You should find a therapist that you mesh well with and talk to them before making any major decisions.
Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
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Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#12When in a similar situation, I went to therapy, which helps. Also exercise, I find a lousy feeling builds up when I don't exercise and magically goes away when I do. Also eat right, you have to feed your gut properly or it will affect your brain. Use the healthcare to take care of yourself. You'll need coping mechanisms where ever you go. I think life is just about figuring out those coping mechanisms as you go.
This is good advice.
Also consider taking some sick leave in order to kick start your health recovery. This is likely to lead to a much better outcome than reactively quitting and then working out what to do. In other words keep your options open. Your employer has a duty of care towards you and should be able to help you.
This may lead to a win win situation for everyone, but if your employer is at fault for whatever reason then you will be in a much stronger position (legal and otherwise) if you don't quit, at least for the time being.
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#13Reading this, I wonder if quitting is the right thing do to. It could be, but it also might not be. How do you plan to reintegrate into work after quitting? What is the plan beyond quitting?
I also wonder what you have done to address anxiety before getting to the point of quitting? You don’t have to tell me, because I don’t need to know. I only ask, because there’s a lot a person can do to manage anxiety before quitting. Especially as you’re 4 months into a new job, and it can take between 6-12 months before a person feels settled into a new job. It is sometimes normal to feel overwhelmed at the beginning of a new job, especially after the novelty has worn off.
I’m not saying that your job is more important than your mental health (it definitely is not), I’m just offering another perspective which you may or may not have already considered.
Have you tried other things like; detoxing from social media, meditation, massage therapy, CBT, etc…
It sounds like you’ve worked pretty hard to get to where you are today, and quitting might be a knee-jerk reaction to an anxiety issue. The problem with anxiety is that it can be pervasive and creep into every facet of your life, whether you’re working or not. Sometimes the challenge is learning to manage anxiety while managing other life responsibilities.
Good luck. I hope you feel better soon.
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#14You're a fresh graduate, bust your ass work hard, save up for your house. Then save up and invest 20% at $INDEX_OF_CHOICE! At Amazon level income you can do that in 2 years and pay off your house outright! Retire your parents! Recognize you're in a position so many people and even you a year ago would kill to be in. If you were say 30 the calculus is different, but at 20? Hell yeah crush it and grind dude! 3 years an…
> Recognize you're in a position so many people and even you a year ago would kill to be in.
True. But barring financial hardship, I think many folks would quickly become disillusioned.
> crush it and grind dude
I wish I could do this.
I can suppress to a point but that is what I've been doing all this time.
Once it spills over into physical pain that is where I draw a line.
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#15Should you quit? Yes. Make room for people who are hungry and ready to work.
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#16I feel like my company sees me not as a human but as a set of metrics to be judged and compared against.
How did you manage to graduate from college?
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#17Believe me, nobody will blame you for quitting Amazon.
My biggest mistakes in life were always hanging on for too long. I worked harder than anything I've ever worked on to keep my first marriage together. I did more work on my first marriage in 1 week than I've done in 20 years on my second marriage. Marriage is NOT supposed to be a continual drain. It us supposed to be an oasis of stability and strength.
At work, I've worked far harder on my failures than I ever did on my successes. Work is NOT supposed to be a continual drain either. It's supposed to have far more successful, energizing projects than death marches. It's supposed to give you a sense of accomplishment and pride, not continual shame and feelings of inadequacy.
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#18I feel like my company sees me not as a human but as a set of metrics to be judged and compared against. How did you manage to graduate from college?
Completely different environment.
College "metrics" are much less obscured and therefore much more game-able. There is no complex multi-layer management looking over you. Your "manager" is your professor, who is indifferent to your performance because it doesn't affect their bottom line. There is no need to smooth talk anyone, and if you wish you can work completely independent, you can skip class and complete assignments alone.
I can "work" from home in college, on my own time, whenever I see fit. I can take time off if I ever need it without much consequence.
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#19I feel like my company sees me not as a human but as a set of metrics to be judged and compared against. How did you manage to graduate from college?
That's a bit...uncharitable. They got through college because they were smart, and the professors treated the students like humans. Minkowski was Einstein's professor. He gave Einstein a very good education--and very bad grades.
Metrics are an important part of life--but they are in service of humans. Humans are not in service of metrics. Feeling dehumanized by being reductively evaluated on metrics is a legitimate complaint.
It is impossible for education--or indeed, intellectual work of any kind--to happen in an environment where you feel continually threatened.
Re: Mental health in shambles – should I quit?
#20I feel like the shock of adjusting to full time work is enough for most people to handle at once. Doing so at Amazon must be pretty tough (I worked there), depending on how intense your undergrad was.
I suggest working really hard at finding a new job. Spend every available hour for a few months while hanging on at work. There are many more human places to work out there, and truly not everyone is cut out for working at high pressure places. You deserve a chance to learn to work and be successful in a supportive environment. Be prepared to answer the questions about why you want to leave Amazon.
If things are truly unbearable you could see a doctor, get a diagnosis and then apply for fmla. During that time find a new job.