Calling in sick because of anxiety?

Hi @Former-Member, it sounds like a really tough and emotionally charged situation you're trying to navigate right now. I can understand being apprehensive and anxious given everything, though I want to encourage you to seek support from someone you feel safe and comfortable with- someone you trust at work, or your counsellor maybe. I find for myself that it helps to be honest- others can't give me the support I need unless they know what's going on. Wishing you the strength and courage to do what's best for you, however that might look, and hoping things start to feel better and improve for you very soon. Take care 🌼

Hi @Former-Member ,

As far as I'm concerned, you can have as little or as much detail as you want in a medical certificate. Otherwise, it can just say that the doctor has seen you and you are deemed unfit to work from whatever date to whatever. Your health is your business. If you want people to know that it is because of anxiety, that's also okay. It is totally up to you.

However, I have found that if you are open and honest with employers, they often find ways to support you. I know in my workplace, we have employee assistance programs (EAP) which provide help services such as counselling, psychology etc.

You are in total control over how much or how little you wish to disclose.

Take care my friend,

BPDSurvivor

@Former-Member put your mental health first. I learned this the hard way, no job is worth sacrificing your mental health for.

You should be able to get stress leave with a certificate from your Doctor if you need it.

Having said that, where I used to work, I'd pull up for a shift and sit in my car just not being able to get out and go to work. When I finally did make it in to work, I'd usually feel relieved to see those few friendly faces who hated the place as much as I did and we'd pull through together.

@Former-Member

Yeah, I have called in a few times and when they asked, I just said I needed to sort some personal issues. Anxiety is defined as an illness, it can give you the vomits or the shits, headaches... if they needed a physical symptom, well I felt sick to my guts and just could not deal with it that day.

I still get those feelings but I have spent a lot more time learning how to manage my anxiety these days.

I feel you. I've had to call in sick for work recently due to anxiety. It wasn't work place specific though - I just had a lot going on in my head. I was so worried about a) going to the dr and b) having even more worry about the reaction management would give.

when I turned up to the dr office I was a bit of a mess - observable anxious, restless and by now strained muscles from tensing myself up. I knew I NEEDED those days off.
even as I got the certificate and came home to make the call I felt nauseous. Work has been busy and I knew it would leave them short staffed.
my boss was great this time. My sick certificate was acknowledged and I was wished a speedy recovery. Anxiety melted a bit. Interestingly my boss asked days later in the hallway if I was improving. I felt trust had been built and so shared a very small amount of my stress to give perspective. I received empathy. It's nice to know people do care and will try accomodate.
it's scary to ask for help or trust but honesty is my preferred approach.

I can relate to cancelling things due to anxiety. That seems to what I am juggling atm. I usually can't handle leaving the house more than once a day, for a couple of hours. I also try to work in recovery days between appointments and commitments, but that is not always possible. I am a highly strung person these days—anyway, enough about me. I hope you can resolve your issue. As others have stated, a medical certificate can have as many or as few details as you wish to disclose.

I was in a pretty comparable situation once. Someone saw me stress-scrubbing and immediately diagosed me with O.C.D.

In my head, I was like "thanks" but at the same time "are you kidding me?". It was weird to me that should could catch the compulsion without seeing what was causing my obsession. Those that do recognise broken-heart matters really make a big difference. Of course, it always varies according to the heart.