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Original poster

Will my next note be for longer

34 replies

Thingswillbebeok · 20/02/2019 15:16

I've been singed off work for four weeks now. In two lots of two weeks. It's for work related stress/low mood. Or will I continue to be signed off in two week periods?

OP posts:

Original poster

Thingswillbebeok · 20/02/2019 15:17

My current note runs out on Friday which is when my next go appointment is.

OP posts:

hoge · 20/02/2019 15:21

No one can guess what your GP will decide.

iklboo · 20/02/2019 15:28

Your GP will likely discuss it with you to see what's best.

NorthEndGal · 20/02/2019 15:30

It would depend on how you are doing, what things you have tried, what options are still left.
Only your dr will know

breaker · 20/02/2019 15:50

Or you could go back to work and do what you're paid for 🤷🏻‍♀️ And if you hate your job then leave and do something that doesn't give you a low mood. Do you think about the people who have to pick up your slack while you loll about at home for weeks on end? Seen way too many of these threads recently!

Grumpbum123 · 20/02/2019 15:53

That’s a bit harsh Breaker.
I’m on my 8th month off with complex ptsd my work have been supportive and I’d hate to thin they have that attitude. OP I started with 2 weekly notes it’s now in 2 monthly notes

RunSweatLaughAndLatte · 20/02/2019 15:56

What an attitude, breaker. I hope you never experience depression.

Redglitter · 20/02/2019 15:58

Wow arent you quite the charmer breaker

breaker · 20/02/2019 16:02

The whole country seems to have depression! People would be less depressed if they got out of bed and did something useful rather than running to the gp every time they feel a bit sad or overwhelmed. It seems people have lost the ability to cope with normal life and it's a never ending cycle of tablets and time off work. Maybe I didn't put it very sympathetically but it really annoys me now when I see swathes of people being signed off while the rest of us get on with it.

RunSweatLaughAndLatte · 20/02/2019 16:06

Breaker, I have suicidal thoughts and admittedly I still work but I am empathetic as to how bad it can be and some people just can't get out of bed. To be honest, I can't blame people for being depressed in this day and age: more work for less staff, jobs going offshore and redundancies, longer hours, pay doesn't always match the cost of living, difficult to get on housing ladder and even into employment, more demands and pressure to be a working parent etc.

Grumpbum123 · 20/02/2019 16:07

Do you think you need a medal for gettting on with it? I think I can hand on heart say then you’ve never been truly depressed.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 20/02/2019 16:07

And then there are people who suffer from depression, take medication and that enables them to continue to work. If the reason for the depression IS the work situation, that makes life more difficult.

I didn’t have any time off work when I was taking medication for depression. But it wasn’t the job that was causing it.

Believe me, no one ‘runs’ to the GP every time they feel sad. You have to be pretty far gone and acknowledge that you are, to do that.

iklboo · 20/02/2019 16:07

You know that expression 'if you know nowt, don't say owt'.....

PinkHeart5914 · 20/02/2019 16:10

I’d start looking for a new job to be honest as a priority, you can’t keep being signed off for work stress

Who knows what the gp will decide, they could refuse the note at any time, they could give longer on the next one. Nobody on here can tell you

DotOnTheHorizon · 20/02/2019 16:10

@breaker - what an awful thing to say. You obviously have no first hand experience of work related stress/anxiety/or depression.

I really hope you aren't a manager, because with an attitude like that you'll find yourself without a team and more than likely facing a grievance or disciplinary.

You really don't understand do you, that it's not easy to just get another job when you have reached this point. You second guess every decision, you doubt everything people say to you, looking for a hidden meaning, you cannot accept compliments or believe that you are doing an ok job. Often, you can't even tell anyone that's how you feel, you just smile through the pain and stress until you can't take anymore.

You've probably seen more threads about work related stress as more and more people are expected to do more with less (as the Civil Service so euphemistically puts it). Fitting a job and a hall into the working week consistently week in and week out takes it toll and people in the public sector are being expected to do this - something has to give. Unfortunately, and far too often it is a person's mental health.

@Thingswillbebeok - be guided by what your Dr says - be honest with them about how you are feeling - I've seen cases that were just two weeks at a time because that Dr liked to see the patient regularly. I've seen them go from 2weeks to a month and then every month after that.

Talk to your work too ( if you can) / your manager should want to help you or if the manager is the problem, their manager should help you. Work is often the best option for mental health issues but sometimes you just need a break as your mind and body are too exhausted to function.

Take care, hope you feel more able to cope and are back in control soon

RunSweatLaughAndLatte · 20/02/2019 16:10

Foxy I agree. I was severely depressed before I went to the GP. A two day period of sadness wouldn't trigger it. Weeks of angry outbursts, floods of tears, lack of sleep, no appetite and thoughts of wanting to die; not trivial and did trigger me to go to the GP. Like I say, I hope breaker doesn't ever suffer depression.

