Mental health in the electrical industry

[Buzz1980]

Hi all
Just wanted to put this out there to see if there is any other sparks that struggle with this. I have suffered from OCD/anxiety for many years now since I was really young. Over the years it has got worse and worse it can jump from anything that I worry about . I don’t have OCD where I go around cleaning everything. But I have OCD where I can’t leave things without checking all the time that I have done it correctly, but the more times I check the less blurry and less sure I am that I have done it correctly. I can come away from a job and worry that I have left switches off, cables exposed and worry that someone is going to get hurt from my work. I then go over and over in my head yeah you did screw everything back and you did check before you left. But can’t convince myself that I have. Now through out my time as a spark, I studied more done more courses etc etc and this has made me become more knowledgeable but with the more knowledge and experience I get the worse my Anxiety gets as I think back to jobs I down years ago and think oh I’ve done that wrong, oh I should have done that, oh how did I do that instead of that. Now this is when I was in my final years of apprenticeship and when I just came out of my time. This is sometimes down to bad advice from other sparks and not really looking into things myself but when I do find out the advice is wrong and should be doing things the other way. Or just not knowing any better but over the years I have gained more knowledge which is making my anxiety worse as I go over every job I’ve done scrutinise it and start worrying that someone is going to get hurt or fire break out due to the works I have done. This worry will keep with me for a while until my anxiety starts to ease off. Until the next flare up. I just wish I could start my time over again and do things the way I want to do them but this is a OCD trait wanting everything to be perfect. Just wanted to see if there are any other sparks that suffer this way. Thanks in advance ?

 

[mattg4321]

My great grandfather started smoking at the age of 10. Cigars/pipes mostly. Lasted until he was 98, smoking all that time.

Took no nonsense that generation though. Born late 19th century. Expect 2 world wars will often do that to you. I sometimes wonder if he was as tough on the inside as on the outside. I’m sure his life was many times harder than mine?

 

[LukeD]

We all suffer from stress... But some peoples levels are frightening and must be horrible. Its down to insecurity of our future and finances in most cases.Many young people have been brain washed into this whole"Flexing" mentality of wanting everything and setting themselves up to have almost zero left at the end of a paypacket .Housing rent/mortgages etc . We are seeing a huge rise in people " 2 months out" which means they cannot make a payment after 2 months if they lose their income etc . Its not worth it . I know too many that died young or lost the lot ...All down to thinking they could live a life they really could not fund . My advice to anyone leaving school soon. Get yourself trained to work in the "mental health " business .Its going to be a huge business

 

[westward10]

Can we keep this in line with the thread topic.

 

[ipf]

Can we keep this in line with the thread topic.

So it's a childish whack round the ear hole, as in my apprenticeship days.... it must have caused mental health at work problems.....phew!
Look at all these footballers with the heading decease.

 

[UNG]

Can we keep this in line with the thread topic.

Not much point in posting anymore now while your editing of this thread has made no consideration to the mental health of those whose posts have been deleted

 

[timhoward]

@UNG I appreciate the thought but can equally see that would have been a moderators nightmare. All ok!

 

[pirate]

I can see that going off-topic might be a nuisance, but on the other hand, if it allows folks to express their concerns then it is valuable. OK, no place for such discussions as this thread has had if we are talking about the best JB to use in a wet environment or somesuch, but when people are openly expressing views which generate feedback it seems a bit restrictive to stifle them. I know a bit about mental health problems, and I know how valuable discussion is...maybe we wandered a bit, but no-one complained, right?
some folks got some views out there...that's my point. Frankly, I would have preferred it if the discussion continued and those who didn't like it could leave.
However...as the thread is still open, and we have to concentrate on the subject matter, let's agree to shift all our concerns about the other matters to another thread where anything goes.
My sister just arrived. She lost her son some years ago...he hanged himself in the garden. I saw, felt and still see and feel that anguish. 29 is no age to die from the demons in your head. back on track in this thread, and I hope we will have many more contributions.

 

[LewisM]

To the OP you should seek professional help even if talking doesn't help there is medication that can help, as for the cycle you talk about its your brain essentially fighting itself, you feel in danger so you have to check and the more you check the more your forcing yourself to find something that isn't there that's why you get more blurry and unsure as the adrenaline that your body is releasing is making you check and check again until you satisfy yourself and calm down. There's medication that works that stops your brain running away from itself.

Sounds like you're suffering from OCD/anxiety which are commonly linked best way it was described to me is anxiety is natural to ever one it essentially keeps you away from danger the problem is, is that it's like a jug the more it gets filled with different things, work, relationships, money etc the jug can overflow and that's when you feel out of control

 

[UNG]

To the OP you should seek professional help even if talking doesn't help there is medication that can help,

Speaking from experience and that of others more often than not the professionals only add to the problem and don't help the situation
I was once told by a professional that I was never intending to commit suicide because I never wrote a note, since that time I know of quite a number of people who have committed suicide and none of them left a note

 

[Mike Johnson]

That's true the family we bought our current house from the farther hung himself in the barn and did not leave a note, it seems he convinced himself he was riddled with Cancer and wanted to save his family the long process of him dying, it turns out from the Postmortem that he did not have Cancer.

 

[LewisM]

Speaking from experience and that of others more often than not the professionals only add to the problem and don't help the situation
I was once told by a professional that I was never intending to commit suicide because I never wrote a note, since that time I know of quite a number of people who have committed suicide and none of them left a note

But if there is nobody they feel comfortable talking with like family/friends then things like this will only eat away at you in silence

My brother tried to commit suicide last year however they reckon it was more a cry for help and for years he'd been struggling in silence with many things as he didn't want to look weak or inconvenience anyone since opening up and getting care he's 100 times better

 

[swaRRR]

My great grandfather started smoking at the age of 10. Cigars/pipes mostly. Lasted until he was 98, smoking all that time.

Took no nonsense that generation though. Born late 19th century. Expect 2 world wars will often do that to you. I sometimes wonder if he was as tough on the inside as on the outside. I’m sure his life was many times harder than mine?

My mum started smoking at 15 and died of lung cancer at 51.

 

[LukeD]

Speaking from experience and that of others more often than not the professionals only add to the problem and don't help the situation
I was once told by a professional that I was never intending to commit suicide because I never wrote a note, since that time I know of quite a number of people who have committed suicide and none of them left a note

Same as a friend who hung himself at the start of covid.never left a will.... This caused a huge issue with the money the Government took from his estate .I believe it was 450k. But the really kicker was ...I spoke to his father as I was worried about him. The father said he believed his son could never kill himself. 4 months after the event it turned out the son had tried it twice before and both times the father was involved in stopping him. What can you do when not only does your friend not talk , but his father lives in denial and shame etc .

 

[pc1966]

My mum started smoking at 15 and died of lung cancer at 51.

Sadly the more likely outcome

 

[pc1966]

But if there is nobody they feel comfortable talking with like family/friends then things like this will only eat away at you in silence

My brother tried to commit suicide last year however they reckon it was more a cry for help and for years he'd been struggling in silence with many things as he didn't want to look weak or inconvenience anyone since opening up and getting care he's 100 times better

I suspect in most cases it really is a cry for help as of the folks I known who have killed themselves, or tried and thankfully failed, none of their problems were that big to anyone outside of their own internal dialogue.

Assisted suicide for the terminally ill is a very different case, of course.