Sick Leave from Work
Hi everyone. 😊
As the title suggests, I’m hoping to hear from some others who have had to take sick leave during their OCD recovery.
For some context, I am currently feeling so guilty. This journey has been a long one and since December 2024 I have been signed off work 3 times by my GP. The first 2 times were for stress, anxiety and depression. The 3rd time was for adjusting to a new medication for those things. All this time, I have known deep down it was OCD symptoms that I was experiencing but I was just so embarrassed to admit it to the doctor, therapist and work. As many of you will understand, it is ruining my life and I knew I had to just take the step to recovering. I opened up honestly about how I was feeling and my manager has been so supportive. I took some short notice annual leave a few weeks ago because I was really struggling and didn’t want to worry about the process of calling in sick each day. Fast forward, yesterday at work I was back to feeling low. I contacted my GP to request a sick note to sign me off work and I am calling in sick today until I hear back from them. I feel so guilty about this which is why I’ve come here to hear some advice. This is the first time I have requested sick leave for the time to focus on my OCD recovery. I am currently on a waiting list for therapy and I am going to discuss medication adjustments with my doctor as my current medication is not helping. I just worry about what my team will think about all this time off I have taken and am still taking. It is so hard to not feel guilty when this illness is not visible and it is my mind.
I hope each of you are doing well today and I’m sending so much love to you all during this recovery. ❤️