depressed/upset about getting a job..

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Lately my therapist is trying to help me get a job and im becoming very depressed and upset about it. Like a part of me wants to have a job then the other part is the change and growing up..I just have a hard time with the fact that I'm not a child anymore and can't have my life as child and i have to work and get a job. Its not that im lazy and want to lay around all day but I don't want things to change and want to remain like i was when I was a kid..I'm scared I will have a melt down about it. I don't know what to do. Has anyone else felt this way?

yes but I do not really know of a solution.

I'm almost 42 and I would jump at the chance to be a kid again. Sadly, that's never in the cards for me, or anyone else for that matter.

As an Aspie you'll likely go through a series of jobs until you find a good fit. (I've averaged 1 a year since I joined the workforce). A few years here, 3 firings one year, a few years there, a few disappointments and resignations another year. I don't expect anything better going forward, and I'm way too young to draw a pension yet.

Working is not as bad as you think- hope for the best!

I felt the same when I got my first jobs. Luckily, one of my jobs requires that I act like a child quite a lot of the time. How about getting a casually paid/part time job first? The thought of getting a 9-5 freaks me out, but I've got lots of little jobs which I don't have to commit to.

Welcome to being an adult. I wish I had it like a kid in some ways but my childhood sucked so then I remember the freedoms I have as an adult.

You sound young. The only advice I can give is this:

You've got decades ahead of you. You can either drift, in which case it will often be hell (as I did, and it was for me); or you can take charge. Plan a path.

Be life's b!tch, or be it's master. Failure to plan, is a plan.

I have to second the idea of part-time for a start. Give yourself time to ease into the new part of life. It can be rewarding and even fun. Just be patient with yourself.

To the OP, I can relate to your situation as well, but unfortunately this world is driven by money and survival, so it's really important that your able to find something you like.

Maybe start of with something that is really tedious and easy such as data entry, then see how you go

I would say take it one step at a time. What jobs do you see that you might enjoy and why? This is gonna sound corny, but this can actually be kind of fun. over the years I've worked in healthfood stores, book stores, libraries, computer labs, convenience stores, vacation resorts, hospitals and offices. I've always enjoyed working part time, and if I wasn't happy, I just quit that job for another one. Part time work allows me to learn new skills and be productive before I get burned out from too many hours of focused energy. so I would def say part time to start to get an idea of where your abilities are. A few hrs a day and a couple of days a week. I hav about a 6 hour a day and 3 days a week limit before my joy turns to stress. Just one step at a time. First what type of part time work? And then who is hiring? And then start applying. ; )

I'm with DoniiMann and MrObvious.

I don't miss childhood. I didn't have control over the things I wanted control of most (ie my home environment and my health), so, setting a goal of having a career was the only choice for me to get out and completely ensure I'd be able to build the life that was right for me.
Once you have that 'I must do this' in your head, single-minded determination gets you there.

My husband is an extrovert, so he doesn't get why I am in such a hurry to get home each day. I love my job and my coworkers, they're just exhausting. No one understands why I walk to our remote parking garage instead of taking the shuttle bus, but, it's my time to decompress and zone out by myself. The neighbors rib us, saying they never know when we're home because most of the time the lights are out in our house (hubby turns them off to save energy, I turn them off because I don't like the brightness).
Our oldest doesn't seem to care for bright lights either, even when reading or doing homework. ~shrugs~

I couldn't have that haven at home and the freedom it gives me, if I hadn't entered the workforce.

Try being in your late 30s and being unemployable despite having 2 technical degrees. I own a business but still get ostracized both directly and indirectly because I am not working in my field and worse because I have a terrible previous employment history. Interesting that many here are able to hop in an out of jobs at a whim but I constantly get cross examined and ultimately rejected.

Yes people are very very unforgiving if you don't have that linear corporate cookie cutter work history by the time you are in your 30s.

Failure to plan is planning to fail. But yeah, what DoniiMann said.

I'm soon to be 33 and can think of one year out of those where I felt that confidence and happiness were within reach then I totally blew it again, but "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same" then you can throw yourself into the next idea without worrying too much about it and life passes much more quickly and happily that way.

Another quote just in case you don't follow the link and read the poem.

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!"

B.

Childhood was when your parents worked hard so that you could do the things you wanted to do.

Adulthood is when you work hard so that you can do the things you want to do.

It doesn't mean giving up on your childish dreams or desires or joys, it just means helping others part of the time so that everyone's life, including yours, is easier and has more time for joy.

A good job isn't a joyless existence; it's a satisfying opportunity to spread joy around to others.

It's like the country has been so beaten down by advertising and consumerist mentality that we've forgotten that a job is fundamentally about creating value. It's good.

Find one you like and be happy! I know you can do it.

man I can't tell you how relieved I am to see that it isn't just me...

I have had full blown panic attacks over securing a job... even when I finally got one, I had panic attacks every time something would change for the first couple of months. It is exciting on the one hand to finally have a job, to finally not be completely dependent... but at the same time, it's a massive change. And I don't know about any of you, but I do NOT deal with change very well... even little changes cause big issues for me.

The good news is that eventually, you kinda get into the swing of things again and it all smooths out. Unfortunately, getting to that point can cause an enormous amount of stress and heartache... and in my case, a lot of klonopin for panic attacks.

(edit: ima butterfly )

I have most definetly felt this way, it can get very frusterating, especially since I'm 26 now and still barely functioning well in the adult world. Also, is the fact alot of jobs, which are easy for "normies", can be very hard for Aspies or people with an autisim spectrum disorder. I am a big advocate for making sure to take the time to find the right fit for you in a job, rather than just taking anything that comes along. If you focus on finding a proper fit, you will function better and be happier in the long run.