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zeldapsychology
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19 Apr 2015, 3:42 pm

I was just recently taken off disability at age 29 (had it for 8 years). Now I have to look for a job and am scared to death. My ONLY work experience is Mcdonald's for 3 months in 2006 (before the disability took affect.) I had anxiety/depression/stress and it was only a 3 day Part time job. Come home depressed tired go to bed (go to wrk the following day.) Since then from 2010-2014 I got an AA degree and BS in Criminal Justice but sadly no work experience still. I'm not sure I could handle a retail job (Walmart/target etc.) even part time considering my Mcdonald's fast food experience. My mom suggests an office filing stuff but I'm not sure how that would even work considering my past anxiety/stress/depression in my first job experience scared me away from even getting a job.

Any tips? I've looked into local CJ jobs and found nothing and my mom insists with ZERO work experience even with the college I wouldn't get hired. :-( My local Target Publix etc. aren't hiring. I'm feeling defeated. :-(

Not to mention possibly having to do full time to make ends meet income wise. :-(

Any help would be appreciated thanks WP.



ok
Deinonychus
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20 Apr 2015, 4:12 am

You need some extra education. Perhaps an associate's degree or some sort of office training. If you have a driver's license, you can drive a taxi or something bigger.

I understand that you are scared of working. But you have to try somehow. Good luck and keep writing about it.



ElsaFlowers
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22 Apr 2015, 3:34 am

It sounds like you are still suffering stress and anxiety so I don't really understand why you were signed off disability, if this was the reason for your disability. I understand why you feel scared to get a job. I feel the same way. I've had a couple of really bad experiences with work in the last few months so I'm now signed off with anxiety. I feel more relaxed than I have in years because there's no pressure for me to leave the house anymore but the thought of having to work again fills me with dread. People who haven't experienced this don't understand and are mostly unsympathetic so it's hard when you feel others are judging. I hope you manage to find a job that you're happy in or can get back on disability if that's what you need to do.



zeldapsychology
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22 Apr 2015, 6:34 am

I was put on disability due to a mood disorder Bipolar 2 and kept tell the psychiatrist everything is fine. Which my MOODS ARE! I'm NOT suicidal or majorly depressed in bed 24/7 or other mood issues. stressed but not euphoric happy or in bed depression want to kill myself either so mood "I am FINE" so Nov. 2012 they said I could work we fought it and went to a judge in Feb. 2015 and just got a NO response last week. :-(

Found some at home jobs most were scams. I'll keep looking IMO with ZERO experience or social skills (Asperger's) I don't believe I could do a call center customer service type job. :-(



AnonymousAnonymous
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23 Apr 2015, 1:30 pm

I want a job just as bad as anyone here who wants the same, but the problem is that my family keeps telling me what jobs they think is right for me to pursue.

As for you, good luck and hope for the best.


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Mahler7
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24 Apr 2015, 11:08 pm

I would avoid customer service focused jobs ... that includes retail and fast food. I would recommend looking for quiet jobs where there isn't a whole lot of communicating with people to be successful at it. Data entry, computer programming, office filing, or proofreading/editing (maybe?)

If you do get a job and there are parts of a job you don't like try to make up new jobs for yourself and use those to replace the jobs you hate doing. Did that at a small company I used to work for after I began to absolutely lose my mind making cold calls.



Hoggy
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25 Apr 2015, 8:12 pm

I was scared to have a job. I completely messed up, i took a IT apprenticeship, and the people i worked with were so cold and unwelcoming i quit after one day. I had a chance to work for tesco as a retail trainee who knows if i did well i could have been upper management by now like my friend is for the same company. Again i hated it and left almost straight away and instead choose to volunteer for the British Heart Foundation for 2 months before i badly broke my arm and couldn't drive or lift anything for 7 months with so many pins in my arm etc.

After having a 7 month gap in my CV with having a seriously badly broken arm i told the job centre i wanted work experience so i picked the place i work at now. worked my ass off and got rewarded with a 16 hour contact.

I now get paid minimum wage to be in charge or delivery and be a key holder which is shocking really but i overcame my fear and hopefully wont be there longer. ( ive been there 2 years now)

Any new staff we get now i try my hardest to get to know them which is so challenging, ive been there and felt completely unwelcome, blanked out and ignored. I decided i wouldn't let that happen to anybody else i worked with. I always try to get to know them now



unknownfactor
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26 Apr 2015, 9:39 pm

zeldapsychology wrote:
I was put on disability due to a mood disorder Bipolar 2 and kept tell the psychiatrist everything is fine. Which my MOODS ARE! I'm NOT suicidal or majorly depressed in bed 24/7 or other mood issues. stressed but not euphoric happy or in bed depression want to kill myself either so mood "I am FINE" so Nov. 2012 they said I could work we fought it and went to a judge in Feb. 2015 and just got a NO response last week. :-(


My interpretation....
When the SSA is in the picture, restrict what you say to a psychiatrist. Anything you confess to a psychiatrist is also a confession to disability examiners and judges.

Also, "I am fine" suggests an absence of mental disability in the eyes of some people. It's not like physical disability. Nobody assumes a person in a wheelchair who feels "fine" has gotten up and started walking around.

Or at least that's my interpretation of things.



League_Girl
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03 May 2015, 7:11 pm

Telling a doctor you are fine is a big mistake because they then take it literal and think everything is fine. If you don't tell them about how you have been feeling and what your struggles have been, they will assume everything is literally fine and then when Social security reviews to see if you are still disabled, your doctor can report to them that you are fine and they can take you off of it. That is also how people get denied disability too.


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Cartier
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05 May 2015, 6:51 pm

I landed myself in-patient a two or three times as an undergrad (perspective / coping skills weren't my strong suit at 19 and 20), my profs were remarkably understanding about it and, well, got a lot of calls from friends of my parents telling me they'd pulled similar stunts when they were my age. As did probably half my friends by graduation. To the point that I'm now convinced it's kind of a rite of passage.

I take meds daily (will always need to), my symptoms are well-controlled with meds, graduated, went to grad school and landed a job I really enjoy that requires a security clearance! Yup, they know aaaallll about the meds, hospitalization and mental illness.

(I'm sooo not a people person, so negotiated duties that don't involve minions. GIS modeling/mapping mostly).

The fact that you've had time out of the workforce while you pursued school and medical treatment hopefully won't stop you from finding work you somewhat enjoy.

Good luck!!



starkid
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05 May 2015, 7:14 pm

Yes, I am afraid of working. Leaving home gives me migraines and I expect to be bullied in the workplace.

You had plenty of experience reading, writing, and researching for your degree, right? Look for jobs that require English skills (can you tutor English? edit? type students' papers for them?). It's true that it may be difficult for you to get them with no work experience, but let that be your goal. While pursuing that, look for other, less skill-intensive jobs.

Have you tried craigslist? Your official city website (they often have CJ-related jobs)? Job listings in the local library or employment center?

Are you good with phones (telemarketing)? Good with computers (work-from-home personal assistant or data entry)? Are you able/willing to do simple freelance work such as babysitting, petsitting, errand-running, or dog-walking while looking for other jobs?

Are you in decent physical shape? Jobs in light physical labor may be good for you: working at a car wash, as a late night shelf stocker, or as warehouseperson.

I understand that you are worried about working retail. If you can get hired as a shelf stocker in a retail establishment, you could use your diagnosis to convince the employer not to move you to the cash register if that situation ever arises. I'm not saying it'll be easy or even work, but since retail is probably the easiest job for you to get, it's something you would perhaps consider.