I feel downright Awful....

[Death Knight]

I really do. I havent been feeling like myself for about a month. Im very thoughtless, extremely forgetful and while my mood is good, sometimes I have trouble doing the simplest things. Today, when at work, I had a terrible time as I was asked to do some basic math and I hate to say it but I hadnt the slightest clue where to begin. I dont even remember basic stuff (arithmetic, subtraction)

 

I suffered from severe anxiety and social paranoia all my life, but forgetfulness like this is just awful. I hope life gets better but as far its going now, I doubt it

[Student of Trinity]

Hey, go see a doctor. Seriously. This doesn't sound like one of those random aches and pains that goes away with two aspirins. Most likely there's something that can be done. Why waste any more time?

[Jerakeen]

Death Knight, something is causing this. That means that you can do something about it.

 

If you have access to a physician, even just your family doctor, please make an appointment today. I don't know where you live or what kind of services are available to you, but if you live in the States and don't have access to health care, there may be local clinics or government programs available - any American members here might have more useful suggestions.

 

Seriously, don't just let this go; it can get better, but only if you do something about it.

[Randomizer]

It could be something simple like lack of sleep or stress.

 

If you get prescribed a drug check the Physician's Desk Reference for side effects. Over 10% of the world's population is genetically prone to have severe adverse reactions from most common drugs. A doctor rarely will believe that he could make you worse with a drug.

 

[Death Knight]

Its got to be coming from the new job. Im trying to do my best at work, but Im extremely hard on myself. My boss tells me that everyone's happy with my work, but one of my co-workers is always harsh with everything I do. Its too the point where I had to go home today and my boss told me to take tomorrow off. Id like to think its stress but Im already going to a psychiatrist and really don't have any options left on the table.

[Student of Trinity]

Have you talked to your psychiatrist about this? If it's stress-related, which it sounds as though it might well be, then a psychiatrist ought to be able to help. Can you make an appointment soon?

 

The day off might really help, too. If you're under a lot of stress, a break is supposed to be really good, if you really take a break from whatever's bothering you. So getting right away from it for a whole day might help you make it through until you can get some real help.

[Death Knight]

I just spoke with my doctor and he said that this is all due to stress happening from new job. Since this is my 1st week at going from part time (20 hours) to full time (42 hours), he said I should be fine and it isn't medical related.

[Alorael at Large]

Do you have a diagnosis for your anxiety, like generalized anxiety disorder? Are you on any medications?

 

—Alorael, who knows that anxiety can cause cognitive impairment and is often treatable. But yes, a major life change can also be stressful, that's not pathological, and you can feel very much adrift and stupid until you readjust. If it's substantially impairing, though, that's a disorder too: adjustment disorder.

[Dikiyoba]

Uh, how can stress from one week of extra work be the cause of one month of ailments?

 

In any case, if the stress from work doesn't go away (because some jobs are just high-stress situations), Dikiyoba recommends looking into ways to manage and reduce the stress. In the meantime, take care of yourself. Eat regular meals, get enough sleep, do something fun just for yourself, and exercise. Constant stress results in physical health problems if it goes on long enough, and the mental problems probably won't go away either.

[Death Knight]

Have you talked to your psychiatrist about this? If it's stress-related, which it sounds as though it might well be, then a psychiatrist ought to be able to help. Can you make an appointment soon?

 

The day off might really help, too. If you're under a lot of stress, a break is supposed to be really good, if you really take a break from whatever's bothering you. So getting right away from it for a whole day might help you make it through until you can get some real help.

 

I did just that. Instead of doing stuff like cleaning the house when at home, I basically took a break from everything and watched Firefly the tv series. My doc said earlier that a new job can take some time getting used which reaffirms my beliefs in my work. My boss told me Im doing a good job and he said that I just beat myself up too much. What happens is when at work, if I don't get everything 100% right all the time, I freak out.

 

What he told was that nobody, gets everything right after just starting a week ago. I think instead of working hard when I get home from work, Im going to pamper myself and take a break to relax and destress.

