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So I was wondering how you deal with unemployment. I rely on my husband and family for financial support including my medication and this is an absolute torture because everyone is going through such an incredibly difficult financial situation, it makes me feel super useless, desperate, I just want to run and run and not stop. I cry and feel so useless, it's that combination of depression and anxiety at the same time where one simply wonders when is everything going to be over and if it's even worth trying harder. I am very close to getting a job, I think tomorrow will be my last interview and I am very positive I will get it, but if I don't get it I will be devastated and at an even worse position because I have applied already to all possible businesses which can hire someone with my skills and education and they have rejected me. How to keep anxiety and depression under control in these situations? There is no medication that can actually solve these issues. BTW it is rainy season in the country where I live, and thunderstorms can get pretty nasty, anyone else with thunderstorm phobia, I will get under a blanket with earmuffs, heart raising and can not do anything at all throughout the duration of the storm. Every day is a struggle when I see the sky cloudy. Thanks! Peace

I have applied to 200 jobs or more over the last 4 months. I feel like I have been treated like absolute shit on two jobs where I had temporary employment. I've had interviews where it looks like the manager would rather be elsewhere than interviewing me. I have handed out resumes. What am I doing wrong? I fear I'll never find a job. I've applied to so many jobs and yet nothing. I feel it is putting stress on my relationship.

Over the past year, I've worked for maybe a total of...11 and a half weeks or so, divided up into five jobs. Prior to my being in the working world (if you can even call my 11 weeks that) I struggled through school, eventually dropping out and getting my GED, and then attempting college only to not attend classes and drop out after 2 months.I can't take anything I perceive to be criticism, and while from a logical perspective I understand that if nobody tells me how I can improve or anything like that, I'm never going to get better. But even a gentle nudge and a small demonstration can leave me fighting back tears. My therapist and I have been exploring this for awhile now. I'm really at my wits end. I've tried different fields of work, different schedules, different amounts of hours... My longest job was 5 weeks, but it was only 15/hrs a week, so really not beneficiary on a financial end of things. I'm only 19 years old, and so obviously SSDI is out of the question. My therapist thinks applying for SSI would be a waste of time, because I have such little work history. I've been in and out of treatment for a decade now (mostly in), and I would think with my extensive school records and such that perhaps I would have a tiny shot if I had enough people on my side to support my case. I struggle with getting majorly depressed when I'm not working, I feel unproductive and like a failure. But when I am working I feel extremely anxious and stressed and it consumes my life until I shut down. I just can't seem to make progress on any part of my life- professional, mental, social... I feel really inadequate and immature. I know it's not good to make comparisons, but my friends all have plenty of stressors in their lives and manage to hold down steady jobs (and in some cases also go to school full-time) including those who have MIs. I'm tired of doing things that don't work. I need some other avenue. Does anyone have any similar experiences, and if so, how did/are you deal with it/ get through it? Any insight? I can't live at home forever (and I wouldn't want to!)

Why does schizophrenia tend to impair the ability to work so much for most people? What precise aspects of the disease make it impossible to work?

I have a dilemma: My boyfriend wants me to work, but I'm in school full time, schizophrenic, and my psychiatrist thinks working is a really bad idea. In fact, she said she was upset with me that I was considering working again, because every time I do, it triggers psychotic symptoms. I need to work. I need the money, even though I have disability. Or at least that's what my boyfriend insists. I don't know if I should resent him for pushing me (when I've explained what my doctor said), or push myself harder to succeed in employment. Any suggestions? Experiences? -utherwerldgerl

Speaking as one of those that was 'hit hard' by the recession this report doesn't exactly come as a surprise. Still quantification of the impact is good. The economic recession across Europe has had a profound impact on people with mental health problems, research from King's College London suggests. Between 2006 and 2010, the rate of unemployment for those with mental health problems rose twice as much as for other people - from 12.7% to 18.2%. Mentally ill people 'hit hard by recession' | BBC News

So... I have about half a year left before I complete my Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from a local University. I have an Associate's in Graphic Design, but it didn't do much in the way of finding jobs, since I got it just as the economy was tanking. Anyway, my mom has serious issues that I've touched on before. Basally, she has 3 degrees: in Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy, and Social work. