Are you self-supporting, on disability, or what?

Post Reply New Topic

Oh, it's so refreshing to read that someone has found a way to support themselves (and their cats).

Kudos to you, CyborgUprising.

I'm supported financially *i hope i spelled that right* by the goverment since they tested me and the results were that i won't be able to work, not just because of my mental state but also because of my physical issues, and the fact that i cannot tolerate being touched or touching others, which makes it quite impossible to work in most situations, and my current therapist and the mental health care institute that i'm being transfered to and my cesar therapist and my mom support me, and i get support from my friends even those far away :o And i have tried to work several times, i even got permission to try it, but it never worked out, i've also gone to 5 schools so far and one bakery school, but due to the combination of all my issues right now, nothing worked out, but i would love to work for a nature related organisation one day or as a translator or specialize in history and i study at home and i do a lot of things even though i can't support myself financially, sorry for the long winded explanation :) I hope that with enough help i'll be able to have atleast some kind of small job one day, even if its just for being social in person :o

Well with all due respect you are no expert on my life......so you cannot say whether or not there are jobs out there I could do that would be a good match. Maybe there are maybe there aren't, and even if there are there is no guarantee of being hired.

And job or not I have not choice but to more or less move on with my life...whether I end up homeless or whatever life doesn't just stop and I'd still have to continue on with it unless I decide its not worth it and end it.

(adhd / asp) I have had over 100 jobs some paid some voluntary.. they always end one way or another.. At the moment I am receiving "Unemployment Benefit" while I search for full time work.. again.

<--- Between jobs at the moment. Will probably go back to toiling in a month or two when this extended vacation is over.

There is very little that involves customer interaction. I was once told I could work - by people who know nothing about my disabilities. They based on the fact that someone with one of the diagnoses has, works. He doesn't have most of the normal symptoms many people have.

Let's get one thing clear; the world is not a Horatio Alger novel. It is far more complicated. In this economy, it is hard enough for NT's to find work, let alone anyone with "eccentricities". Is there work to be had if you fall on the spectrum? Of course. This is no guarantee. But please, I know that perhaps you are trying to be encouraging in your own way, but be real; people fall through the cracks. The world is not a 19th century juvenile novel where, through hard work and dedication, one will always succeed. There are other forces at work as well as a fair degree of "luck".

Back to lurking...

I said other because I'm on Youth Allowance, get financial aid from my university and work casually in a supermarket while studying full time (currently the minimum 3 subjects a semester, jumping up to 4 this coming semester).
Retail is becoming rather exhausting so I'm looking for other jobs, preferably at uni, another uni in the nearby CBD or something non-customer service based in the city. I just can't wait until I can start postgrad study and spend most of my time doing research. Also once I start postgrad I can get research allowances/scholarships and I can also get paid to tutor and demonstrate.
This is not to say I'm managing everything perfectly. At the moment I'm finding cleaning my room to be a struggle (not enough storage areas and I can't figure out which ones to get). My studies aren't going to well either, due to procrastination, problems with executive function and adapting to a share house situation.
I also now have to be stricter with my money because I got a massive phone bill last month for overusing the internet component and I have to pay back a loan I took out to cover it, as well as the loan I took out for my rental bond. At the same time, income limits are going up for Youth Allowance so my job will expect me to be able to work more hours (which I will to pay off my debt) and I have to balance that with studies.
That all being said, I am on the high functioning end of the scale with a previous depression being my only other condition so I hold myself to similar standards as NTs. I fully understand if people on lower functioning areas of the spectrum and/or with other conditions need to be on disability payments for at least part of their working career. Besides, if you can't work you can always contribute to society in another way, such as volunteering and joining community groups.

I'd go one further and say that you're more likely to contribute something useful on a voluntary basis than you are in a paid job. I can think of a lot of paid jobs that probably do society more harm than good. Telemarketers get paid. I would never have said this when I was younger, but I think having a degree of duty and social responsibility in one's life is a more fulfilling existence than complete hedonistic freedom, even if that freedom is sustainable, as it might be on benefits or in retirement. Though I'll have to wait till I've retired to really know how I take to hedonistic freedom, having experienced little of it so far in my life.

I couldn't really put myself in any of the categories, so I voted "other".

