for anyone in full time work...

[sillypenguin]

...how does working a full time contract affect your sa? Or does it just depend on your suitability of the job?

My current temp job which I started out working part time only a few weeks ago has asked me if I could work full time. This is due to an unfortunate situation with one of the colleagues who may not be back for some time now. So its really to be there to cover and ensure tasks are still being worked on while there off.

I'm pleased to be asked considering I've not been there so long and I have been really struggling financially tbh so I agreed. But im now worried about the pressure I may be under working up to 40 hrs a week. I used to work full time but it effected my anxiety very negatively and I left and have been doing various part time roles since then. I want to think I've progressed since then but there's a lot of worries also on my mind.

The good thing about it is one, its not a large open plan office which makes me real nervous. Just a couple staff based in the department ill be sitting in. Two, I no longer need to help out on reception for a while so no awkward telephone calls. Three, no strict targets. Have deadlines for letters to be sent out but im used to that. Also who knows when this will last til, its gonna be reviewed in due course.

I think the biggest problem is that my sleeping patterns become totally erratic again and that I end up a zombie at work due to lack of sleep and make lots of daft mistakes. This has been a major problem before but if you can't sleep you can't sleep eh?

[I Love My Cats]

I agree with Martin. Without the structure of full time work, I can really struggle to do anything. When I've been off sick, or sometimes on annual leave, I just fall to pieces and I don't leave the house at all and I actually struggle to get back to work again.

However, full time working completely zaps my energy. I run on autopilot all day, panicking about lots of things but having to push through it, or everyone would see that I'm not coping. That means that most days when I get home, I'm shattered and have no energy left for anything i'd like to do as I've been running on my nerves all day. Some days I'll feel crappy cos of anxious thoughts about the day I've had and what I've done/not done so I'll just go to bed soon after arriving home to stop the bad feeling. There are also times due to the tiredness that I can't keep my eyes open past 8pm and I go to bed, only to wake up at stupid o'clock unable to sleep and spend hours worrying about the next day at work.

I would say that anxiety manifests itself differently in everyone, though, so it's not certain that you'd struggle. It may even be good for you. Working full time is definitely the lesser of the two evils for me anyways!

[les]

I have always worked full time, apart from the sabbatical I took to care for my mum in the last 18 months of her life, as far as the SA and work goes, it is fine at work the uniform is my mask, my protection.
The problem I have are training days, staff meetings, and social events and the more notice I have of these events the worse my physical SA symptoms become.
I have fallen into the trap of all work and no play...

[timmytim7]

good luck at work I hope it goes ok :-)

[saturnseeker]

I've never really been affected working full time hours. What usually affects me is early morning starts. If I am forced to get up by the alarm clock, not only do I feel rough for most the day, but my SA intensifies and I just want everyone on the planet to disappear.
I also tend to get illness easy doing early starts. In the job I work now I start after midday, and have not been ill in the whole time I've been there.

I think everyone is different, so just think of the extra money and the opportunity for you to broaden your horizons.

[Indigo_]

I find full-time work really is the best thing for me SA-wise. It helps me to keep my mind off my SA because I literally don't have time to think about it very often. For me, I think it also stops my SA from getting any worse. I'm always surrounded by people, regularly having conversations, meetings, etc. It's good for me It also keeps me in a regular routine which I definitely need. Feeling tired is unfortunately just one of those things when you work long hours, you just get used to it I suppose.

Your job sounds like it has a lot of good things about it. If you can just sort your sleeping routine out then you'll be

[sillypenguin]

Thanks for the replies guys im glad its not interfering too much and being more positive than a negative experience. In the past certain jobs got so stressful for me I ended up leaving and that's why I was nervous about this. In fact one was only just last year but tbh the job wasn't right for me to begin with...

Today went well, having to interact with certain managers on a regular basis has helped. I think if I was just sitting there all day being ignored or not having a chance to talk to others altogether would make me much more anxious. Guess cos I don't need to worry about trying to force communication with anyone as it's part of my job lol. I'll just take it one day at a time though. Didn't feel too tired either being on autopilot is horrible feeling

[zork]

I work full time and Im finding more and more lately that I just dont want to interact with anyone. I know my colleagues think Im a misery but I really cant stand talking to them. I disagree with the way they conduct themselves and their poor work ethics so I feel no compulsion to talk to them. Ive even started having my breaks at different times so I dont have to sit with them. Sometimes I go full days without barely stringing a few sentences together. But working full time does give you good,solid full nights sleep

[timmytim7]

working full time does help me on balance.

it forces me out the house for a start
it is a distraction
it gives me some kind of routine
it forces me to interact with people
it pays enough money to enable me to live on my own

on the down side
i am tired
it is often very boring
it can cause stress
it's a waste of my life in many ways


in purely sa terms though, it actually hasn't helped me that much. true i am forced to socialise a bit at work each day. i don't socialise out of work at all though. so no change in that sense.


tim

[TheRescueBlues]

I've was working 40 hours for six months last year, but now I've got a different job I'm limited to twenty hours. For me I've felt my SA and depression have definitely been more active when I'm not working very much, and at it's worst when I'm not at all. My sleeping pattern is much more erratic and I get depressed and just find myself staying inside and hiding away from everybody and everything on my days off. When I was working full time I just didn't have time think about anything else.

