I'm in a bad place mentally and emotionally. It's becoming harder and harder to hide this at work. Think an unpaid leave of absence is a good idea?

Hopefully not to the degree where you’ll hurt yourself or others. Use the 3 dots above to connect with me if so. And take whatever time you need. The holidays don’t make the things easier. But they do make it easier to have space and take extended time away without impacting your pay. A lot of us can relate and wherever you are at the moment you weren’t always which means you one day you won’t be again. Try to remember tomorrow is a new day and I’ll wake up sending good thoughts to a person a Target who’s valued and appreciated more than they think they are.

I think if you can afford it, yes. Self care is crucial, so be kind to yourself

Absolutely. You have to take care of yourself. Take a look at your company’s policy and your state’s policy for medical leave. In New York, if your company is over 100 employees, you are supposed to be paid 55% of your salary for up to 8 weeks.

There is paperwork involved for initiating the leave and ending the leave. Doctor’s notes are required for both.

Go to your doc. Be honest. They will cover this as short term disability leave if you get medical help involved. I’ve been a manager in this situation with an employee. HR went into hyperdrive and handled it.

You won’t regret taking a leave of absence. You will regret trying to hide this and it costing you a job or relationship you care about. Take care of yourself, you deserve it.

I highly recommend therapy with a licensed psychologist. (You don’t need a psychiatrist unless medication is needed.) I was in a bad place and my therapist has helped immeasurably. First ask for recommendations from anyone you trust. Or just look through the list of docs on your healthcare providers website. There may be a lot, so if nothing else, just pick one close to you. Go with an open mind and listen to what they say. It won’t be immediate, so don’t expect to walk out “cured” after one session.
And feel free to DM me through here as well for any advice, thoughts, whatever.
It honestly changed my life. Good luck.

See a psychiatrist about your mental / emotional situation and ask to be put on state disability while you work through this bump in the road. Also, you do not have to reveal the personal nature to your employer. A note from your doctor stating how long you need to be off work. You are not alone!

Absolutely talk with the therapist and let it all out.

But — at the risk of going against the other great advice offered up here — I’d actually suggest the opposite on the rest.

Stick with work, get up a little early, crank up some Eminem and go for some good hard runs. Do a headspace before leaving the house and before you go to bed. Read something that inspires you after dinner.

I’ve been there, too. I gave up on everything — my business, my marriage, my finances, and my self-esteem.

You can’t quit. It just makes things so much worse.

Feed yourself whatever clears your mind, body and soul. Keep your feet moving — one step at a time and keep going forward. You don’t need to see the end state — just keep after it. It’s will all fall back in place.

Believe in being good to yourself. You’ve got this.

Any way you can work remotely for a bit? Or a few days a week? Perhaps that would offset any office-induced stress? Do whatever you need to do to make you feel better. 💕

Talk to your doctor, get a therapist if you don’t have one, and check to see if you can take a paid medical leave. All decent sized companies have a policy. If yours doesn’t, take it anyway. You need to come first right now.

If you live in the United States, check into FMLA (Family & Medical Leave Act) - it is a federal law which basically gives you short term disability for medical issues and your employer cannot fire you. Life is hard and I hope that you are able to fight through the pain and find the strength/support/help you need! 💜

I don’t know how senior you are, and unfortunately that makes a big difference. If you’re in a senior position, maybe take some days off (nobody’s counting) and use them to see your docs, try medication if you need to, go to therapy and rebuild yourself without anyone knowing. It’s none of their business. Heck, even if you’re jr take those pto days for it. Unless you need a longer treatment. Where do you see yourself in this scenario? Do you need weeks or just some days? My take is, better not to disclose unless your well being is jeopardized.

Sending you good thoughts. ❤️

You got all of us rooting for you! Keep us posted and hopefully you’ll exit this dark night of the soul very soon. Be well.

I am in the same situation but I have two psychiatric diagnoses that count as disabilities so I am thinking about requesting reasonable accommodations for disabilities. It may be worth checking the EEOC website to see whether you might have that option. I saw that if an employee has an income that is in the top 10% of the company that he/she/they may not qualify, so take that into consideration. I appreciate you asking this question because medical leave is another option and I have learned a lot about it on this thread.

Take time off. BUT go to see a therapist first as they may be able to write a medical leave request for you. Legitimizing it further.
I was soooooo max’d out at one point and let it spin out of control and lost perspective and was constantly angry and ready to tell people to shut up (seriously had to control my frustration) bc things seemed so ridiculous to me. I’m out of the agency world now and a normal human again. I will never go back... i realized it doesn’t work for my mental health. Perhaps consider if it’s right for you after some time off?!

Yes