Boulezvous · 20/02/2019 16:43

There is always a risk that an extended leave of absence could lead to losing your job. So I would very much focus on the treatment or therapy that can help you regain your ability to work. There is a risk that extended inactivity does reinforce negative feelings and low mood - lacking purpose, routine, fresh air, change of scene, spending time with other people and doing things for others. Work fills quite a gap and prevent inward focused thoughts. These features of work contribute to wellbeing so I'd focus on anything that can start to help you do that.

I know that's obvious but it can be hard to focus on when you're in a very bad place. What are the small steps you can take to re-engage. To get better. What routines will help you step back into the wider world?

Redglitter · 20/02/2019 17:03

I was off work with work related stress years ago. It was caused by a work issue. I raised it time and time again to my line manger who did nothing. I ended up breaking down at the doctors who immediately signed me off with stress.

Because it was stress a member of senior .Management phoned to ask if it was work or personal life stress. When i explained the situation he was furious my issue hadn't been addressed. He suggested forgetting about work for the duration of my first line & once it was renewed hed be back in touch.

He was brilliant. He spoke to my line manager & other colleagues who backed me up. Over a period of several months he worked with me and my department to find a resolution.

I was off for 3 months and went back a different person and to a better envionment. Going off sick when i did was the best thing i could have done.

Its not always just a case of someone going off because theyre not up to the job.

Thankfully my organisation didn't have the attitude of some people on here

CaseofEllen · 20/02/2019 17:05

@breaker you sound awful

gamerwidow · 20/02/2019 17:06

As others have said it depends on your continuing symptoms and whether or not you are responding to treatment. They might sign you off for 2 weeks again or maybe a month or even 2 depending on how soon they expect you to start feeling better.

actuallyreally · 20/02/2019 17:06

Have namechanged to make this post but really @beaker
How is this any of your business and how rude to assume the circumstances of people struggling.
There's no need for your attitude or nasty undertones towards op in your post.

Oh to be as strong as you obviously are mentally.
There's the rest of us clearly "struggling with normal life".
Well do you know what. Not everybody actually has a "normal life" and they still have to get by.

I left school to do a medical degree and lost the use of my legs in a horrific car accident that has left me with life changing injuries forever. I took some time off work to deal with the trauma from the accident and to have surgery to try and regain some mobility. Some.

Yet I got back up and career changed to a desk based job.
I had children and took myself back to university, at which point my ex partner became massively abusive physically and verbally and had a breakdown. I took some time off to deal with the stress and support from social services & police I desperately needed to protect my family from this man, who breeched restraining orders and went to prison a handful of times for turning up at my house every time he was let out, and for his horrific assaults. This was a man who had been a model member of the community for years, I had no inkling he could turn.

I took 11 months off and engaged with all kinds of professionals. It wasn't a normal life I couldn't deal with, it was anything but normal and it was horrific. I did it all as a disabled single parent, in 11 months while I put myself through weekly ptsd therapy, focused on my children's every need, for myself back to uni part time and then 11 months later felt strong enough to return back to work.

I've now been working full time and supporting my family for years and it's the most difficult thing I've ever had to get through but I've never had to take any more time off work for stress. I've never had to take any medication.

You have no idea the kinds of things that can fuck up your life in an instant and that may leave you unable to cope with working, and it could be you as quick as it was me, so sit on your high horse and judge the op that she is just weak for being unable to cope with "normal life". But you don't know her, or her struggle at the moment and she was rightfully just asking for some advice as to what to expect. And some sad stranger behind a keyboard comes along with their judgemental opinion. It says a lot more about you than the OP.

actuallyreally · 20/02/2019 17:08

OP sorry for the hijack! I wish you all the best! If you discuss with your GP I'm sure they will sign you off for however long you feel you need, they can't force you to go back until you're ready with stress, and worrying about that will just add to it. They are there to help you, and I hope things get better soon

hoge · 20/02/2019 18:24

People would be less depressed if they got out of bed and did something useful rather than running to the gp every time they feel a bit sad or overwhelmed.

People that are depressed are not 'a bit sad' they are clinically depressed. It's not the same thing. You are incredibly ignorant to suggest they are.

serialtester · 20/02/2019 19:47

Anyone with clinical depression would actually love to get out of bed and do something useful. Some days I can't get dressed. Luckily with support from my GP and employer those days are rare now.

serialtester · 20/02/2019 19:48

Take it easy OP, in my experience 2 weekly reviews are usual. As with any health issue a lot can change in a fortnight.

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