Navigating POTS diagnosis professionally
Hi all, starting career and navigating POTS diagnosis. (Can’t stand for 5+ minutes without getting dizzy, heat flash, brain fog, 10+ minutes nausea, vision loss). Is is appropriate when faced with situations like people asking why I am sitting or not participating in physical activities (sports/exercise networking events) to share that I have a medical condition? Also should mentioning POTS be avoided at all costs during interviewing? It’s confusing to navigate because it’s an “invisible disability” so I often internally feel like I’m about to pass out but others do not notice. Sometimes people think I’m rude for sitting because it’s often culturally expected, or they will think I am lazy and do not like exercising and it makes me want to share why I can’t participate fully. I often get cornered for a conversation by coworkers or managers in the hall and feel like I’m dying because they start talking too long and I end conversations prematurely rather than asking if we can sit because it makes others feel awkward. Thanks for any insight.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, navigating a POTS diagnosis in a professional setting requires a strategic approach to balance your health needs with workplace perceptions. Here are some insights:
Disclosing Your Condition:
Handling Awkward Situations:
Networking Events and Physical Activities:
Cultural Expectations:
Long-Term Strategy:
Ultimately, the key is to maintain professionalism while advocating for your health. Selective disclosure, clear communication, and focusing on your strengths can help you navigate these challenges effectively.
Sources: Quitting due to health reasons, Mental disability & IB, The Best IBD SA OCR, Interviews and FT Offer Conversion Posts on WSO, Disclosing disability
I can’t speak to your experience but I did want to say that I’m sorry you’re going through this.
It was definitely a very unknown illness prior to covid but now it seems as though it’s becoming more visible now with people having contracted this (due to long covid?).
I wish you the best of luck here and I think that people should be understanding of it if they’re worth your time in the first place.
Thank you for the kind words!
I have a close family member with POTS and while it's an understudied disease my experience in helping them for nearly 15y has been that assuming you're not on the extreme tail of the disease, symptom management through good health is the best way to survive
if you're not at a healthy body weight, get at it STAT. consume enough calories to not send your body into shock but low enough to stay in a caloric deficit
walking is your new best friend, low intensity exercise is excellent at burning fat so any chance you get to walk, take it. if you're worried about being exhausted and stranded out in the wild, get a walking pad for a couple hundred bucks and get some steps in while watching TV or at work if they'll allow it
in addition, do chair yoga, seated lifting (curls, presses, shrugs), and maybe a seated bike or rower. as for intensity, frequency, etc., ask a LLM given whatever your baseline is, I was shocked at how good they were at modulating training for people with POTS, because it's wayyyyy slower than any broscientist will tell you, but to avoid a setback, it must be properly created
in the experience of this family member, she said to me that when she was in shape it feels almost as if she doesn't have POTS, I'd say it was about 80% body composition and 20% exercise. for exercise, nothing more than some seated dumbbell work and the rowing machine maybe 2-4x a week at a low intensity
as for the work environment, if you have a trusted confidant ask their opinion exactly as you have here - you're dedicated and want to show that in the best way possible, what're some tips that they have? don't approach it asking for sympathy because while some may give it, I believe it's the wrong attitude at work
best of luck
Thank you very much for sharing, it’s very helpful to hear of a successful case in managing the symptoms. It has been difficult to exercise because it triggers a flare of symptoms, but after hearing this story I feel more motivated to try and push through to get in shape
if you're like my relative, you need to completely reframe what you mean by exercise. what previously could've been 30 minutes in the gym lifting weights maybe now is 20 minutes on the rower/seated bike at a slow pace
I would suggest getting a chest HR monitor and ensuring you never go over 75% of your max HR
and seriously, use the LLM to help you modulate. it's more important to do a few micro workouts a day at super low intensity, but doing so every single day, rather than one workout that knocks you on your ass for a few days, because again if you're like my relative, your brain remembers what exercise was like, so you push yourself and then wind up in bed for 2-3 days
Based on the symptoms you are describing you really should think very seriously about whether or not you want to pursue this career. Banking destroys the health of otherwise healthy people.
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