Emets and working?

[sher]

I
just wondered if anyone has found it difficult to work while silently
suffering? Im 21 and have been suffering since the age of 9 or 10. I
was at UNi but after having a really bad panic attack in a lecture i
decided i could no longer go on. I have spent the last year not working
and trying to control this phobia which plays a massive part in my life.



Basically i just wondered if anyone has jobs that they would
recommend.Knowone else seems to understand my need to be able to walk
out of a situation if i need to .i.e. to get fresh air or a drink.

Has anyone ever told there boss that they suffer with emets?



Thanks

Sher XXX</font>

[sillygirl]

I actually find working helps. It keeps my mind busy so I don't htink about it as often. I have never told my boss about emet, but I did tell her about my IBS because I was constantly in the bathroom and going to doctors appointments. It turned out she had it too, so she was really understanding.


I would suggest finding something without too much contact with the public. You hear a lot more about sv and stuff that way which tends to make it worse. Plus being around that many people you are exposed to more stuff. I work for a finance company so all I really see ar ehte same 20 or so people everyday. All of our business is done over the phone, fax or email, so I don't have much contact with the public. I love it!

[swiftette]

I had a really hard time working while having this phobia. I've even quit jobs during the winter after I heard there were sv*'s going around.I always thought once I had kids and stayed at home that this phobia would get better,but it's actually gotten worse. It's even made me a bit agoraphobic.

[2jo2]

I started seeing a new therapist this past winter when I was getting really bad and was getting agoraphobic. She told me that being homebound is the worst thing we can do, becuase what is your "safe" place will become unsafe as our paranoia gets the best of us. You'll start thinking germs will come in on the mail, through the windows, in the water pipes, etc. Working and having a routine like that really does help. I only have real problems when people come to work sick in the winter sv season. I am soooo tempted at times to take vacation during all that.


As far as a career goes, think of what you like to do, what your talents are and go from there. There are people on this site who are teachers and nurses and you can't get more into bad emet territory than that in my book. If something is in your heart, it's even more of a reason to beat this s***ty phobia and go for it. It could be the best therapy out there.

[samara's on tv]

I haven't gotten a job for a while because of my phobia. I used to work as an exotic dancer but then one day I saw a girl V*ing from drinking too much on the job and I couldn't go back to doing that. I think that if you feel the need to get a drink or get some fresh air you should be able to do that. You don't have to confess your phobia but sometimes it helps to be open and honest with people. I haven't been able to find a job because I can't STAND to work with people who come in with colds or are sick. I know I need to work but my phobia keeps me from doing so. Sorry I'm not much help am I? LoL!


~Monica

[e-lizabeth]

I went through a phase where I couldn't work, where school was soooo difficult, but I managed to get a BA and a Master's degree and then again for a while I couldn't work. Then I had my daughter, and eased back into it - first I worked from home, then I got a job that I could work from home a couple of days a week, then I got a job that required me to take the subway for a half hour each way. And now I'm on mat leave from my job, and I'm depressed to go back, but only because it's kind of more fun being at home with kids.


So, I've done therapy, miles and miles and miles of therapy, and I've been on meds and not on meds (am on celexa right now and loving it), and I'm here to tell you that I've done both sides of the emet/anxiety thing, and being out there in the world is way better.


Talk to your university's counselling department and find out if there can be special accommodation made for you. I had to write exams in a room by myself, and near the end, my husband had to accompany me and hang out near the exam room. It was torturous at times, but I can't tell you how unbelievably great it made me feel when I finished.


The worst thing we can do is give up...giving up anything makes it so much harder to get back into life. Please try to find yourself some help to get back into the swing of things. I promise you that the busier you are, and the more personally fulfilled you are, the less important emet becomes in your life. It's not that it's not there, it just doesn't interfere so much.

