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Wow. I don't know anything about the OP's situation, and I'm not going to make any assumptions or weigh in on whether he's "gaming the system" because I haven't read the other threads to which some people have referred. But I will tell you that just because you found medication and changing jobs to be an easy fix for you, that certainly does not mean that's the case for everyone who deals with depression and anxiety. You never missed a day of work due your depression and anxiety? Wonderful for you! Again, that doesn't mean it works that way for everyone else.
Do you have any idea how many people struggle just to find the right medication to give them any kind of relief from their mental illness? Some people go for decades trying this med and that med, this doctor and that doctor, this method of counseling and that method of counseling. Only to find little to no relief. I've been there. I have no shame in admitting that I was out of work for a period of time because my depression and anxiety were crippling. And I certainly wasn't scamming any system because I didn't even have a job to try to get benefits from. I simply could not function enough to work so I resigned. I was a grown woman with a graduate degree and a good career, and mental illness brought me to my knees. Especially the panic attacks. No job meant eventually no benefits so no way to continue counseling or buying meds. It took years before I was able to function again, and that meant starting over at the bottom. The only reason I was able to do that is because I was fortunate enough to find a job that allowed me to primarily work from home. If I had to go from the pit I was in to commuting and working in an office everyday, I don't think I could have handled it.
I find the audacity and arrogance in your post to be appalling. Also, there is a difference between situational depression/anxiety (in which the symptoms are caused by a specific situation like a stressful job or death of a loved one, etc, which is often more easily alleviated with medication and/or lifestyle changes), and chronic clinical depression/anxiety in which the person deals with the illness on a constant basis, regardless of what's going on in his/her life. Panic attacks often come out of nowhere for no reason at all, even if they don't have a particularly stressful job. Depression is often crippling even if they appear to have no particular reason to be depressed. As is the case with most things in life, one size does not fit all when it comes to illness, be it physical or mental. Just food for thought for those of you who seem to think that anybody who doesn't work due to mental illness is just a lazy liar trying to scam the system. The stigma and ignorance surrounding mental health issues is a topic that I'm extremely passionate about. I have much more that I would like to say but I'm sure I'd get kicked off the forum if I said what I really think about your post.
Clap, Clap, Clap. I would like to rep you 100X for this post
i swear it's like folks don't know we can find all their posts.
I normally don't search, but this one set off my bs-ometer.
Not directed at you, old fed:
I will say that I also take offense to the notion that because I didn't believe this ONE poster, that I have no sympathy for the mentally ill. A search through my own posting history will reveal that not only do I defend the mentally ill, but I suffered from depression myself. I didn't miss work from it, but I understand how someone can. The details in the OP's story doesn't add up. And he was more concerned with how to extend his paid leave than anything else. THAT is what raised my eyebrows.
I already scared her off, she's not getting anymore STD of LTD disability payments. No doctor will say she will not be able to perform the duties of her job-- indefinitely and that there is no cure and no plan for a return to work date, that's how it works.
If she cannot perform the duties of her previous occupation they will find something else for her to do at her current employers place of business, or another occupation. One cannot just determine by themselves that they are no longer able to work without any documentation and have some other source support them forever.
There's no easy answer to why I'm not getting better. I wish I knew why, but it doesn't work like that. I have severe panic attacks that don't get any better with medication, and I don't even have the confidence to leave the house by myself half the time.
I question whether the doctor actually believes I'm better or just wants to get rid of me. I don't know how in good faith she can say I'm getting better when I describe my symptoms, because I'm not. Maybe I didn't explain it clearly enough to her? I don't have an answer unfortunately.
I'm the last person that would tell you mental illness is not a real illness. It is. I have had anxiety my whole life, and several years of depression. When I realized I had an issue, I got help. I went to therapy. I took meds temporarily. I got better. Not cured, but better. You have to work at it. A big part of it for me was realizing what the issue was. I never missed a day of work because of any of this. Obviously, yours is more severe than mine, but you don't say anywhere that you have tried to get better, or that you are taking medication to control it. If you aren't treating it, then that's your own fault. You need to go back to work.
Folks, read the OP's first thread. He was fine and working until a car accident in October. He's been off work on short term disability and doesn't want to go back to work.
Now, all of a sudden, he has debilitating anxiety even though the doctor is telling him he's cleared to work.
Sorry, but the OP told the truth in the earlier thread. We can't ignore that.
To be honest I would ask her for a referral. From what you said she seems like she,s not really interested in your condition. She also could be overbooked with patients. I would tell her I have some other underlying conditions and I would like to see another doctor as soon as possible. See if this works. If not hopefully you should be able to see another doctor.
I haven't read all the way through this but this smells like the same scam the public is forced to endure and pay for every day. If you were not getting free money this thread would not exist. If you had to work like the rest of us this thread would not exist. Why do we have to work and you don't??
If you are on a leave from your employer they at some point are going to draw a line the sand. FMLA, if you're on it, only goes so far and once that's gone you're SOL with your position at work.
It sounds like you don't 'want' to work. I'm sure it's easier collecting a check while sitting home doing nothing so officially quit your job so someone who wants to work can.
Your doctor won't continue to 'excuse' you forever. You can go to another doctor who will promptly find the notes regarding your unwillingness to go back to work. Drs make all sorts notes in your medical files that you will NEVER ever see unless you're in a court room.
Anyway, you won't know if you're ready to work unless you try. Cowering in the corner and causing your own anxiety attacks isn't going to help the situation. You have to control your panic and your anxiety....not the other way around. Good luck
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