depression and work

Energize

Your medical condition is obviously not being adequately controlled and you should see a doctor, there are dozens of different types of medications that you won't have tried yet.

ShadowPuma

belfast28 wrote: »

if I was to leave my job due to the depression what benefits would I go onto? ive been awarded high rate dla for personal care and low rate for mobility, just trying to weigh up all my options

ESA. Once I ran out of SSP I was told to apply for ESA.

System

As said above it would be ESA you'd need to claim once SSP runs out/you leave

I've had both bad and postive(?) reactions to telling work of mental health problems. When I initially fell ill, my work then were not in the slightest bit understanding, they ignored my requests for a phased return to work and used somewhat underhand tactics to essentially get rid of me, which in turn forced me to claim ESA (as I wasn't in any fit state to return to work), what followed was a difficult 3 1/2 years, but last year I finally felt stable enough to try returning to work part time. This time round I did declare my bipolar, and my current work have been very understanding. There have been a couple of incidents where I have been too ill to work and they haven't gone against me, and recently after advice from my doctor and occupational health they have made adjustments to my working patterns, which has helped a lot.

I know not all employers are as understanding though so I understand your worries, but I will say what someone else said to me when I first fell ill-you have to put your health first. There is no point making yourself even worse for the sake of a job. If you feel you need time to recover then take that time. I think part of why I struggled so mucho in the first place was that I didn't have an understanding employer and the workplace stress contributed to it, however now I have medication that works and a job that isn't as stressful that I can cope with, I feel I'm coping better over all.

Best of luck with whatever you decide, hope your appointment with your doctor is helpful

Edit: if you do return to work, would it be possible to go part time? I note you now claim dla, which would technically entile you to claim the disability part of tax credits (though this depends on household income and savings) for working 16 hours per week. I know I still can't cope with full time hours so this has been some help to me