It’s True, Your Boss Can Give You PTSD

Here's an article from the Workplace Bullying Institute that originally appeared in Huffington Post UK.

Workplace Bullying, Abuse and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, It’s True, Your Boss Can Give You PTSD

Ergophobia, PTSD, and Memory Loss

Some counselors have observed that I might have a form of workplace PTSD. I have witnessed violence and threats of violence in the workplace. However traumatic that may have been, I feel more traumatized by the day-to-day experiences of office work: office politics, lack of freedom, lack of opportunities for growth and self-expression, rude co-workers, demeaning bosses, deadening boredom, and the like.

I had a startling experience today. At a medical appointment for a routine procedure, the nurse recognized me. It turned out she had worked for me when I was a call center supervisor, which was about 17 years ago. She remembered my son, how old he was, and other details.

I did not remember her at all.

I looked at her name tag and that didn't even help. I didn't tell her that I had absolutely no memory of her whatsoever. That would have seemed rude. So, I just smiled and made conversation.

Leaving the medical office, I felt totally shocked. Why have I lost these memories? Is this normal in any way? Worries about early-onset dementia crossed my mind.

I believe this is a symptom of my workplace phobia and a form of PTSD.

I think it would be to my advantage to find a therapist who can help with this specific type of problem.

Thinking About Going Back to Therapy

This week I've been realizing that I really could use some decent one-on-one counseling therapy. I have Kaiser insurance & they shunt people off into group therapy. If I hadn't gotten bad enough to need day hospitalization, I wouldn't have gotten much help from Kaiser at all other than medication. I go to a weekly IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) follow-up group where we mainly learn relaxation and stress reduction techniques. It's not bad- I do find it helpful- but it's not addressing some of my deeper issues that just won't go away. So, I'm going to contact Kaiser to see if any actual therapy is in fact available on anything resembling a regular basis, and if it isn't, I'll find it somewhere else at one of those places with a sliding scale payment policy