Clinically Depressed

I was at Amazon for 3 years. I tolerated the first 1.5 years, but the second rotation was brutal. I was responsible for a high profile but declining retail category, which put me in the hot seat every d*mn day (I literally left sweat droplets in my seat after WBRs). Even though it was so obvious that there were macroeconomic conditions causing the category's decline, I was made to feel 100% responsible for its turnaround, but with no support or guidance whatsoever.

By my second year at Amazon I developed a deep depression. My appetite disappeared. I had blurry vision at work, night sweats on Sundays before going back to work. I would lay catatonic in front of the television for the entire weekend as an escape tactic, and I wouldn't return my family's phone calls (because I didn't want to admit to them that I was failing). I was a barely functioning human, and while it was painful at the time, getting nudged out of the company was the best thing that could have happened to me.

It's SO MUCH BETTER OUT HERE. I'm thriving again as a professional in Seattle. There are so many opportunities. Yes, Amazon is helpful to have on my resume today, but three years was more than my mind and body could handle. You don't have to suffer.