However, like others have said, being on autopilot all the time is not a pleasant feeling; suddenly the nights and days just blur into one big haze of work and sleep that just keeps going round and round again, waiting for the music to stop. Oops, now I'm getting negative! Positives: Full time work made my SA easier to cope with.

[lookup86]

Just wondering does it annoy some of you who have SA that people like me are one ESA and do not work? Do you feel the same as the people who are annoyed at us for not working?

[Vanessa]

i have always worked full time, well, when i have a job that is. its incredibly difficult for me to find work because i'll bomb an interview then not get any calls for months. ideally (for my sanity) i would be working part time but i can't afford that luxury.

depending on the job, it can be a nightmare for me, not just with SA but just in general. some days are worse than others, and when there's outside stresses from life it makes the full work week excruciating.

i am currently a full tiime temp too. it's a longer than normal work day (8.5 hours) and when you include commuting into the equation, i am gone 12 hours a day. andas a temp i am not entitled to paid holidays, so i can't afford to be off. i have no time/energy for any 'self-maintenance'. i stagger home at 7:30 at night too tired and starving to do anything and once i've eaten i barely have the energy to get off my bed. everything stays piled up until Saturday when i scramble around trying to get everything done during the weekend, always unsuccessfully. my mind and body are falling into disrepair.

i would like to start seeing a psychiatrist and also take a french class, but neither is really doable right now. i don't have the time or energy do anything other than work.



oh i don't care about SA people who stay home on benefits but i think its really beneficial (ho ho no pun intended) to at least try working to see how it goes. even with how horrible work is, it's better than being home, as some other people have said. idk though, i say that, but i also know i am sending myself to an early grave because of the stress. i'm not mad at the poeple collecting benefits, i'm mad at the government who makes it so damn hard for me to claw back a frickin penny when i've been paying into it so long.

[SA sucks]

I'm different from you guys here, I am so much more mentally healthier not being in full-time work. I can handle people in short doses, but being forced to deal with people for longer periods simply makes me feel ill. I don't get more SA when I've had periods of not working as long as I keep myself busy with activities that involve social interaction, such as volunteering or attending a social group. The difference between those activities and work is that I can escape. Knowing that I can escape reduces my anxiety vastly. In fact, I would say that full-time work has always been detrimental for my mental health. That's the nature of my SA anyway.

[Indigo_]

Originally Posted by lookup86

Just wondering does it annoy some of you who have SA that people like me are one ESA and do not work? Do you feel the same as the people who are annoyed at us for not working?

Personally, it doesn't annoy me in the slightest. Whilst my SA doesn't affect my ability to work too much, having more crippling SA in other areas of my life allows me to see how for some people staying in employment can be difficult. Holding down a job can cause all sorts of problems for people with SA so I do understand. What annoys me is people who are perfectly capable of finding employment but simply choose not to (but if benefits are more than the wage you'd earn working what do I expect really?)

[SAperson]

I really am surprised how many of you find work beneficial. I had a job for 6 months and quit about a month ago because it was too much for me, and I feel that I am still recharging my batteries, too draining being around people all day. Also when I worked, I felt I never had time for anything. And what is the point of life if you just live to work?

[iTz0kt0Bu]

Originally Posted by SAperson

I really am surprised how many of you find work beneficial. I had a job for 6 months and quit about a month ago because it was too much for me, and I feel that I am still recharging my batteries, too draining being around people all day. Also when I worked, I felt I never had time for anything. And what is the point of life if you just live to work?

Tbrh, I actually feel the same despite not working full time. But if I did do full time work or lots of hours I would like it to be in something that has meaning for me.

I'm kinda curious about things at the moment, which is why I kinda feel that there is a lot more to life than working, I guess I need to get back into education and get more life experience currently. But then I guess work is also necessary.

[Morgana]

A full time job helps keep my mind occupied. It can be a struggle with certain tasks, and it often feels like it's all I have in my life, but when I've got a 'purpose', I find it easier to talk to other people. I can do all kinds of things for my job that I can't do in a social, leisure time setting.

I suppose it has helped with my confidence a little bit, in particular conversation skills. I need to be good at conversation for my job, and I don't mind doing that when it's for the purpose of finding out information for my work. Those skills have helped me learn to chat informally to others when trying to socialise.

