Hey ya'll
I really, really need some help here....
I worked at a Starbucks for about a year and a half as a shift supervisor.
All my life I have been struggling with anxiety and panic disorder.
I have been taking medication off and on since I was maybe 16, nothing works well. I tried to take Celexa, but it just made me forgetful and spacey, with the same anxiety still present.
The medication caused such forgetfulness that I would forget whether or not I had taken it. Ultimately, I forgot to take it a few days in a row and this triggered vicious withdrawal symptoms. I had to miss maybe a week of work for this.
Then, unmedicated, I did my very best to function at my job; I never made any mistakes with money, never dropped the ball on any of my shifts, no problems whatsoever other than that I was severely anxious and panicky and I wasn't able to be exactly as "stellar" as I had been known to be.
One Sunday, at the end of my opening shift, my manager sits me down and tells me they need me to take a leave of absence, for at least a month. I tell her how though I know I need a break, I cannot afford to miss work (as I have bills, car payments, etc.) She says to try to get short-term disability.
Trying to get short term disability has been a ridiculous obstacle course of phone calls and lost letters and, though I have definitely submitted my paperwork, they still don't have it. And they declined my disability, and informed me and my manager that I was on an unauthorized leave. I finagled an extension and it's still not happening. I have two days left to sort this out and, surprise, I'm a huge anxious wreck about it.
I guess my question is, has anyone had an experience like this? And can they just TELL me to take a "leave of absense" against my wishes? I have such a mess to deal with and I don't even know where to begin...
Thanks.