Is getting disability the only suitable career for mental illness sufferers?

[iWantRope 979]

Jobs are all stressful by nature. If you read the description of every job advert that have ever existed, there's always the line 'must be able to multitask under pressure'. That's why employees are paid a salary.

So are there any jobs suitable for those among us suffering from depression or panic/anxiety disorders?

[APFSDS 1,760]

It depends on the humanity of the employer and the resources available to them. I think.
I've worked for several years with my depression at a supermarket. I told about my disability to the boss and they tolerated me occasionally not appearing at work or having to stop and go have a break/go home.

The pay was low, but the people were luckily good natured and supportive.

The awful truth is that it's pretty rare to get a good job with the difficulties we face.

[JD4010 18,620]

Honestly, I'd love to have a mindless job where the biggest worry is finding a parking space in the employee parking lot.

[Marie241 1,112]

I so hope so. I have just started a thread about this. When I was here before there were posters who were working. It was always hard though. 

[Ratvan 1,510]

I've been in roads and sewers construction for about 13 years now. Struggled with mental health for all of that time. Depression and real bad social anxiety a couple of years ago. Thankfully I was judged on my work and results not attendance and appearance. I guess I'm very lucky

[sober4life 31,137]

Disability isn't anything like people think it is.  When you're on it you get caught in a spiderweb you're lucky if you can ever escape.  You realize at some point all the people you're told are there to help you are just taking advantage of you and getting rich off of your situation while you're lucky if you even have enough money to eat some months.  The people don't help you.  They keep you sick and stuck in the rut you're in so you become endless money to them.  The chances of having a good normal life are zero.

[iWantRope 979]

@sober4life so being on disability is beyond doubt more stressful than a depression sufferer in employment? Especially when the working hours are 17.5 HOURS/DAY, for 6 DAYS EVERY WEEK, for the past 3-and-a-half MONTHS.

[Ratvan 1,510]

17 minutes ago, iWantRope said:

@sober4life so being on disability is beyond doubt more stressful than a depression sufferer in employment? Especially when the working hours are 17.5 HOURS/DAY, for 6 DAYS EVERY WEEK, for the past 3-and-a-half MONTHS.

How is that not illegal?

[9E4 35]

2 hours ago, iWantRope said:

@sober4life so being on disability is beyond doubt more stressful than a depression sufferer in employment? Especially when the working hours are 17.5 HOURS/DAY, for 6 DAYS EVERY WEEK, for the past 3-and-a-half MONTHS.

Expecting one person to work that much is unreasonable, whether or not they suffer from depression. You don't get nearly enough time to sleep, let alone accomplish the mundane tasks of daily living. It is also counterproductive because anyone would become exhausted and not work efficiently rather quickly. I can't help but wonder what job(s) are requiring you to work that much. It does not mean you are disabled if you cannot handle working that much; it simply means you are a human rather than a machine.

[OtherKin 59]

For me, disability has been pretty vital for being less of a burden on my support group so money isn't an issue either itself or as a point of stress. It's giving me the time to adjust to the years of system shock of having contracted mental illness in the first place, so hopefully I can get back on my feet .

[JessiesMom 1,174]

5 hours ago, iWantRope said:

@sober4life so being on disability is beyond doubt more stressful than a depression sufferer in employment? Especially when the working hours are 17.5 HOURS/DAY, for 6 DAYS EVERY WEEK, for the past 3-and-a-half MONTHS.

Wow, anyone would break after that. Essentially you have no down time - no time to recover. 

[watalife 6,281]

For me it would be great because  Ive had over 30 jobs, (walk in walk out same day ) I don't get along or like hardly anyone

Edited March 14, 2019 by watalife

[Epictetus 19,076]

I'm retired now, but working in a library was the least stressful job I ever had, although there were a few periods of that career that were nightmares because of hard supervisors and co-workers. 

[OtherKin 59]

Hello again, @Epictetus :D!

I used to drive, but now I can't yet because I'm adapting to sensory and attention issues. In the meantime, though, with the internet now an at-home job would be a god-send, like teleconference jobs in the humanties or teaching or psychiatric professions, being a kind of consultant, or computer science (jobs with minimal human contact don't interest me any more though) ! Who knows what will be in store for me if I make connections, perhaps I (anyone for that matter ) would even be offered a new place to live with accommodations if I find the right employer (or I get found instead ). Mutual communication and friendship makes it even better I'm sure !

Edited March 14, 2019 by OtherKin

[iWantRope 979]

21 hours ago, Epictetus said:

I'm retired now, but working in a library was the least stressful job I ever had, although there were a few periods of that career that were nightmares because of hard supervisors and co-workers. 

Was it least stressful because it's non-customer facing? Can't fathom any job described as least stressful unless it has no KPIs whatsoever

[Tears_Always 1,353]

There are online jobs that you can do with little to no interaction to other people. Check if you wanted to work at you could support yourself by doing surveys. 

If you have an education you can look for teaching and training jobs.

I currently work in the computer industry within health care. It all depends on the employer what their policies are and if you can make them see you as an asset.

[Summer896 80]

It depends. I worked outside the home full time in very stressful careers for 20 years and granted it was hell, but I managed it. But could the next person? I don't know. I don't think I could handle it today, whereas the next depressed person might actually be better at all this by my age and capable. I really don't know.

One thing that depresses me to the lowest point (you all know what I mean) is not bringing in any money/not having a career at all. I'm at home now but I work part-time as a freelance writer. It wouldn't sustain me, though. If I weren't married I'd need to be on disability. I'd never survive on what I'm making now, yet I AM able to do at least this much. So I think it's different for different people, at various times of their lives.

