I think I'm off with stress....what do I do now?

[hiddeneverythin]

Finally cracked today and didn't go to work after being under immense pressure for three years and getting nowhere. What do I do now?

Have you been to the GP? You need to get signed off officially.

You can self certificate for the first seven consecutive days (including days you don’t normally work), and your doctor won’t sign you off until after that. So you don’t need to see a GP right away. You do, though, need to try and work out why you’ve burned out now. Is it all work-related stress, in which case you’ll benefit from some time away while you work out what to do about that (possibly an occ health assessment at work to come up with what you need to enable you to go back). If there are stressors in other areas of your life, you need to start working out how to tackle those - probably with the help of a therapist. You can self refer for talking therapy on the NHS and there are usually waiting times, so get that underway now.

But first - you’ll probably benefit from a really good night’s sleep. When I burned out at work I cried for three days then slept for two days, and then I started to tackle the things I needed to do to start getting better. Good luck - you will recover, but it takes time, help and changes.

Thank you. I think it's been coming for a while but I've kept it together as most other things are good. Sleep sounds amazing

Embrace the sleep when it comes. If you’re anything like me you’ll have been running on Adrenalin for months and not ever had proper rest. That first time you let yourself go is amazing, and gives you something of a reset. One other thing my GP told me - do things that make you happy. That might just be resting for now, or having a lovely cake from the bakery, or going out into the sunshine and listening to the birds. Simple, unchallenging stuff for now.

@LittleYellowCloth I do feel exhausted now I've stopped.