Signed off work - steps to recover

[SliceoQuiche]

I’ve been signed off work with anxiety and depression, due to a hideous set of circumstances over the last 9 months (lost my dad suddenly, nan diagnosed with dementia and son admitted to ICU while abroad in July and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes). Life’s just got a bit too much.

The doctor has me on 20mg of fluoxetine and I’ve had a referral appointment with the NHS well-being service and have been offered counselling that I’m waiting on an appointment confirmation for.

For anyone that’s been off work or handles depression and anxiety themselves, are there any self help type things you’ve found that have assisted? I really want to do everything I can to recover from this and get back to feeling like a functioning human- I love my job and it’s upsetting me that I can’t be my best, though I appreciate why that is. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

The best advice I can give is to let yourself rest. You’ve been through a huge amount and your body physically needs time to recover, which in turn will help your heart and mind heal - there’s a point at which activity will help, but initially give yourself time. Listen to your body, feed it as well as you can, do things that are nurturing to you, but not too much.

Also don’t go back to work too quickly, let yourself feel better for a good week or two before you make plans to return. Think of it like a heart attack - people often feel much better after initial treatment and want to get going again, but need to take things easy because they’ve not fully recovered. Mental health is the same - starting to feel better doesn’t mean you’ve fully recovered, so take it easy and give yourself time.