Posted by Mair on May 23, 2002, at 21:56:29
In reply to Re: mental illness and work » mair, posted by Katt on May 23, 2002, at 16:27:38
Katt
I hope you don't think I was minimizing the money issue. It's obviously very real and certainly has been a factor for me. I'm not the sole support of anyone, including myself. I probably could have quit for awhile anyway, but it would have meant asking others to make sacrifices or putting alot more money pressure on my spouse, and I just didn't ever feel like I could ask for that.
I sort of trudged along as best as I could which in many cases was not good at all. I used to wander into my office, shut the door, and spend most of the day staring out the window. It seemed like I spent all of my time moving the same piece of paper from one side of my desk to another. I'm in a business of which I'm part owner so no one showed me the door, but it very definitely affected my production and my income. The larger problem is that working like that really diminished my own view of myself and I'm not sure I've ever recovered from that.
Would it be at all possible for you to find a different job which would allow you to keep body and soul together and still do this intensive program? I know this would mean a lesser job, probably unrelated to your degree, but doing something a little less pressured might not be such a bad idea.
I don't mean to influence you one way or the other, and there are obviously no easy answers. I'd hate to give up on a great job opportunity for a program that didn't prove to be so great, and of course I'd hate to do anything that might worsen my illness (although of course I've done plenty of that), particularly if it turned out that the job wasn't so great. You have to weigh these things yourself and factor in your own capabilities. I just know that for me anyway, part of being sick is that I don't see that i have other alternatives than the very grim ones I've painted for myself.
Mair
poster:Mair
thread:24303
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020523/msgs/24475.html