How do you know if your job is too stressful and is impacting your illness? How do you know if you should quit and stay home for a while or look for something less stressful? Would anyone even hire me with my illnesses? I make the most money in the household and I carry the medical insurance. I do have disability insurance that kicks in after 60 days out. I feel like I am too tired and confused to make a good decision. Who can I talk to for help? How do you make a decision that will impact your quality of life for several years to come?
Hi there,
I am currently experiencing a similar situation and yes…it is quite frightening.
You should speak to a job agency that focuses on hiring people with a disability in some shape or form. That is going to be my pan of attack.
Guess each person needs to make this decision for themselves. I chose to stop working so I could focus on my treatment etc, however we no longer have kids at home dependant upon us financially and are both in our mid fifties so are kinda set up anyway (thank God! as, like everyone else, I am spending an absolute fortune on docs, treatments etc etc despite having good health insurance and a government that provides pretty good medical support- I live in Australia)
Staying home makes it easier in some ways, but harder in other ways, ie. can be lonely & boring after the initial period. and I guess if you are supporting your family the financial distress could potentially worsen the situation. Would it be possible to work less hours for a time to see how that goes? Is your employer willing to be supportive and flexible? Maybe you could take some holiday time and see how you go before making your decision?
I wish you luck with making your decision- it ain't easy, as evryone on this board knows
Thank you for the helpful feed back. I have started with one of my doctors to file the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) paperwork so that I am able to take intermittent leave without fear of losing my job. I do not anticipate having to quit, but I do not have any more days to take off of work. With this I will be able to go to a doctors appointment or stay home if I need to - of course, my pay will be docked, but they can’t fire me. This is the first step in acknowledging that I really have an autoimmune disease and that I can not keep up the same pace that I used to. Tough pill to swallow!