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Mental Health HomepageConditions LibraryConditions CategoryConditions CategoryHow to Manage Work While Coping With PTSD
Table of Contents:OverviewSociety’s Conflicting Ideas About PTSDPTSD SymptomsPTSD? “Not Me.”PTSD in the WorkplacePTSD TreatmentPTSD and FMLAPTSD and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
PTSDRead Time: 5 Minutes
Published On: April 30, 2019
Reviewed On: April 30, 2019
Updated On: November 2, 2023
OverviewWhen I got to work that morning, I had to stand to keep myself calm. I couldn’t sit down. I couldn’t concentrate. My vision was blurred. A coworker peeked her head into my cubicle to say good morning and I almost jumped out of my skin. I texted my husband to tell him what was going on. He texted back to say that he’d made an appointment with my primary care doctor and he was leaving work to take me there.In the doctor’s office, I started off calmly describing these symptoms, but when she had me describe the car crash I’d been in a few weeks before, I unexpectedly burst into tears.I hadn’t been sleepingand when I did, I’d dream about my teeth flying out of my mouth from the force of the crash. I took crazy routes to avoid the exit where crash had happened, but I’d downplay the crash to anyone who’d asked. Everyone told me they’d been in worse accidents. What was wrong with me?When my doctor diagnosed me withpost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), she suggested that I go home for the day and to go on leave, using Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). I’d gone to the appointment from work and thought I’d be able to go back to the office. But she compared my condition to a stroke or a heart attack: you wouldn’t go back to the office after one of those, would you?I had internalized the particularstigma associated with PTSD. On one hand I was glad that my doctor took me seriously. But I simultaneously reacted with denial. Her telling me to take leave didn’t make me want to rush to take time off; it made me think the opposite: this isn’t a heart attack. This isn’t a stroke. Get yourself together. Go back to work.
Overview
When I got to work that morning, I had to stand to keep myself calm. I couldn’t sit down. I couldn’t concentrate. My vision was blurred. A coworker peeked her head into my cubicle to say good morning and I almost jumped out of my skin. I texted my husband to tell him what was going on. He texted back to say that he’d made an appointment with my primary care doctor and he was leaving work to take me there.
In the doctor’s office, I started off calmly describing these symptoms, but when she had me describe the car crash I’d been in a few weeks before, I unexpectedly burst into tears.I hadn’t been sleepingand when I did, I’d dream about my teeth flying out of my mouth from the force of the crash. I took crazy routes to avoid the exit where crash had happened, but I’d downplay the crash to anyone who’d asked. Everyone told me they’d been in worse accidents. What was wrong with me?
When my doctor diagnosed me withpost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), she suggested that I go home for the day and to go on leave, using Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). I’d gone to the appointment from work and thought I’d be able to go back to the office. But she compared my condition to a stroke or a heart attack: you wouldn’t go back to the office after one of those, would you?
I had internalized the particularstigma associated with PTSD. On one hand I was glad that my doctor took me seriously. But I simultaneously reacted with denial. Her telling me to take leave didn’t make me want to rush to take time off; it made me think the opposite: this isn’t a heart attack. This isn’t a stroke. Get yourself together. Go back to work.
Society’s Conflicting Ideas About PTSDPTSD is a condition that occupies an odd space in our society. We joke about experiencing PTSD from watching a horror movie or having a crappy job interview. It’s associated with people we think of as strong, and with people we deride as fakers. It’s a condition that you can’t see. A person living with PTSD can have walked away fromthe event that caused their trauma: combat, sexual assault, a violent attack, a car crash, a terrorist attack, a natural disaster.The event can last a moment, or, as with neglect, domestic violence or sexual abuse, the event can last many years.Eight million Americanslive with PTSD. There’s a good chance that someone you’ve worked with work with has experienced it.
Society’s Conflicting Ideas About PTSD
PTSD is a condition that occupies an odd space in our society. We joke about experiencing PTSD from watching a horror movie or having a crappy job interview. It’s associated with people we think of as strong, and with people we deride as fakers. It’s a condition that you can’t see. A person living with PTSD can have walked away fromthe event that caused their trauma: combat, sexual assault, a violent attack, a car crash, a terrorist attack, a natural disaster.
The event can last a moment, or, as with neglect, domestic violence or sexual abuse, the event can last many years.Eight million Americanslive with PTSD. There’s a good chance that someone you’ve worked with work with has experienced it.
PTSD SymptomsNot everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD. But for those who do develop PTSD in the aftermath of a traumatic event, these are the main symptoms that theAmerican Psychiatric Associationhas identified:Intrusive thoughtsThoughts such as repeated, involuntary memories; distressing dreams; or flashbacks of the traumatic event.Avoiding reminders of the traumatic eventAvoiding people, places, activities, objects and situations that bring on distressing memories.Negative thoughts and feelingsOngoing and distorted beliefs about oneself or others.Arousal and reactive symptomsBeing irritable and having angry outbursts; behaving recklessly or in a self-destructive way; being easily startled; or having problems concentrating or sleeping.
