Originally Posted by
givemewings
It really is like a bad relationship, you convince yourself you can get through it, having no idea how bad it really was until you are out. Personally I didn't realise how bad it was ( I knew it was bad, but ot THAT bad) until I was home, went to a therapist to work through some issues that EK/Dubai brought up and he told me he saw signs similar to PTSD. I can now say they also eroded my confidence somewhat, the whole management/hierarchy environment, reporting culture, snitching, petty flight reviews etc made me start to doubt my abilities and second guess decisions that formerly I would have had no problem making. I worked in a leadership position before and both in teams and alone in the aviation environment. And I am lucky, I was a strong person to start with so they didn't get me all the way down. Now Imagine someone with a more sensitive/less assertive personality. Luckily I am in a place where real assistance is available and I already see/feel improvement. No 'got my license from a weeties box' docs here. Nor pushing mental health issues under the rug and telling you to 'manage your sleep'
no wonder they are leaving in droves and there is definitely a mental health crisis within the CC community at least, if not the pilots. I have heard of families affected as well.
NOTHING is 'worth it', no amount of money they can throw at me would ever make me come back.
Sorry for the side rant, but yes the comment re: abusive relationship is spot on.
Exact same story here. Really did not realise how emotionally abused you are until you leave. The first two months went by and I was confused and lost. Then I started to get my act together and now its been 5 months and I am starting to feel like the old me. I can make decisions again. I can think straight and when I look back at all the things I assumed 'would get better or is not really that bad' I can't believe I did that to myself for so long.