[yenn]

I guess its like anything, it depends on the person. I manage to do uni and a job and of the two I definitely find uni the hardest. I have had several panic attacks in lectures, but now I make sure I sit at the end of the row and as near to the door as possible. Work isn't as bad, but if there's a bug going round at home like there has been for me this week, I worry in case I'll get ill at work because I don't know how I'd get home.

[sher]

Hey thankyou for your words of support its comforting to know
that im not alone in feeling this way and i suppose i will just have to
get on with it

Thankyou again

Sher xxx

[shiva]

I have no choice but to work,and I really think working totally helps me to get things off my mind. I think that when you have no choice but to go out of your house, then you don't dwell on things as much because you can't.


When I was a stay at home mom, I became extremely agoraphobic. I never want to return to that kind of hell again. Not to mention, the anxiety was worse because I worried about what my then husband was bringing from the outside world into my home.


I have shared with my boss and co workers my situation. There are only 5 other people at my work place and it's very laid back, so I felt comfortable sharing with them my phobia. I have found it to help a lot because they are all very understanding about certain situations that could arise.

[carri]

I am a teacher!!!! I worked full time for 12 years without a problem luckily and I was very very good at spotting unwell looking kids and getting them out of the room fast! Since I had my daughter I am part time and I love my job..nothing was going to get in the way of it. Like others have said if you have a passion for something then follow your heart and take each day as it comes with the phobia. I have never told anyone in my workplace...I just say 'I don't do vomit!' And people can understand that. But i will clean up blood! I hope you are able to find the right job for you... definitely for me work is a positive thing. And the vomit thing is a small part, and 95% of the time does not affect me. And when it does I try and laugh about it along with the other teachers that find it amusing.to help keep it all in perspective!


Good luck x

[harmonygirl72]

I am a teacher,too! I love my job, and though yes, I encounter it once in a great while, it's all worth it!

[japa]

Working is wonderful. If you find a job where you can use your talents, it can enrich your life so much through internal, not just external, rewards.

[meggy]

Hey, yep - another teacher here!


I NEVER thought I would be teaching, because I hated the V factor of school, but here I am: I just take it one day at a time. Hers my two cents!


When I was in school as a kid/teenager I was always so ashamed and afraid that I never told anyone about my fear - which made for some pretty weird behaviour at school. It was the worst - I dreaded every day. However, since becoming a teacher, I have decided to totally change my tack - and it works really well!! Basically, I make a joke out of it with everyone, but everyone knows how much I hate v*, so I don't ever get asked to deal with it. I joke about it with the kids I teach - which means they don't think any less of me for telling them to leave the room with a friend if they feel sick, and I am allowed to drive to excursion etc instead of catch the bus, stuff like that. Everyone knows I'm a v-phobe, and they all stay clear of me when theyre sick - too easy!! It's given mefaith in peoples ability to be understanding.


Here is my best advice: if you treat this phobia like the medical condition it is, then people respect it, and you, for letting them know - more than if you try to hide it and just end up acting strange. Nobody thinks twice about it when someone can't stand blood - so I tell people its just like that except its v* that sets me off. You'll be amazed how understanding people are - everyones afraid of something, right?! I getlight-hearted teasingabout it occasionally, but no-one has ever really given me trouble about it at all. And no-one thinks I've cracked it when i react strangely to sickness, they go "oh, thats just how she is".


The first person you tell is the hardest, but after a while it gets so easy - I don't think twice before telling people now! Lots of people here talk about their 'safe place', well, everyone has to have a safe place, I just make my workplace the safest it can be, and I'm pretty vocal about my need to be a V-free zone!!


Good luck with it all :O)


Meg

[ChippedAway]

I work part time at a bank, and have been here for over 2.5 years, while the job is boring and there is customer contact (e.g. germs) the situation is ideal for an emet. I work behind a teller line with 1-4 other people at any given time. I can walk out to go to the bathroom or get a water/pop any time I need. Others leave to go have smoke breaks, so I figure I can go off and do my thing.


I don't disclose anything about me to co-workers or management.Edited by: ChippedAway