Should I quit my job to focus on my mental health?

Finding a Balance Between Work, Mental Health, and Other Aspects of Life

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a mental disease affects the daily lives of approximately one in every five individuals in the United States. This equates to around 51 million people living in the United States. In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 71 percent of working people suffer at least one symptom of stress, which might include headaches and feelings of worry. These may be indications of a shift in the individual's mental health.

There are a lot of individuals who base their identity on what they do for a living, whether it's because they're trying to establish a certain profession, have a job to make ends meet while they build a company or continue their education, or have finally found work after being jobless for a long time.

Since most individuals spend the bulk of their waking hours at work, it is not surprising that one's occupation has a significant impact on their mental health. Certain professions may be particularly stressful on both the mind and the emotions, which can take a toll on an individual's entire health and well-being. If you've ever battled with concerns related to your mental health, you've probably thought about whether or not you should leave your work in order to protect your mental health.

The Conditions of Mental Illness That Are Seen the Most Frequently in the U.S.

There are many different behavioral and mental health disorders, any of which may have a negative influence on a person's capacity to work. These disorders are often made worse by the stressful nature of the working environment.

The following is a list of the five most prevalent mental health issues that workers deal with:

Anxiety disorders are a collection of mental conditions that include social phobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Excessive concern and feelings of panic, which may be caused by illogical or obsessive thoughts or particular triggers like spiders or other people, are characteristic of these diseases. They are also able to materialize apparently out of thin air.

Clinical depression, major depressive disorder (MDD), seasonal affective disorder (SAD), bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders are characterized by long-lasting fatigue, low energy, sadness, and feelings of guilt, hopelessness, or worthlessness. Mood disorders include seasonal affective disorder (SAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder. These illnesses are occasionally coupled with symptoms such as restlessness, anger, anxiety, or overly high energy, although the periods of hyperactive behavior often endure for a shorter amount of time than bouts of depression do.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that is brought on by the stress response that is associated with having lived through a traumatic event, such as a natural catastrophe, war, attack, or major accident. PTSD may also be induced by exposure to prolonged or extreme stress. This reaction to stress may result in feelings of worry, sadness, or guilt, as well as outbursts of anger, feelings of isolation, lack of sleep, nightmares, and flashbacks.

Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are the most well-known examples of psychotic diseases. These conditions are characterized by aberrant ways of thinking and perceptions of the outside environment. People who suffer from these illnesses may have delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, or a combination of these and other symptoms, which cause them to lose touch with reality.

Personality disorders come in a variety of subtypes, the most common of which are borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, paranoid and delusion disorders, schizoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder. This refers to ingrained habits of thinking and behaving over a lengthy period of time that are harmful and rigid. Those who are afflicted with these illnesses may have a more difficult time coping with the demands of everyday life, have a propensity to have tumultuous interpersonal interactions, and struggle to maintain a healthy personal life.

It is essential to place a high priority on one's mental wellness. If you have poor mental health, it may be difficult for you to enjoy the job you do, to remain interested in the tasks you are assigned, to interact effectively with your coworkers, or simply to get out of bed and go to work. There are a number of factors, including genetics, personal experience, and family history of mental illness, that may influence whether or not you get this disorder and whether or not it grows worse over time.

Reasonable Accommodations Made at Your Place of Employment for Your Mental Health

Think about how your requirements may be satisfied at work before you send an email to your manager including your resignation letter. Employers are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make reasonable accommodations for employees who have issues related to their physical health, and due to recent amendments to the law, this requirement now also applies to employees who have issues related to their mental health.

The following are examples of accommodations that you might request:

Start and stop hours of the workday that are flexible.

A break schedule that is adaptable, allowing you to locate some peace and quiet and compose yourself

Relax in one of the designated quiet areas, which are available to you and the other workers.

a decrease in the number of working hours, provided that employees are still able to satisfy all of the criteria of their jobs, including deadlines.

The option to work remotely or from home (also known as telecommuting).

Reduced levels of distracting factors such as noise and light

Written instructions or task lists, or meetings in person or through video conference to orally discuss these options are all acceptable alternatives.

Make use of a work coach or any other kind of aid to assist you in effectively managing your job.

You are granted permission to store essential drugs and food items in your desk drawers while you are at work.

