Circumstances...........

I had a conversation with a dear friend today. As with many of the people I know, she is living with mental illness.  And I would consider her a success story.  She is working.  Taking medicines. Coping with difficult situations in her life, including the loss of a marriage.  But sometimes it gets too hard. And right now, she is facing one of those times.  She has a job.  Which she does very well.  Until she got a new supervisor who has decided to increase the scope of work for her position and has totally overwhelmed her with new tasks. She asked for support. I'm very happy to give her support. But I'm less confident giving her ideas about how to deal with the situation.

Work is complex for those living with mental illnesses. Something that is stressful for someone who is 'normal' might be debilitating for us. I totally get that.  I've been in the position that she finds herself in.  I've given up instead of dealing with the difficulties. I don't know that she will choose that option, but I know that it is pretty tempting. The biggest problem I see is that sometimes we don't fit into conventional kinds of settings.  If you don't have a nurturing and open boss, you won't find a whole lot of sympathy for your problem.  And even admitting to mental illness in a job setting can be professional suicide.  So, what do you do?

The first idea I came up with is to check her medications with her doctor.  Is she on the best medications for her life situation?  Is there something else that could aid her?  If not, she might want to step up the support.  I would suggest finding a therapist or life coach capable of working with mental illness.  Maybe there is a way that she can be coached to adjust her behavior or patterns to deal with the situation at work.  She describes herself as shut down and unable to focus.  Learning new patterns in relationship to that overwhelmed feeling might be helpful. Another thing she might want to consider is to look for support groups for those living with mental illness to help her. To do that, I would call NAMI. I think that the advocacy of NAMI might be helpful to her on a variety of levels.

I also suggested looking for other job options. To know you have choice is a powerful thing. Restoring a sense of hope is crucial to maintaining mental health.  People who feel no hope are likely to spiral downwards. Basically what I have found is that action is the antidote to losing hope. While it can be difficult when you don't get "yes" during your search, continuing to search is so important. However, in doing so...willingness is important.  You may have to look at options that you don't see as attractive.  I'm a good example of that.  I chose to take on a job that I consider less stressful in order to bring in money.  It isn't what I wanted or saw myself doing, but it is the healthiest option for me. And it brings benefits that I didn't see at the time that I was looking.

What other kinds of things would you suggest?  I say all the time that support means many minds working together...and makes us stronger.  I would like your help.  How have you dealt with overwhelming stress at work?  What worked?  What didn't work? Share your thoughts and ideas. Let's talk!!