I will have 9 years (in a few months ) of straight of extremely infrequent, extremely small bits of wrong thinking patterns but most of the time symptom free.
I was wondering - my voices have even stopped in the last year - as opposed to 22 yrs of hearing them every day… what can’t i do?
If I had to I could probably manage a full time shelf stacking job… so what am i on disability for? I’m creating theatre, but all that is well and good but it’s outside the workforce, and I feel
pretty blessed actually.
So on what basis am i claiming disability living allowance and support allowance? That I used to be messed up? I wonder if stress would cause me to have a breakdown if i found a menial job
Guess no one can really answer, it’s vocational and healing and helpful to others to keep creating theatre ( pro actors getting paid, if i get funding ever) (the public gets entertained)
Art is created by the rich and lucky - with support - financial and emotional
it is a blessing, i think thats great what you are doing despite this illness,
i have been told i will always have this illness and i will always have to take medication so i should always be entitled to my benefit money, unless i want to try something on my own and then my benefits might change,
i would like to work though just couldn’t at this point in time, i keep saying maybe in the future after college and uni maybe
btw how are you managing to do stuff and not calling it work? will you be making money from it or is it voluntary type work?
You probably will work in the future - my psychiatrist told me that too - 4 years ago i couldn’t see it ever happening
If you can handle college you can handle work one day
Are you at Uni now?
So far I’ve been unpaid. I have had 10 minute plays produced but it’s more of a beginners-do-it-for-free thing.
3 different things…
I have been commissioned to write a 10 minute play for the county’s leading mental health Theatre - that will be paid, although i don’t know how much yet, could be £30.00 could be £100.00 NO idea - i have had to go self employed with it just because of that and average out my late nights or morning writing into an hour a day - which is about all i ever get done in the end it’s irregular.
This self - employed is with support so i can do this indefinitely on my current DLA and ESA - supported because I have a mentor from that theatre (paid to help me write plays how mental is that?)
If I get paid by them again, i’m sure it will work out to no more than an hour a day - they have already helped to produce a staged reading and have mentioned future co productions in the long term - which could be a bigger payment and I’d have to reevaluate my benefits.
The theatre company I am starting, with help, is going to be completely separate. I have been told by this mental health theatre’s Director, that working with a grant for a company (hopefully £5000.00 - £10000.00, is not actually my money - it is like in a trust for payment of self employed people (the actors and director and lighting peeps ) who would have to declare it for tax purposes. As the writer, i guess i could pay myself out of that money? that is a bit of a dilemma. I really need advice on that one - but its so far been eating money from all sides, and I would expect a grant to be enough to cover expenses and payment and props and costume and theatre hire, hire of a Stage Manager and box office etc. but not enough to pay me… it’s huge all this,and I have no idea if it will all fall apart with the onset of more psychosis.
For some reason - that is not called work, or voluntary work according to this mental health theatre company. I don’t know why but they said not to tell the job centre… a hobby? He knows what he’s talking about though he has helped to set up 12 such organisations in the last 20 years.
Also i am hopefully going to be doing some more extra’s work, which is permitted work at the moment for a year… 8 - 9 hours once in a while, £50 - £55.00 a day and so far I’ve done one day in 5 months… but it’s been winter… maybe she didn’t want anybody as fat as me anyway - but I’m in touch with them again now that it is the season - maybe she will call me, and maybe i’ll ask her again if i lose my weight.
This would be ‘permitted work’ because you can work 16 hours for a year or earn less than £110.00 a week for 1 whole year, without question on the benefits i’m on (so long as you tell them) - but it’s only for a year - after that if you want to continue, they take your earnings out of your benefits.
sounds very complicated though but you seem to be handling it well
i really hope that things work out for you and maybe you could show your production on here if you want
i have been going to CAB for a while now and talking about permitted work but they all keep advising against it so i take their word for it just now, i don’t think i could work right now anyway and they say it goes against you at the assessment (whenever that is)
i think its a good thing you think you can. i tell myself to not be afraid of illness and let it ‘control’ me. fear gets you nowhere so just get on with it. for me, relapse will always be a possibility and i wont know unless i try, there may be doubt in the decision to, but currently its worked out ok for me
Risk it or lose it. Having a job gives your life a purpose and enforces you keep up to date with life and what goes around. A low stress job will not cause a break down if you knew how to manage it well and give structure to your time as long as you are meds complient. So yes give it a try I say. I am working full time job in high stress environment for two months now and so far it has been good.
Hi, yes best to go with what they say.
I have a assessment for PIP coming up one day / at some point so I hope it won’t count against me everything I’ve said to them about work I was awarded DLA for life though
If you feel you can deal with unwarranted stress then work…If your stable I’d suspect it’s meds and a good routine!
Seriously. Working normal hours is way stressful for me! I can do the work but I’m medicated…I work way more slowly than my manic, non medicated self and that is the problem!..that leads to stress…that leads to medicine increases…that leads to breakdowns…you get my drift…
Truly. Your doing well then do what you have to . Disability isn’t the best life…dont’ get me wrong…but it may be easier than added stress!
As always…talk to your treatment team…a good psydoc will know how you’ve been and help you make decisions there…my shrink is happy I volunteer and maintain an entertaining yet humorous outlook!
You can try to work. No one is stopping you but you. Yeah, stocking shelves isn’t that bad. And you can work and still collect disability at the same time. You could start off part-time and take it slow. Janitorial work isn’t bad. In fact it’s like a vacation from all the hard physical labor I’ve done. I’m making more per hour than I’ve ever done before.
If I were you I would want to be very sure of myself before I gave up my disability payments. You might could try working for free for a while to make sure you can do it. There might be some evil ■■■■■■■ you have to work with who might try to sabotage your efforts to work after you have given up your disability. I’ve considered working for free for a while. I would have to be very sure of myself before I gave up my disability payments.
Pushing a vacuum. Some bending. Walking. Wiping with rags.It’s not too tough on my 53 year old body. Plus there’s soda machines all over. I’m always stopping what I’m doing and drinking a DIET Coke. I found my niche. Maybe you can find yours.
Well, you do what you can do. Life is about choices. If you can get paid for what you are good at or what you enjoy doing then you’re ahead of the game.
Spoken by 77Yoda77 the janitor.
Me personally I don’t understand remission. I need to manage symptoms everyday through meds and some will power. If I didn’t I would become psychotic sooner or later.