My wife and I are successfully self-employed as avocado ranch owners, and also are landlords. It's a true team effort. She is a financial wizard, and I am a good planner and problem solver. I'm not good at finances, and she does better with me doing some planning and doing most of the technical work, which I'm best at. She could run the whole thing without me, but would need to hire out a lot of the things I do, and this would kill the profit margin. I could do the finances for awhile, but I don't have that special talent for seeing a money crunch ahead, and being able to avert it like she can.

Long story short, as a couple, we're independent financially, but alone, I'd either have to go get a regular job, or be poor.

Charles

I chose Other and here is my specify: I work full-time and live with my spouse who also works full-time. We don't make a lot, we're both line cooks, but we do alright and go out a couple of times a week or so.

I have long battled with myself over applying for disability since there are periods that I can and want to work which are longer and more frequent than the times I can't and/or don't want to work.

I only say don't want to work because that is when there is so much stress either at the current job or my life that my sensory issues are completely unmanageable and I'm bothered by everything. Thought this was manic depression or something for a while because of the pattern; every mood change was related to stress level though, more stress = more irritable and hyper, less stress = lethargy nearing depression. Odd. Anywho.

I wonder how others made the decision to apply and also how they stayed on disability after being approved. (In the U.S.)

The bolded part is true for me too. I've never been truly self-sufficient even though I've managed to stay off of all benefits my entire life. (I'm 35 now). Every year I try to work, yes, TRY, and I manage, for a few months, maybe up to a year, then.....

1. People think I'm weird and stop being nice about it because I'm no longer "new".
2. Even though I'm good at the job there are nuances and changes to it that I will never keep up with at the pace with which my co-workers do.
3. I'm the very last to know any gossip so by the time I know what's up, it's way too late and I make a big fool of myself if I do try to get into the loop.
4. The manager(s) get tired of my back talk because I NEED to know WHY I'm doing something or I shutdown.
5. No amount of prescription or nonprescription medication has every affected me well enough for long enough to work with my sensory issues always a problem.
6. No amount of family support, my parents money, or society's guilt-trips will ever permanently get me to stay employed the rest of my life because of a lot of issues.
7. At some point in every job I feel too much of everyone's dislike for me and my C-PTSD flares up and I get suicidal ideations, depression, anxiety to the point of throwing up if I don't have a med. I can't even make myself go in.


Right now as I mentioned in another post, I'm working full-time. I'm trying, and I'll be damned, but I keep TRYING, over and over again, even with the above at every job I've ever had (more than 50).

Does this make me strong? No, I constantly question whether it's just my pride keeping me off of full benefits. I have paid into SSI and SSDI enough to qualify on that alone, but who knows, I don't want to "give up" but can't get past that rigid thinking, disability isn't "giving up". So it's my pride then.

This is what it comes down to, though, doesn't it? Pride? and it's opposite, humility.

Apology accepted. A bit of an update: He actually just got turned in by an angry neighbor regarding the whole deal (a friend called and told me about it). All I could say was "why did it take this long?

Well, that was glib, and didn't address anything I said. I'll remember not to waste any good will on you in the future.

Remember, if nothing changes with that guy or his story the more logical conclusion is not "SSA doesn't care about cheaters," but rather "that guy was never on disability in the first place."

<--- Temporary disability while studying. Hope to be self-sufficient when I have my degree.

OK... I'm not trying to be an a-hole, but I guess you really seem to enjoy accusing me of being one. That's fine, though. All I said was that I accepted the apology, but evidently that's not good enough. What am I supposed to do, grovel at your feet? I won't do that by the way, since I wasn't the one calling another poster a liar by saying they are lying about the "story." By saying the story is false means by extension, you are calling the teller of the story a liar. Don't you know people who steal money/deal drugs don't leave a trail? Why would they have a bank account if they are bragging about taking advantage of the system? Think about it. Even most terrorists are smart about this now, knowing the government watches transactions. Like I said in the second post, he never pays the bills long enough to keep his vehicles around for long. I bought a boat off of a neighbor and sure didn't have to have a bank account (I was 18 then). If you are going to constantly attack my character, I won't be nice next time (which doesn't get oneself far these days, especially with you) and accept an (obviously false) apology, nor will I apologize for doing nothing wrong (remember who said I was telling a tall tale).