[SA sucks]

I can see how work could be useful for people who are SA as it forces you to be out there in the world and interacting with people, which can certainly help to develop one's social and communication skills and prevent negative navel-gazing. However for me, the only benefit to work is that it gives me a sense of purpose for the week and I get some satisfaction out of being useful to others. Other than that though, it's still a drain. My SA might be a little different from some others here, as I guess I am lucky that I am confident I have good social and communication skills and I am ok mingling with people as long as it's on my own terms i.e. short doses and knowing that I can escape at any time. Thus work, especially full-time work, doesn't have anything to offer me in terms of combatting my SA other than making me feel worse! For me, being around colleagues all day long for most of the week is very stressful, chips away at my confidence and makes me doubt myself. Part-time work is what I prefer.

[Indigo_]

Originally Posted by SAperson

I really am surprised how many of you find work beneficial. I had a job for 6 months and quit about a month ago because it was too much for me, and I feel that I am still recharging my batteries, too draining being around people all day. Also when I worked, I felt I never had time for anything. And what is the point of life if you just live to work?

I honestly don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't work full-time. I have no friends or proper social life outside of work, due to my SA, so I imagine I would just sit all day and slide into craziness

Whilst I don't live to work, as Willow said, those who work full-time do so because they need to financially. If I didn't work full-time I would have to move back in with my parents, something which I definitely don't want to do. No offense intended to them at all but being financially independent allows me to live in my own flat, which I love.

[Lord Lucan]

Its hard sometimes but I'd be far worse off without my job. I think the people I work with know I suffer with it and aren't too demanding on me

[BennyB]

I must admit that I really struggle in full time work. I find the physical and psychological toll extremely tough indeed. Come home absolutely in pieces - often ill tempered and angry at myself for all the things I could have done better and the constant social exchanges which I performed limply. Exhausted and despondent, I have nothing left for my domestic duties, thereby adding to my already chaotic life. Then I summon the strength to psyche myself up for the morning and do it all again. That said, when I have had periods out of work it has led to a worsening of my depression and feelings of worthlessness. So like others have said, health wise, work has probably still been better for me, though I am very lucky in having a supportive wife & family around me to help keep me afloat. Not sure that I would cope otherwise

[Horizo]

I started a new job last October and was working 37.5 hours while the store got on it's feet (new Tesco store). I now work 22.5 hours over three nights and it's perfect for me. I earn more than I would working days and I have minimal human contact (still more than I'd like though). I can't see myself ever wanting to work more hours than this even though I am on a flexi contract and am expected to not turn down any overtime (which I didn't over Christmas and new year despite it wearing me down to a nub).

[sillypenguin]

Originally Posted by BennyB

I must admit that I really struggle in full time work. I find the physical and psychological toll extremely tough indeed. Come home absolutely in pieces - often ill tempered and angry at myself for all the things I could have done better and the constant social exchanges which I performed limply.

After a week of working full time I am now feeling like this. My sleeping patterns are messed up again and today I had to stay in for an extra hour while 2 managers made me feel like absolute crap. And me, well having no assertiveness I didn't really know what to say or do they've stuck me doing stuff that hasn't been properly communicated and also expect me to keep chasing up other colleagues who aren't always based in the office to get information off them for a spreadsheet....that quote 'makes absolute no sense!!' Noone told me that other people would be using it, I thought it was just me updating it!! If so I would of made sure it made more sense!! Of course having SA I dont wana feel like I'm on peoples backs all the time and I hate asking questions all the time and yet still not completely sure what I'm doing

I need people to be clear and straight forward with me, but even when I feel I know what I'm doing I get told later that its all wrong and I know there getting fed up with me already. Thing is I've gave them plenty of chances to check my work but I get NO feedback!! Apparently the temp before me left after a couple of weeks so I'm dreading tomorrow completely

Looks like I'll be back to covering reception part time. I.e. I'll be absolute skint again!!

[desi99]

I am in full time work for the last 14 years and still every day is a struggle. Sometime the thought of going to work keeps me awake in night. In the meetings my shirt gets wet due to sweating due to anxiety. But still i have to work for my family. I wish every day that i save enoguh money so that i can retire.

[Grump]

Being surrounded by the same people all the time is the worst for me. I'm sometimes not too bad with people at first, particularly one on one, but the more time I spend with them, the more awkward / anxious I feel. My SA goes up, my confidence goes down and I end up thoroughly miserable. It takes over my life to the point where I'm even depressed going home on Friday because I know I'll be going back on Monday.

I'm just starting the process of getting my LGV licence. I'll love driving around on my own, listening to the radio, and having short interactions with different people everyday.

[Kcin]

I've been working a fairly new full time job in an office since November. And I'll be honest, I'm sick to death of it now. I used to work a lot of evenings when i worked at a bar and now i have evenings and weekends free it actually has made me feel worse with all this extra free time to myself with nothing to do. I keep saying to myself i should do some stuff in the evenings after work, like some kind of class or group but once I'm home i just don't have the energy to do anything else, it's not until the weekends i feel i can breath and not be on autopilot.

[Seymour]

Hey at least you have a job