[Death Knight]

Do you have a diagnosis for your anxiety, like generalized anxiety disorder? Are you on any medications?

 

—Alorael, who knows that anxiety can cause cognitive impairment and is often treatable. But yes, a major life change can also be stressful, that's not pathological, and you can feel very much adrift and stupid until you readjust. If it's substantially impairing, though, that's a disorder too: adjustment disorder.

 

I have a scizo-effective disorder. Im excellent with many things, but get anxious when around large groups of people.

[BMA]

Hope you feel better soon. -)

 

-CC-

[Student of Trinity]

What he told was that nobody, gets everything right after just starting a week ago.

Not only that, but nobody gets everything right even after years of experience. If it were totally easy, we would train an animal or robot to do it, and it wouldn't be a job for a human. People that are excessively hard on co-workers for occasional mistakes aren't experts. They are themselves screwing up more seriously, like a part that overheats from a little friction.

 

I think instead of working hard when I get home from work, Im going to pamper myself and take a break to relax and destress.

Good plan. For your own sake, which is more important than the job even if you're a surgeon because another surgeon can always step in for a day or two, but also for the job. It's just the responsible thing to do. You've got to look after yourself just as you've got to look after your tools.

[Alorael at Large]

I have a scizo-effective disorder. Im excellent with many things, but get anxious when around large groups of people.

At high risk of armchair psychiatry, I'm going to say that's something's very wrong here. Schizoaffective disorder isn't an anxiety disorder, it's a combined psychotic and mood disorder. What you describe in the first post is something else entirely—generalized anxiety disorder or social phobia make the top of my differential diagnosis, which means absolutely nothing over the internet based on a couple of posts, but if your symptoms are as you describe than whoever gave you a label of schizoaffective disorder is a hack.

 

—Alorael, who in any case hopes that taking it easy at home and adjusting to new work will help makes things better.

[Soul of Wit]

Its got to be coming from the new job. Im trying to do my best at work, but Im extremely hard on myself. My boss tells me that everyone's happy with my work, but one of my co-workers is always harsh with everything I do. Its too the point where I had to go home today and my boss told me to take tomorrow off. Id like to think its stress but Im already going to a psychiatrist and really don't have any options left on the table.

This won't help one bit with anxiety, but stop caring what other people think. Opinions are like assholes: everyone has one.

[Tridon]

While I must admit I do not know how you feel and ache in every little way, to me this sounds like it could be a form of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Not everyone will suffer the same symtoms, but I experienced short time memory loss, and I'm still not up and running 100%. At times it was ridiculous. I could get up to get my girlfriend a glass of milk, but when I got to the kitchen I could pour myself a glass of water, drink it and go back. After being reminded of the milk, I could stand up again, all forgotten once more, and go to the toilet instead. On the third try I could very likely start making some coffee. (On the bright side, due to our bizarre sense of humour, this made for some great laughs...)

 

I also experienced those weird moments where everything would seem impossible to do. Something so absurdely small a task as uploading a file to the intranet and change the name of the link would be too much. This would take 3-4 minutes if I did it very slowly, but I could end up cold sweating for 2-3 hours before I mananged to do it.

 

For me it has been all about having more time to relax. I've only worked 50%-60% since the start of november, and though things are better, I still have a way to go. I must also admit I hate it. Much of it due to the fect that many people instinctivly have a hard time understanding something they can not observe. A broken bone or a surgical scar is easy to understand, but prolonged fatigue and poor short time memory is not easy to observe and understand for some. Being able to give it a name like ME or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or CFS) makes other around me more accepting that I'm not just lazy.

 

If you're experiencing the same as me, there is definetly hope. As long as you are allowed to work less at times, relax more, and get that extra hour of sleep when you feel you need it, this will get better. It just takes time I'm afraid :\ Just ask me here, or pm me if you want to know more. This whole thing was unknown to me until it happened to me. Didn't know it existed.

Edited March 15, 2013 by Tridon