Hey r/antiwork,
I've been dealing with depression, anxiety, and PTSD for over two decades, and things have taken a turn for the worse since I joined a consultancy last November. To make things worse, I’ve an autoimmune disease which makes me feel exhausted easily and which gets triggered by excessive stress.
Firstly, the consultancy job I'm in pays well below average, and to make matters worse, the company announced no pay raises or promotions this year. It's demoralizing, to say the least, and the work itself is frustrating and tedious. I've been quiet quitting for the past 6 weeks because my efforts seem to go unnoticed and I’m honestly mentally and emotionally drained.
The thought of working for someone else until I'm too old to continue depresses me deeply. I worked for my family's business (a small motel) for a few years, where I had autonomy, could introduce ideas, and had time for hobbies and self-care. But my family pushed me into the corporate world due to my “potential” and sadly, I could never afford to live by myself if I worked for my family.
I've been seeing a therapist for a year and a half, but lately, our differing views on work are straining our sessions. While she acknowledges that I've been emotionally worse since starting this job, she insists I can't quit and that I should put up with it and “take care of my job” because that’s the way things are. It's been tough having no support, especially in an understaffed, underpaid, and stressful environment with rude clients. However, I have no support from either family or this therapist as they agree having a job “dignifies” a person and that I shouldn’t let my emotions interfere with work. This last point has proven difficult; lately I noticed work related stress has started to affect my relationship as this particular client is very demanding, constantly looks for errors in my work, and contacts other colleagues to review my work despite showing her the QA processes that were put in place and that assured my work is correct. I’ve been feeling so anxious that I’m constantly working after hours to triple check my work.
So, my question to you all is this: Have any of you worked with an antiwork therapist or someone who understands or at least respects your antiwork views? How has it affected your progress and sessions? I'd appreciate any advice or shared experiences. Thanks for reading!