[ladysmurf 5,904]

I don't think that applies to everyone because everyone's situation is different. i know people who have had disabilities all their life and never worked, and i know others who suffer from mental illness and work full-time or part-time.

I would say evaluate your current situation. Depending on your illness, symptoms, and what triggers you have, and what makes you stressed and feel worse, your treatment plan...to choose the job you want to do in the future. Just because we have an illness does not have to mean our life is over. I know plenty of people at my support group some work full-time and others work part-time because that's all they can handle..(some are on disability and others aren't).  One lady in my group is a mother of young children ,used to work full-time, but because of her severe anxiety & depression, (had to go on disability) quit her office job about 10 years ago, and now just works part-time at a job that isn't that stressful. she told me she's much happier than she was before.

Another lady told me she tried to work even part-time, but it was very stressful for her , and she didn't feel ready so she quit. But she is trying to work it out in therapy so that someday she can return to work since she feels guilty that her husband is the only one working and she is on disability. she volunteers for the time being to get out of the house, and will try to go to work again once she figures things out in therapy.

The best place to start with that i think would be to talk to your therapist and doctor (the people that know you , your strengths, weaknesses, your personal situation, what they think you can handle) so they can give you ideas on what path you can follow. i believe since they know your personal history, they can give you a better idea of what they think you can handle, and how to go about it when they feel you are ready, and all that.

Even if you are on disability, because of mental illness, and can work part-time or can't... you should still be proud of yourself because it's an every day battle all of us deal with.

[sober4life 31,137]

I wish I never went on disability.  The day I did I took the rest my life and all of my hopes and dreams and slam dunked them into the trash.

[ladysmurf 5,904]

5 minutes ago, sober4life said:

I wish I never went on disability.  The day I did I took the rest my life and all of my hopes and dreams and slam dunked them into the trash.

why do you think that? i had a friend who was on it for a few years and then came off it..she had bipolar and anxiety......now for the past 10 years, she works full-time, married, went to school, and getting ready to have a child..

yeah unfortunately for some of us our lives will not get better from this illness, and we might have to be on it forever, work part-time or not at all, but anything can happen, no one knows what the future will bring..

[sober4life 31,137]

I'm going to be coming off of it sometime in the next couple of months and I'm never going back to it.  They want you to believe it's a safety net but it's really a spider web you can't escape.  That's about it.  The doctors kept me sick so I couldn't get away from it.  It took many years to realize I was being completely taken advantage of.  There's zero chance I can have the life you describe while on disability because people are going to want to know where you get your money and when they hear my answer they head for the hills.

[anon22ae 864]

11 minutes ago, sober4life said:

I'm going to be coming off of it sometime in the next couple of months and I'm never going back to it.  They want you to believe it's a safety net but it's really a spider web you can't escape. 

But why is that? Maybe I'm naive, but I would hope that a program like this would be there when I've run out of options. Or at least that's the intent.

Also, don't you need to "prove" to the government that you need disability? Given the red tape and headaches, it almost seems you must be at full capacity and not disabled in order to get disability.

[sober4life 31,137]

I've said it before I don't know how people are treated with depression.  People say they are helped so I take their word for it.  I do know how people are treated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.  The day I was labeled with those issues was the last day of my life in this world.  I was just doped to the point where I slept most of the time and locked away for years of my life.  I never wanted any of it.  I'm afraid to step foot in a hospital today because of it.  I have a chance to get away coming up and I can't run fast enough or far enough away because I will not be abused ever again!  Other people got me on disability when I was put away.  I had nothing to do with it.  If I knew how things would be I would have never let them do it.  

[ladysmurf 5,904]

16 hours ago, anon22ae said:

But why is that? Maybe I'm naive, but I would hope that a program like this would be there when I've run out of options. Or at least that's the intent.

Also, don't you need to "prove" to the government that you need disability? Given the red tape and headaches, it almost seems you must be at full capacity and not disabled in order to get disability.

it depends on the illness. unfortunately, some people have it way worse than we do, (depending on your abilities and functionality) and have no choice but to survive on disability for their rest of their life. i don't think it's there to abuse us, some people stay on it for a while, and others forever. (depending on your severity).  i have seen people come off it and go back to their normal life when they were able to get control of their mental illness but not everyone has that experience. some people will probably be on it forever (especially if your depression or illness is chronic and not treatable). so i am glad it exists, and it helps those who want to find a job a part-time job because being home all the time gets pretty  boring after a while.

[ladysmurf 5,904]

15 hours ago, sober4life said:

I've said it before I don't know how people are treated with depression.  People say they are helped so I take their word for it.  I do know how people are treated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.  The day I was labeled with those issues was the last day of my life in this world.  I was just doped to the point where I slept most of the time and locked away for years of my life.  I never wanted any of it.  I'm afraid to step foot in a hospital today because of it.  I have a chance to get away coming up and I can't run fast enough or far enough away because I will not be abused ever again!  Other people got me on disability when I was put away.  I had nothing to do with it.  If I knew how things would be I would have never let them do it.  

im sorry you had a bad experience with it. for many of us who suffer from chronic depression and anxiety and can't work, it has been a life-saver.  i had a friend who was on it for a while who suffers from bipolar, but like i said she got off it years ago and returned to a normal life. everyone's experience is different. i hope you figure out what the best option for you is.