PTSD Symptoms
Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD. But for those who do develop PTSD in the aftermath of a traumatic event, these are the main symptoms that theAmerican Psychiatric Associationhas identified:
PTSD? “Not Me.”
In my case, I knew that I’d experienced a traumatic event, but my mind rejected what my doctor told me. I can’t have PTSD, I thought: someone out there had experienced something worse, and they’re handling it better than I am. This thought process diminished my trauma and, to my mind, invalidated my doctor’s diagnosis.
PTSD in the WorkplacePeople with PTSD might be concentrating so hard ontrying to control their hypervigilancethat they can’t present work they’ve prepared. Thinking, or tasks that came easily to them before the event, might be impossible now. They could be aware of the stigma of PTSD and deny, even to healthcare providers, that they’reexperiencing symptomsuntil they impact work, like:Emotional outburstsBeing easily startledSlow or disrupted information processingProblems concentratingOr they might not understand what’s causing these symptoms, and not knowing the cause can make the symptoms worse.
PTSD in the Workplace
People with PTSD might be concentrating so hard ontrying to control their hypervigilancethat they can’t present work they’ve prepared. Thinking, or tasks that came easily to them before the event, might be impossible now. They could be aware of the stigma of PTSD and deny, even to healthcare providers, that they’reexperiencing symptomsuntil they impact work, like:
Or they might not understand what’s causing these symptoms, and not knowing the cause can make the symptoms worse.
PTSD TreatmentWhen I accepted that I had PTSD, my doctor and my employer’semployee assistance programhelped me to find a therapist that specializes inEMDR. Over time, my symptoms subsided. Your primary care doctor, therapist, or other medical professional can evaluate you and help you to find treatment options that include EMDR,cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, or a combination.
PTSD Treatment
When I accepted that I had PTSD, my doctor and my employer’semployee assistance programhelped me to find a therapist that specializes inEMDR. Over time, my symptoms subsided. Your primary care doctor, therapist, or other medical professional can evaluate you and help you to find treatment options that include EMDR,cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, or a combination.
PTSD and FMLAThe Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a law that offers up to 12 weeks unpaid time off per calendar year for serious medical conditions,the birth or adoption of a child, or caring for a family member.PTSD is a serious medical condition. I didn’t know it at the time, but you can apply for FMLA retroactively, as you would after an accident, a death in the family, or a heart attack. FMLA can be taken either intermittently, for things like doctor’s appointments, or for longer stretches of time up to 12 weeks per calendar year. However, your employer might be too small to offer you FMLA, and, if you’re a part-time employee, FMLA is not an option.
PTSD and FMLA
The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a law that offers up to 12 weeks unpaid time off per calendar year for serious medical conditions,the birth or adoption of a child, or caring for a family member.
PTSD is a serious medical condition. I didn’t know it at the time, but you can apply for FMLA retroactively, as you would after an accident, a death in the family, or a heart attack. FMLA can be taken either intermittently, for things like doctor’s appointments, or for longer stretches of time up to 12 weeks per calendar year. However, your employer might be too small to offer you FMLA, and, if you’re a part-time employee, FMLA is not an option.
PTSD and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)While FMLA and the rights offered under the ADA are not accessible to all American workers, they are are important resources. You’re entitled not to be harassed or discriminated against for having PTSD. According to theEqual Opportunity Employment Office,your employer may not:Discriminate against you based on myths about mental healthFire you for having a disabilityRequire you to tell them what your disability isHarass you based on your disabilityThey must, however, make reasonable accommodations for your disability.PTSD can affect anyone who’s experienced a traumatic event. It’s easy to downplay or diminish your symptoms, especially at work. If you do experience symptoms, take an onlinePTSD screening testand make an appointment with your primary care doctor. They can help you apply for FMLA, and they can put you in touch with a therapist that specializes in treating PTSD.
PTSD and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
While FMLA and the rights offered under the ADA are not accessible to all American workers, they are are important resources. You’re entitled not to be harassed or discriminated against for having PTSD. According to theEqual Opportunity Employment Office,your employer may not:
Discriminate against you based on myths about mental health
They must, however, make reasonable accommodations for your disability.
PTSD can affect anyone who’s experienced a traumatic event. It’s easy to downplay or diminish your symptoms, especially at work. If you do experience symptoms, take an onlinePTSD screening testand make an appointment with your primary care doctor. They can help you apply for FMLA, and they can put you in touch with a therapist that specializes in treating PTSD.
Jen MedianoContributor
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