I work in large non-primary, non-secondary market law firm. I was recently diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. I have good and bad days. Should I tell anyone at my firm or how should I handle this? I can't see myself staying in this large-firm environment with the current state of my disorder for that long.
I'm a first year associate, and while my firm at least nominally offers less than full time schedules, as a first year I can't see asking for that going well.
If anyone has any similar experiences, please share.
Diagnosed with anxiety order, what to do? Forum
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mcmand
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Re: Diagnosed with anxiety order, what to do?
I haven't had anxiety problems yet as a first year, but I had anxiety issues in law school that medication helped. Is medication/cognitive behavioral therapy not working for you yet/at all? Is it worth it to you to see if it will help?
Are there any people at firm that might be contributing to your anxiety? Maybe you could figure out ways to not work with them.
Sorry you're experiencing this. I'm having a hard time myself just not feeling burned out after some weeks. Can't imagine having serious anxiety that doesn't stop on top of it.
Are there any people at firm that might be contributing to your anxiety? Maybe you could figure out ways to not work with them.
Sorry you're experiencing this. I'm having a hard time myself just not feeling burned out after some weeks. Can't imagine having serious anxiety that doesn't stop on top of it.
Last edited by mcmand on Mon Jan 29, 2018 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Diagnosed with anxiety order, what to do?
I'm dealing with anxiety in a biglaw firm. It was almost impossible before I was on medication. I mean waking up at 4 am and crying all the way to the office every day, constant meltdowns in my office, etc. Now that I'm on some medicine, it's better but still rough. I understand that I'm not going to last long at my firm, partially due to the anxiety. I'm ok with that. It is what is -- I'm just aiming for one year and that feels manageable.
I would never, ever disclose this to anyone at my firm. It's unfair, but I feel like it would be held against me and negatively affect my ability to get work. If I'm having a really bad day, I just say I'm sick and work from home. Usually even if I can't really work in the morning, I can rally and get things done later in the day. I also sometimes have to push back on deadlines more than I would if I didn't have anxiety. Lack of sleep makes things 100x worse and triggers really bad symptoms for me, so I simply cannot do an all-nighter. Fortunately this comes up pretty rarely -- and I can usually pin it on something else (other assignments, etc.)
Just keep working with your doctor. This shit sucks, but it can get better. And you are most certainly not the only person at your firm struggling with it.
I would never, ever disclose this to anyone at my firm. It's unfair, but I feel like it would be held against me and negatively affect my ability to get work. If I'm having a really bad day, I just say I'm sick and work from home. Usually even if I can't really work in the morning, I can rally and get things done later in the day. I also sometimes have to push back on deadlines more than I would if I didn't have anxiety. Lack of sleep makes things 100x worse and triggers really bad symptoms for me, so I simply cannot do an all-nighter. Fortunately this comes up pretty rarely -- and I can usually pin it on something else (other assignments, etc.)
Just keep working with your doctor. This shit sucks, but it can get better. And you are most certainly not the only person at your firm struggling with it.
