I need advice, what do I say? *trigger sexual assault reference*

[Oddballz]

I've been offered my dream job and I'm just waiting on references etc. They emailed me yesterday to ask what I've been doing since November when I left my job because I had severe ptsd which had nothing to do with my job.

I was nearly sectioned and I spent 4 months having no weekly psychiatrist appointments and intensive therapy all paid for privately so it's not in my medical records.

What do I say? They want to know what i was doing from November- now and I feel like I can't say 'well actually I had a massive break down because I saw the person who raped me in the street and have spent the last 6 months recovering..'

Anyone?

Could you say you were taking a career break for family reasons?

You poor thing. That sounds horrendous. What sort of company are there? There are some where you could explain that and others where you couldn't.

I had a "career break" for mental health reasons and during the referencing process I said I had just moved so had taken some time to renovate my house and lived off savings - sort of a fib but I had just moved house and my address history matched up.
Could you say you were caring for a family member? Chose to take a career break to focus on your family for a short time? Took time out to recover from a health condition which is now resolved? They may refer you to occ health for that but it's confidential and they won't share anything without consent. My employer (quango) has strict background checks and a period out of paid employment isn't a deal breaker, they just want to see it's been accounted for.

It's the nhs. I have told occy health I have depression and ptsd but obviously haven't gone into detail. But now the recruitment he person wants to know exactly what I've been doing whilst not in work so they can ' facilitate my learning'

Also I'm sorry this happened to you and I hope you're getting help

Tbh if it's NHS I think you're safe to say you took a break to recover from a period of mental ill health and are doing much better now and leave it at that. They can't withdraw a job offer based on that and if it's HR not your immediate manager you're probably safe.

@houseplantlover thanks Im still having therapy and I'm feeling so much better. Thank you :)

. I didn't think employers/potential employers were allowed to discriminate on the grounds of Mental Health.