I need time off work for mental health - how to handle

[Inauthentic]

I’m feeling like I need to take some time off work for my mental wellbeing but unsure how to approach this with my line manager and HR.

Last year I had around 4 weeks off for breast cancer treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, all clear). That felt much easier to talk about at work because it was very clear-cut and physical. This feels much harder. Over the last few months the workload has increased a lot, plus I’m dealing with significant challenges at home (my 7yo
daughter is awaiting an autism assessment.)

I’ve also realised that I never really gave myself time to mentally recover after my cancer treatment. I think I just pushed on and now everything has caught up with me.

One of the things making this harder is that there’s no one to directly replace me at work. and I feel a strong responsibility to close some things where possible. Realistically, I won’t be able to do all of that before my annual performance review, which is scheduled for this Monday.

Do I wait until the performance review and raise all of this then?
Or do I sign myself off this week (I can self-certify for the first week) and deal with handover and conversations afterwards?
I want to be fairly communicative and transparent with my line manager but unsure how much to share.

A week isn't likely to be long enough, so, book an appointment with your GP, tell your LM that you have done so and explain that you think you went back to work too soon after the cancer treatment. You don't have to mention DD unless you want to share that too. If you can cope with work until the appointment, do so. You might want to discuss postponing your performance review until after you have seen the GP and got settled on any medication they give you. Depending on the outcome of that discussion you might decide to take some time off before your appointment.

Go through your GP first and get signed off. If it’s just a weeks break you need then book annual leave and have a proper break, but if you need some proper time off because your suffering from mental health issues then you should go to your GP and get signed off properly.

Definitely make an appointment with your GP and get signed off properly.

Agree that you need to see your GP and get signed off if that's what you feel would benefit you. Remember that fit notes can't be scheduled, so the day you see the GP is the day you'll be signed off from.

Longer term though, how do you think ypur additional workload can be managed? If this is the reality now for you, have you raised this (and documented the conversation) with your manager to allow them to address it? Will it improve ? If not, what are your plans for that longer term? Re your dd, again have you discussed things like flexible working to support you while you're dealing with that?

A cancer diagnosis rocks your world completely You sound like you need some time. Book an appointment with your GP and asked to be signed off. A few weeks probably won’t be enough you need to switch off from work completely & focus on yourself.

i had the same treatment as you last year , surgery, radiotherapy & now on crappy Letrozole. I went straight back to work, worked a couple of months then crashed completely, I was so stressed by the amount of work and was completely overwhelmed by my diagnosis. I was signed off again for 6 weeks. I requested my fit note to be linked to the breast cancer, it said ‘Low mood precipitated by Breast cancer diagnosis’
I also sent an email to HR to let them know I was struggling and that I had booked the appointment so they were fore warned.

Also have you had any counselling? It’s well worth it, free through Macmillan. Many hospitals run moving forward courses which I have heard are very good. I didn’t really want a group session so I have one to one over the phone, I’ve had 3 sessions & I can highly recommend.

Be kind to yourself and take care x