Hi all! I’m going to try and keep this as short as possible!
I started working again in July after about a year and a half of being unemployed due to a mental health crisis. In April I was diagnosed with ADHD and the psychiatrist that did my assessment said he also thinks it’s likely that I have autism also. I’m on the wait list to be tested but… nhs wait times.
But my new job is perfect hours-wise, I have short shifts and they’re always at the same time (9am - 1pm) but not always on the same days (5 days between Monday and Saturday, Sunday is my only set day off), which I thought I could cope with. However, a few months in and I’m really struggling with it. I’m also a self-employed dog Walker in the afternoons Monday to Friday, which means that if I don’t have my days off on Saturday and Sunday, I’ll still be dog walking. In my funny little brain, if I have any kind of set plans in a day, it’s not a day off and I stress about it and can’t unwind.
ive had an appointment with occupational health this afternoon to discuss and they are going to recommend that I have a trial period of a few months just working week days to give me a chance to ‘settle back into the work environment’, which is great but I don’t think I’ll be able to unwind unless it’s a permanent change. Currently, we are horrendously understaffed so I know it would be unreasonable to expect the change to happen immediately, but a light at the end of the tunnel would be very helpful to me.
so, my question… is this unreasonable to ask for? I know asking for a weekday job in customer service is a huge ask, but the job is perfect in every other way - it’s low stress, set hours, not too counselling, my colleagues are nice and it’s predictable. I don’t want to leave, but I don’t think I can go on this way long-term. I have so much anxiety about everything in my life and I’m working so hard to maintain my wellbeing. Going into this job: I started seeing a counsellor regularly, I exercise regularly, i meditate in the evenings, I do all the things that people say to do and it’s still isnt enough. If my manager isn’t accommodating (side note: she’s really nice and I have no reason to think she wouldn’t be once we have more staff, I’m just stressing 
), would an official diagnosis help my case? I would have to go privately and fund it myself but i think it would be worth it to maintain all the progress I’ve made in regard to my mental well-being and being able to work.
any thoughts, similar experiences and ideas would be greatly appreciated!
