I've never taken much time off work before and I'm wondering if it's acceptable to take more than a week off, for a general sense of burn out and stress due to my mum being ill.
I've been on and off unwell since last month with all the various cold and flu bugs going around. Partly I'm run down as I've been travelling hundreds of miles back and forth most weeks as my mum is ill with cancer - she's also the sole carer for my great gran (late 90s) and we have no other family so I'm trying to pick up the slack with this too. I've lost two other close family members in the past few years to illness, so this feels overwhelming and I feel like I'm struggling to hold everything together, support my mum, etc.
I've been off ill this week and my boss has been sending messages about urgent tasks that need completing. I don't feel like I'll be in a fit state to return next week, but I'm worried that it'll cause more stress at work and not sure if it's acceptable to go to my GP with this (I try to avoid it unless urgent!)
Work is really adding to my stress at the moment. My boss often sends unprofessional messages that overstep the mark - he also announced that I'd just found out my mum has cancer in a staff meeting, the day after we got the news (obviously without consent, he just said 'I've told everyone the situation, hope that's ok'...!). I found that and the subsequent attention from colleagues (none of whom I've even met in person) quite distressing. All in all, everything feels too much right now!