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Normal Nerves or struggle + Your experiences

QiraSoo

After being unemployed since June (due to a walk-out meltdown), I started my new job this week, and in all honesty I HATE being back at work (then again, who does?) 

I'm really struggling with it after only four days. At 36, I've recently been diagnosed with autism and I'm finding the whole experience quite overwhelming.

I think part of the problem is that there's so much to learn, and I'm already feeling like I'm not capable of doing the job. There are lots of figures, costs and information to take in, and I'm struggling to understand what everything means and how to explain it to other people. I find it difficult to process everything when there's so much information being thrown at me.

Something else that's really knocked my confidence is being asked to put together a presentation. This wasn't something I expected from the job description, and I've found the whole process incredibly difficult. It's not just about creating slides; it's about understanding the information, remembering the figures and then being able to explain everything clearly to other people. The thought of having to present makes me extremely anxious.

I'm now questioning whether I'm even the right person for this job, and I feel awful because I've barely been there a week. I know it's early days, and people keep saying that it takes time to learn a new role, but I'm finding it hard not to feel like I've made a mistake.

I don't want to give up on a job before I've had a proper chance, but I also don't want to spend every day feeling anxious and overwhelmed. I'm worried that things won't get easier, and I'm finding it difficult to tell the difference between normal nerves when starting a new job and struggling because the role might not suit me.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar when starting a new job after being diagnosed with autism? Did things get easier with time, or did you eventually realise that the role wasn't right for you?

I'd really appreciate hearing about other people's experiences, as I'm feeling quite lost at the moment and could do with some reassurance or advice from people who understand.

Parents
  • QiraSoo said:
    Has anyone else experienced anything similar when starting a new job after being diagnosed with autism? Did things get easier with time, or did you eventually realise that the role wasn't right for you?

    That is similar to my case indeed. Time off work due to burnout and clinical depression (a few times now), eventually diagnosed, and back to work (I didn't need to, due to the conditions listed above, but I wanted to).

    For me, it was important to start with a part time job, since I simply can not cope both physically and mentally with more than that. I am very insecure and struggle to listen and understand when I am in real world scenarios.

    Besides the "part time" strategy, I think    gave good advice, and I would only add my example of that.

    • When I started, the focus was on turning my job into a list of tasks I could follow, I took time to think of this list and the order of things.
    • I also did voice notes while or right-after being explained how to do a task (no one thought it was weird luckily).

    In due time, I tried to start getting curious about things in my own way e.g. how many bottles fit here? or where do these items come from? and so forth. I can still panic if I make small mistakes, but I think they value me being upfront and sincere, and certainly trying hard.

    I personally have used no tips from books, as I find that the best tips are found "locally" by thinking it myself, or sometimes reading others here.

    • If I could summarise what I said above, it would be: 1. Part time is useful, 2. Break down and list tasks, 3. Get curious about aspects of the job, and purpose of tasks.
    • Also, try to eat and sleep on time.
    • To your last question: Yes, things get a lot easier with time. I wish you the best.
Reply
  • QiraSoo said:
    Has anyone else experienced anything similar when starting a new job after being diagnosed with autism? Did things get easier with time, or did you eventually realise that the role wasn't right for you?

    That is similar to my case indeed. Time off work due to burnout and clinical depression (a few times now), eventually diagnosed, and back to work (I didn't need to, due to the conditions listed above, but I wanted to).

    For me, it was important to start with a part time job, since I simply can not cope both physically and mentally with more than that. I am very insecure and struggle to listen and understand when I am in real world scenarios.

    Besides the "part time" strategy, I think    gave good advice, and I would only add my example of that.

    • When I started, the focus was on turning my job into a list of tasks I could follow, I took time to think of this list and the order of things.
    • I also did voice notes while or right-after being explained how to do a task (no one thought it was weird luckily).

    In due time, I tried to start getting curious about things in my own way e.g. how many bottles fit here? or where do these items come from? and so forth. I can still panic if I make small mistakes, but I think they value me being upfront and sincere, and certainly trying hard.

    I personally have used no tips from books, as I find that the best tips are found "locally" by thinking it myself, or sometimes reading others here.

    • If I could summarise what I said above, it would be: 1. Part time is useful, 2. Break down and list tasks, 3. Get curious about aspects of the job, and purpose of tasks.
    • Also, try to eat and sleep on time.
    • To your last question: Yes, things get a lot easier with time. I wish you the best.
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