Have you ever been fired from a job? [View all]

[Tobin S.]

I was in 2016. It came after I had filed for a bankruptcy the year before that still wasn't resolved. That combo really hurt me. It was a traumatic experience. The thing about getting fired was that it was unjust as well. It was a result of someone with more power than me playing politics. But I guess that's another story.

This has made me somewhat anxious about my employment situation. I no longer feel the security I once did even though I've got a good job now with a company that values me. I realized just now how that has been weighing on me.

I'm a trucker and I have to pass a D.O.T. physical every year to work. It's usually done once every two years, but I have a health issue (as you all know) so I have to do the physical every year. Ever since I was fired from that job and had to scramble to find a new one, I have had a lot of anxiety surrounding this annual physical.

I go in for the procedure and I'm so anxious that my heart rate gets jacked up to about 130 beats a minute and my blood pressure spikes and gives me a high reading. My normal resting pulse is in the 80s and my blood pressure is usually in the normal range. What I've been doing when this occurs is telling the nurse that I have white coat anxiety, and that if they'll just let me sit quietly by myself for about 10-15 minutes my readings will return to a normal healthy range.

That has worked for me. Just acknowledging the reality in the moment and asking for a little time has gotten me past the physicals without any added hassle. But I don't want to have to deal with this every year. I want to be able to go in there with confidence, feeling normal and unafraid.

It took me a long time, but I realized that this anxiety has its roots in me getting unjustly fired from that job at a very sensitive time for me financially. I guess I hadn't realized how traumatic that truly was for me.

I'm going to try hypnotherapy for this. The realization that I've just had will surely help, and I think along with a helping hand I just might recover my confidence on this issue.