Can you guys work? Do you think most schizophrenics are able to work? I’m really all over the place and I get tired easily, I don’t think I’m cut out for a career. I want to ask my doc for meds to help me concentrate because I can’t even sit down and watch a movie. So how could I be focused at a job for an X amount of hours.
What kind of life is that without a job? I don’t know how I’ll survive living with this illness, not to mention that my paranoia seems to be getting worse. And I’m just all over the place, repeating phrases, dancing, jumping around, usually when I’m home alone I do it more.
How are you guys holding up?
Edit; I read this post, and even its all over the place.
no. i can’t work right now. it’s ok though. i look after my kids and we get by. sorry you’re having such a hard time at the moment. i’m sure it will get better for you soon. i’m sure your shrink can help so good luck with that. sending my love. jayne xxx
I didn’t jump into a full time job just because I finally started feeling better. I had to start slow.
First it was a very part time janitor’s job that was so early in the morning I was finished by the time everyone else was showing up. Then I went back to bed. That lasted for a while.
I then started getting a little better and then worked up to 5 hours instead of 3.
I then went sideways and jumped from cleaning restrooms inside to cleaning restrooms at the parks. As I got feeling a bit stronger, I took on seasonal positions with parks and worked some 8 hour days, but only two times a week… and I was out in the field mostly doing grounds keeping and I was mostly alone.
Again, as I got stronger and was able to feel a little more at ease with this schedule, I got more hours. It’s taken me a long time to work full time.
Start slow and work your way out from there if you can. A lot of places hire from their volunteer pool too. So you can try a job and if you don’t like it, no harm no foul.
I work for myself, making costumes. I couldn’t handle a “real” job, the stress would be too much for me, so being able to set my own hours, work at my own pace, only take orders when I know I can handle them, is perfect for me. Though honestly I wish I had more business, I’m not making enough as is, and my prices are too low but if I raised them I’d worry about not getting any orders.
you must choose a job that as a sz you can do…
e.g i have been mostly self employed so when i was sick i could take time off.
i always worked by myself…so no stress from muggles.
but i did dishwashing…anything that i could handle as a sz.
if i had been normal…my career choices would have been very different.
go easy on yourself…work if you can ,if not it does not matter.
take care
It’s not easy. Luckily I have often found niches where I excel at certain jobs. I have gotten jobs from employment agencies who specialize in getting jobs for disabled people. And I have had several jobs where they hired disabled people. I was hospitalized in 1982 for 8 months.I got out, and through a serried of small progressive steps I got hired by an employer who knew I was disabled. I stayed there for four years. But I was suffering some really bad symptoms the whole time I was there. Hey, I had bad akesthesia as recently as 1995 and I was working. And I’ve always been paranoid. I just do it.
Every time I tried to return to my career the stress triggered my failure each time and afterwards I would always try suicide because I failed. I am “all over the place” too. I am training myself to have more concentration to finish a movie without pausing it. However, working is out of the question for me personally. I don’t know how you guys that work do that. It’s a huge accomplishment for the mentally ill to hold real jobs. wow.
since your getting back to work at some point, you might like the idea of self employment, i know in kansas city, roof cleaning and house washing and stuff is a fairly good profitable business with low overhead. its nice to work at your own pace and work as little or as much as you want
I helped my bf out yesterday he’s a logger and I can operate the skidder. It felt good to work for a few hours, I haven’t worked since last winter. Not sure how much help I actually was. I’m on disability but I talked with my therapist and we decided it would be okay to help out my bf maybe once or twice a week as long as it doesn’t interfere with school . I get overwhelmed and frustrated so easily. I’m out of shape so that doesn’t help.
no, i don’t work. haven’t. i’m looking to get back into a volunteer situation again. been a few years without that as well though. meds don’t resolve all of my symptoms and stress exacerbates breakthrough ones.
I work a 60 hours a week. It’s good to get 20 hours of overtime every week. I work Monday-Thursday for 15 hours a day. I enjoy my 3-day weekends! Gives me a chance to recuperate.
When I was first DXed I couldn’t work for some years. Couldn’t even care for myself those first couple of years. I just kept pushing and trying to get some sort of recovery going and it came to me bit by bit. I started out with a bit of volunteer work, then more volunteer work, then eventually I was able to do volunteer work nearly full-time. That gave me the confidence to start working part-time, which turned into full-time work.
I am currently married, have a teenage daughter, and am self-employed. I do a lot of volunteer work. I have a good life. Not a single doctor I had when all the crap hit the fan ever thought I would do this well, so never say never.
We can do it if we determine to. One day at a time, no big moves only slowly progress can align with our functionality ability. One day at a time with small objective accomplishment it can work. I worked and excelled at my job but when I got paranoid I kinda missed things up. That was long time as I cut my meds but now I wont stop therefor I will try and try and try because I have to and i owe my self. I can’t be the same old person forever and I have to do a change. I want to get married have children buy the car I want and travel all over the world. I have big aspirations and with small goals at a time I hope I can achieve them. Family support is there, meds are there, pdoc is there and that’s all. I wish you all a healthy recovery. We can’t live like others but we can still live. Stay positive.
Just got fired from my job. Couldn’t handle the people and anxiety. I have no financial support from my parents so I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m just a lazy piece of ■■■■ to them