Have you ever left a job for mental health reasons?

7 Comments

  • Evie E - 4 years ago

    My last office job stressed me out so much I went into premature labor. The final straw was when I was on maternity leave and they asked me to come back early. When I came back, I knew it was with the intent to hand in my resignation. And let me tell you when I handed in my notice, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulder. My financial future was uncertain but I was happy. Those last two weeks, I took two-hour lunches and did absolute bare minimum and dared them to say shit to me. But it was so good to let go. Sometimes its better to walk away for the sake of your mental health or you'll be miserable all time

  • TheShayDeeDame - 4 years ago

    YES!!! I worked at a bank (rhymes with Smells Cargo). I was in new accounts, and left because I just REALLY got tired of the shady practices.
    I felt like a terrible person! Signing up people’s grandmas for shit that they didn’t need, seeing people’s whole mfing paycheck wiped out when the direct deposit hits because the bank charges hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees because they were $50 overdrawn, and working what felt like endless hours.
    It honestly felt like I worked as a widget-maker for the devil.
    My dad always taught us to save money in case you need to walk away from a situation that doesn’t serve you. I’m almost sure he meant a romantic relationship, but gaining all of that bad karma at that shitty job didn’t serve me, either.
    I quit the job, and took about 6 months off of work to rebuild my spirit. Now I work at a regular-ass stressful job, but it’s not something that makes me feel like I’m doing anyone wrong when I leave work.
    I don’t have to look at people LITERALLY crying, and steel myself against their feelings, even though 9 times out of 10 they were in the right.

  • Black Steve - 4 years ago

    Nah. My parents were refugees. We work for fun. Ima lose it one day prolly

  • BrooklynShoeBabe - 4 years ago

    I've taken time off. I had to spend a week in a mental hospital. Then I had so many out patient visits after my release, I couldn't go to work. Luckily, my job had paid into state disability fund and my shrink declared me temporarily disabled.

  • Iman - 4 years ago

    I once didn’t take on a new client who wanted to book me as her birth doula. I was having such a hard mental health moment. I was holding it together for my other clients, but I knew I’d probably break if I took on anyone else. I was really sad about it and talked to my therapist about it. She made me feel a lot better and praised my good judgment. I love helping women, especially black women, but I wouldn’t want to cause undue harm because I couldn’t emotionally be there for a client. It may not be the same thing as leaving a job, but I do understand putting your mental health before a check.

  • Akata_Queen - 4 years ago

    I worked at one of the top 3 banks in the world. At any given time, 30% of the staff was on temporary disability due to the stress of the environment (that's what a supervisor told me). I joined those ranks after 3 years of being in that toxic environment. I did the work while on leave (therapy, taking my meds for depression and anxiety regularly) but when I came back, the environment was the same. My requests to transfer departments was repeatedly denied because for the business I handled, in a department of hundreds only 5 were trained for this discipline and of those 5, 2 were using intermittent FMLA (meaning on any given day, neither were guaranteed to show up). "Needs of the business" is not a reason (to me) to keep someone stiffled in a stressful position. Within a year of having to take leave, I left the company.
    I still live with mental illness but now I don't have to take hourly "sit in the bathroom and fight tears" breaks.
    I took less money and a job with less responsibility in exchange for work/life balance.

  • Alicia - 4 years ago

    My therapist suggested and my psychologist actually gave me the paperwork for short term disability leave from my job (without me even asking for this) and you know what I did? I threw those papers away. I would have felt like quitter (which was a stupid thought) and what was I gonna tell them when ( or if) I came back? What would I tell my next employer if I didn't go back? And I was also concerned about being judged by my family and losing income. I assumed short term disability would give you a certain percentage of your income and I needed my whole check! Also side note, I was at a predominately black doctor office and as the doctor was giving me my disability papers to give to HR, one of the front desk clerical workers was like, " must be nice. Can I be excused from work too? " Bitch.

    That was about 3 years ago and I am still struggling. But hey, at least I am still here.

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