworkers you are burning out and taking a break. They have time to transition and prep for your workload. Perhaps they reach out and find backup for you.

You go on break, you get leave pay and you get to consult with your psychologist to address what's going on. Part of this is designing - when your doctor declares you're ready - a return to work.

After a month or two, you return and folks are relieved to see you feeling better.

I've taken three leaves over the nearly 10 years and 2 careers of my working life so far. The first was involuntary and traumatic. The second two were preventative and much easier to return from.

Take your psychologist's advice. You pay them a shit ton for a reason.

Bring up your concerns, ask her for help in approaching your job.

You deserve a break and it's your boss' literal job to manage in your absence. It isn't your fault if they don't do it.