Trouble facing work

[frankchickens]

I've been placed on a Performance Improvement Plan at work. The trouble is, I can't seem to actually face doing work.

I've joked about being lazy in the past and I've even "got away" with quite a lot before my current boss arrived.

I know I am massively under-achieving but this isn't new (I dropped out of University for example) and yet so far I have carved a reasonable career.

Pretty much everyone I know is just telling me to suck it up and they have had it worse etc (including my GP who warned me to get some work done or I'd get fired and will never get another job at my age).

How do you get around this? I am very stuck at present - scared to even open up my work laptop and do any work, but just making it worse and worse by not doing.

Listen to your GP. What exactly would you do if you lost your job, how would you support yourself? What is your profession?

Sometimes one has to do things that aren't comfortable, I don't think there's any way you can "get around" this problem by not working. If it's anxiety related maybe you could get some prescription (but since you don't have one now and have seen your GP, maybe it's not suitable or you need to see some other GP). It's great they offer you a performance review, that's a "second chance", the alternative would be trying to get rid of you. Or, it could be you're just someone who is not fit to work, and who'd be better off on benefits, and then you'd go down that route, probably by speaking to your GP again.

Are you trying to sabotage your life. Believing youre a failure and playing in to that. Get some counselling and exam your life. You sound like you have a good career but are throwing it away. Why? Discover why in counselling.

Are you trying to sabotage your life. Believing youre a failure and playing in to that. Get some counselling and exam your life. You sound like you have a good career but are throwing it away. Why? Discover why in counselling.

The calibre of trolls around here is really in decline

Troll? She has posted on a mental health board ffs. For anyone who has had chronic depression or low mood, this sounds totally realistic. OP, I second counselling and maybe medication.

Think you need to see another GP, OP...
Is how you feel specific to work, or have you been feeling like this in other areas of your life too?

The calibre of trolls around here is really in decline.

Don't you feel that's a tad harsh for the mental health board even if it's your earnestly held belief? Fair game on AIBU maybe.

Anyway, as odd and far-fetched as it may seem, this is true.

Are you trying to sabotage your life. Believing youre a failure and playing in to that

I do seem to be self destructing - I should be working now, but somehow I can't.

I have sought counselling in the past (and will this time).

My job is in IT - quite niche, but I am not sure I can actually cope with the way it has changed recently.

I can relate to this (I also work in IT) I find it particularly hard to get started or finish something if I get "stuck" and then the guilt and anxiety of not being able to progress means I spend more and more time procrastinating over it. I'm trying very hard to find ways not to do it (lifestyle changes, supplements etc), but I've always been this way. Sometimes I wonder if counselling would help which will be my next thing to try.

When I'm very interested in something, I don't have this issue, which is how I've got so far in my career I guess. It's just the stuff I'm not very interested in I struggle with.

I suspect in my case that I have ADD, or at least that's a part of it. Have a look and see if anything sounds familiar.

Thanks shattered you are describing how I feel.

When I'm really struggling to do something I usually tell myself I will do it but it doesn't matter how slowly. I find allowing myself to do things slowly (then I quite often do them at normal pace in reality) and taking focus off the outcome really helps and takes away the anxiety of procrastination/avoidance. It sounds like you're looking at everything in a really 'big picture' way which is making you fatalistic and self-sabotaging. You need to start somewhere with this issue, so need to find some method to stop things getting worse in the short term, and finding someone understanding (not your GP I guess) to talk to will also help.

Have you heard of Schema therapy? It's similar to CBT in some ways but more in depth, and can help with self-sabotaging belief systems which can cause problems to recur over and over again, causing anxiety, depression, etc. There is a useful book 'Reinventing Your Life' which might be worth a read.

Thanks - book ordered.