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Original poster

Anxiety about covid & returning to work

11 replies

lucymart777 · 01/01/2021 12:06

So I’m due to go back to work 4th January but I’m really struggling with anxiety and panic attacks. The thought of going back to work & sitting in an office with 10+ people in the middle of a pandemic. My mum is going through chemo at the moment so I have to be so careful, I have asked my manager if I can work from home and they said that it’s not an option for them at the moment :/ I’m struggling to even leave the house at the moment, I’m really not sure what to do. Just looking for some advice really.

OP posts:
purpledagger · 01/01/2021 14:08

Is your employer operating as covid safe workplace eg social distancing, providing PPE and regular cleaning.

Original poster
lucymart777 · 01/01/2021 20:50

They claim too be but they don’t have screens up & I don’t sit 2m away from the person next too me :/ and not everyone puts their mask on every time they leave the desk. I don’t feel safe there & the thought of leaving the house genuinely makes me sick Sad

OP posts:
ToDoListAddict · 01/01/2021 20:53

Is it possible for you to work from home?
Could you speak to your manager and explain your anxiety?

Mousehole10 · 02/01/2021 17:15

Do you live with your mum? If not then it would be better to limit your contact with her.

UsernameSaved · 02/01/2021 18:37

If your mum is having chemo then unless she lives with you it would be best not to see her

(DF and DH been through chemo during lockdown)

vdbfamily · 02/01/2021 18:46

If you are sitting closer than 2 metres then wear a mask whilst you are working and have regular breaks for oxygen!
I know this is easy to say because I have no anxiety about this but I feel like some people think they WILL absoluitely die if they get covid. I work in a hospital and last week was on a covid ward. There were very elderly frail people on the ward waiting to go home having survived covid. Some had I think caught the new varient from other patients/staff and did not have bad symptoms, some had no symptoms. Most of my colleagues (team of 17) have now had Covid. Some had vulnerable partners who then caught it from them but none of them have had more than bad headaches/nausea and fatigue for a week or so. Most had barely any symptoms and 3 were found to have antibodies having not been aware of any covid symptoms. Yes....there are horrendous stories of people dying of Covid but most survive.

flowery · 02/01/2021 18:46

Assuming you live with your mum shouldn’t you be staying home shielding? You could be furloughed- having to stay at home because you live with someone clinically extremely vulnerable is a justifiable reason for furlough.

WeAllHaveWings · 03/01/2021 11:37

If you are not allowed to work from home and if you can't be furloughed as flowery suggests, is there anything you can do in the office?

Can you move desk to another area where you are further away from others, maybe ask if you can take over a meeting room if there is one free?

Continuously insist others are following rules and keep their distance from you, have windows open for ventilation. Ask for ways to report where adherence is slipping and ask management to follow up with daily reminders to all staff (and 1-1 if necessary) where there are problems and the importance of compliance.

It is completely normal to feel anxious. I am fortunate enough to be WFH but would feel anxious too, if you can't change the fact you need to go in, you can change/insist on others strictly following covid secure rules.

Original poster
lucymart777 · 03/01/2021 12:45

I don’t live with my mum but I’m all she’s got, I take her too appointments and do her shopping for her and make sure she’s got everything she needs.
I’m going to phone the doctors in the morning I think just too get some advice, I’m struggling to even leave the house at the moment I keep getting really bad panic attacks which I’ve never had before. It’s horrible and I don’t know how to manage them :/

OP posts:
user1487194234 · 03/01/2021 14:11

Can you ask for unpaid leave

Orf1abc · 03/01/2021 14:18

What advice are you looking for from the GP, are you saying you're not fit for work? Advice on general precautions are available on the government website. For panic attacks look up breathing exercises that will help, also the GP might be able to prescribe you propranolol or something else to help.

This situation is not going to go away anytime soon. Best to find ways to work through your anxiety, than let it debilitate you to the point that you're no use to yourself or your mum.

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