Feeling stuck, can't hold down a job

Ok, so I wanted to know if my experience rings a bell with anyone here

Throughout my life, I’m known as a smart cookie. When people meet me for the first time they usually comment on my intelligence.

All of this means I landed several good high paying jobs with excellent career prospects. One of the most recent was with global accounting firm PwC.

The problem is when I get a job I can’t sustain it. It’s not that I find the job hard, and it’s not the stress. Instead, I get into a frozen kind of state. It feels like a massive wall between me and getting to work in the morning. I freeze up, and I just can’t function. I feel I have to hand in my resignation before I can accomplish anything

Anyone else experience this?

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I have the same problem and ppl also make good comments on my intelligence and I was excellent in school and university. I think we still have our intelligence but cant use it due to negative symptoms. Its like a powerful car thats missing gas. Maybe its a lack of dopamine.

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Really good to hear that someone is in the same boat as me. I aced high school, college and two years of university before this psychosis robbed me of everything

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Maybe they will have meds for negative symptoms in the future.

Yes, that is why I didn’t work for a long time, plus my old meds took me out.

I am considered smart by many people too. I went to a good university for STEM before I had to drop out due to schizophrenia. I graduated high school with honors. I consistently score around 130 on IQ tests.

I searched and only applied for jobs that are low stress and easy… and I found one. It’s not so much “a job” that stresses me out but exactly what job, what it entails.

I use to work in a restaurant and that was high stress, I could never do that again. Food always has to be hot, fresh and quick, and if you screw up the managers get pissed because you have to recook the food and its a total loss of money.

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Also maybe try lower stress jobs and jobs that you really like, I was able to last longer at such jobs when I was on Abilify. On Latuda I was able to maintain a job for a year, it was a low stress office job full time at my mother’s accounting office. Now I cant really work on 6mg Risperdal, I want to try Caplyta or Vraylar.

I was in medical school. Had to get good grades and that was the easy part - the hard part was all the extra-curricular stuff I had to do so I could state it in my personal statement

Just getting into medical school was very stressful - I applied to four universities, and only got accepted at one (Liverpool).

Now I’m not looking to work, but I gained an offer to study International Relations at university in September 2021. It’s going to be stressful, but I’m feeling good about it - I hope I don’t freeze up and get stuck again

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I decided to just not push myself anymore to get the best job, get the best grades, make the most money, drive the best car, etc…

I learned to be okay with being mediocre, even though I am probably capable of better if I would push myself, but then it can become too stressful and then I don’t enjoy life.

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Me too

I took a break from all this career stuff for like a year and a half. I did nothing. Just woke up and had free day to do whatever I wanted

Now I feel like I’m ready to push myself again so I got a place at university. I’m feeling in terms of mood the best I’ve been for a long time so I really hope it works out

The hardest thing for me is seeing all your classmates who were behind you in college academically, and they’ve gone on to become lawyers, solicitors, dentists, doctors

These same people looked up to me in college and university, and now I have nothing and they have everything career wise

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To me, it sounds more like disabling anxiety.

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Seems like you’re in a tough spot ajassat. I worked for years and was a civil engineering student. Then after my son was born I went off the rails. And never recovered really

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Yes it feels that way - tough!

It’s hard but I think I can get through it

Sorry to hear things didn’t work out for you

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Oh yeah dude. I loved my engineering classes. They were very interesting. What branch of STEM did you study?

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I studied Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and Physics at College

Scored AAAA and went on to study Medicine and Surgery at Liverpool University

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It must’ve been tough to have to give everything up because of mental illness. I understand. You can always vent to us.

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Sure, it’s left a massive void. It hurts me when I see people with B/C grades who have gone on to do something with their life

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Oh I dont have anxiety at all. I am just low on energy.

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Ok. But I still think the OP may have anxiety. Their description doesn’t sound like negatives. Of course, I’m not a dr so my opinion isn’t valid

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yes. happens to me. I am currently in my better paying job now on my 2nd day. I get by on caffeine and propranolol. one to keep me awake the other to keep my nerves in check. seems to work.

I recommend you listen to success audio tapes for confidence and motivation. since you dont have motivation of your own just listen to motivation tapes when you go to work in the car or transit.
Ive been listening to Bryan Tracy ultimate collection

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i couldn’t hold on to a job either… i had to switch jobs several times to be able to keep up but then i still couldn’t hold on. And eventually i got so sick that they send me to the psych ward and after i got out work doctor said i had to go see a pdoc and pdoc said i couldn’t work and like a year later from being sick i got fired from my then job. Since then i haven’t worked anymore because the stress makes me relapse.

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