Posted by karaS on September 26, 2004, at 16:49:51
In reply to Problems dealing with not working, posted by iris2 on September 25, 2004, at 22:27:43
I am going through the same thing with regard to work. I haven't worked full-time in nearly two years and now I'm completely out of money. It's such a struggle just to get up in the morning, not to mention finding meaning in life. (My mother is constantly hounding me to check the newspaper want-ads as if my not looking in the right place for a job were the only problem. That and my laziness according to her. She's been in denial about my depression for many years now no matter what I tell her so I don't expect that will change anytime soon. Fortunately we live on opposite sides of the country. I also have a couple of "friends" who feel the same way and treat me like I'm a lazy slouch. Unfortunately, they live near me.)
I have been doing some temporary office work but even that is very taxing. I have a master's degree but it has been so hard to concentrate sometimes that I know I've come off as a complete idiot. I can read it in their eyes and it's so painful - particularly as I was always such a good student.
One thing I've noticed a lot recently is that having fancy degrees isn't necessarily a predictor of who is successful or happy in their lives. The people I've noticed who believed in themselves and went after what they wanted were the ones who were the most "successful" in terms of making a living. My point is not to get down on yourself for not having advanced degrees. They are useless unless you can think straight and manage to hold down a full-time job. They certainly don't guarantee that you will feel good about yourself. I think that the thing we all need to focus on is getting our depression, anxiety and concentration under control. The self-esteem will follow and it will be easier to create work opportunities for ourselves. I know - it's easier said than done!
-K
poster:karaS
thread:395098
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040923/msgs/395386.html