Acknowledgment that certain necessary prescription drugs could be detected on drug tests

The following are the measures you should take if you want to apply for accommodations so that you may better manage your mental health while maintaining your employment:

Talk to the manager of the human resources department. The request is now considered official, and the process of submitting documentation has been kicked off. There is a possibility that additional workers may make inquiries that are comparable. Keeping a record of these talks enables the organization to have a better understanding of the demands of the employees.

Be precise in your description of the accommodations. You could need a certain strategy for communication or feedback; you might require less touch with your coworkers; or you might want extra hours of telecommuting so that you can concentrate at home without interruptions. Determine what would be most helpful to you, and then make your request as specific as possible.

Collaborate on the paperwork with a medical professional, a counselor, or a therapist. Make sure that a medical expert has documented your requirements, especially if you have a disease that has been clinically identified as affecting your mental health. This will guarantee that ADA compliance is considered a problem with your accommodations.

Maintain a record of the talks you have with your employer. You should preserve physical copies of any emails that are exchanged with your employer or HR department about your accommodations, and you should also ask for copies of any documents that are filed via those channels. You have the right to pursue legal remedies if your requirements are not satisfied within a reasonable amount of time or if they are disregarded.

Try to reach as many compromises as you can. Be prepared to address deadlines for implementation, ways to eliminate needless chores and explore the possibility of delegating them to other staff, or how to securely work from home while remotely login into IT systems. These are just some of the topics that should be on your agenda. This may take some time, but your company ought to be prepared to negotiate with you in order to accommodate any necessary adjustments.

There are times when quitting your job is the best thing for your mental health.

Quitting your job might be the best thing you can do for your mental health if your employer is unable to fulfill your demands or if your needs are too severe for you to continue working. Do not make this choice on your own since it is a difficult one. Consult a medical professional, a counselor, or a psychotherapist to figure out how you may go forward with this course of action.

The manner in which you are treated at your place of employment, the number of hours you put in, and the environment in which you work are all factors that might have an impact on your mental health. It is essential to keep in mind that putting your mental health first necessitates separating oneself from any potentially harmful surroundings. You should consider quitting your employment if you see any of the following warning signs:

Your home life is plagued by the constant presence of bad energy that you bring into it.

You seem to have become too used to playing this part.

You convince yourself it's "only a job."

You don't even need to open your eyes to accomplish the work.

You have absolutely no desire to go to work ever again.

You're making thoughtless errors.

The atmosphere contains harmful substances.

You are experiencing unhealthiness on a bodily and/or mental level.

The aforementioned problems may worsen your mental health, make it more difficult for you to manage the symptoms of your mental illness, or even cause you to develop a mental health condition. Leaving an unhealthy environment is the first step toward improvement, but what comes after is just as important.

Create a Strategy to Regain Your Employment While Also Improving Your Mental Health.

You should meet with a counselor, therapist, or another mental health professional to speak through your experiences at work and develop a strategy before giving your two-week notice to your employer. If you have a professionally recognized mental health illness and your symptoms have gotten so severe that they disrupt your life outside of work, you may need to spend time focused on treatment. This is because your symptoms have become so severe that they impact your life. If you are able to get a handle on your symptoms and take the necessary amount of time off from work, you may formulate a strategy for going back to work or looking for a new position.

It's possible that your counselor may assist you in formulating a financial strategy that will allow you to continue paying your payments even if you have to take time off from work. They are also able to assist you in formulating a strategy to speak to members of your family and friends in order to get their support. This can entail providing you with financial help so that you can concentrate on restoring your equilibrium. It is possible that you may need to participate in regular outpatient or inpatient clinical treatment, which may include attendance at support group meetings and individual therapy sessions on many occasions each week.

It is helpful to engage with a psychiatrist in addition to a therapist since the use of prescription drugs is an essential component of the therapy for mental health issues. Because leaving your work might cause you to be concerned about maintaining your health insurance coverage, you should make it a priority to locate reliable health coverage before quitting your employment. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made it possible to do this over a large portion of the United States.

Finally, if you want to change careers or go back to work, you need to figure out what kinds of programs or certificates you need to get in order to be successful in either of those endeavors. You could gain something by taking a class on resume writing, attending a professional development seminar, or even going back to school to get a higher degree.

It may be beneficial to leave your job in order to protect your mental health, particularly if the atmosphere is toxic and there is no support for your mental health in the workplace; nevertheless, departing without a strategy in place may not cure all of your problems. Do everything in your power to depart your work on a positive note. In addition, make sure that you have a strategy in place to focus on your wellbeing and that you have emotional support from individuals who you trust.