Going back to work.
 

I have been effectively not working for the better part of a year due to post concussion syndrome, but money is starting to get tight and I am feeling a bit better.

I've starting thinking seriously of re-entering the job market but I still have a lot of anxieties about re-entering the working world, such as:

• going from relatively stress-free, healing at home environment to stressful work environment;
• coping with symptoms flaring up during work;
• not being able to perform at my previous, healthy level;
• explaining the huge time gap in my resume;
• needing frequent absences due to medical appointments;
• not being able to keep the job that I get b/c of symptoms, etc.

Unlike some of you, I wasn't on medical leave. I was laid off (had nothing to do with my injury), so I will not be going to my old job -- I will be interviewing for a new one.

I was just wondering how you decided you were ready to work again, and how you dealt with your anxieties about returning to work.

Thanks everyone!

couple tips for ya:

i wouldnt worry about the time gap, its very explainable you have a very good medical reason

second tip would be to start out slow maybe part time; that will also help out with scheduling appointments around it

good luck

The second doc I talked to recommends a graduated return to work when you're ready. For people who work full-time, this might look something like:

- 1st week: Monday (4 hrs), Wednesday (4 hrs), Friday (4 hrs)
- 2nd week: Monday (5 hrs), Wednesday (5 hrs), Friday (5 hrs)
- 3rd week: Monday (6 hrs), Wednesday (6 hrs), Friday (6 hrs)
- 4th week: Monday (7 hrs), Wednesday (7 hrs), Friday (7 hrs)
- 5th week: Monday (7 hrs), Tuesday (4 hrs), Wednesday (7 hrs), Thursday (4 hrs), Friday (7 hrs)
- 6th week: Monday (7 hrs), Tuesday (5 hrs), Wednesday (7 hrs), Thursday (5 hrs), Friday (7 hrs)
- 7th week: Monday (7 hrs), Tuesday (6 hrs), Wednesday (7 hrs), Thursday (6 hrs), Friday (7 hrs)
- 8th week: Monday (7 hrs), Tuesday (7 hrs), Wednesday (7 hrs), Thursday (7 hrs), Friday (7 hrs)

Then full time (7-8 hours M-F), if you're able to manage it. The idea is to set yourself up for success, not failure.

A belated thanks for this greenfrog.

I am planning a graduated return to work like this. The problem is that I am unemployed and looking for a new job, and there are practically no part time jobs in my field (and very few that are low-stress).

For now, I am trying to volunteer and using that as my ramp-up to returning to the workforce. The problem is that the volunteer work doesn't challenge me enough to be an accurate guage of how my symptoms will react to a real workplace.

There's a lot of anxiety also about whether I will (ever) be able to perform at my previous high level.

In general, it just makes sense to build up your work capacities and stamina gradually. What else can you do after suffering an MTBI? Your brain won't let you go from zero to 60, so you have to go from 5 to 10 to 15 (or from 1 to 2 to 3), etc. and work your way up. Some might see this as depressing, but what other option is there? Who knows how far you will get eventually? I do think that (to varying extents) the brain can be retrained and rehabilitated over time, with patient effort.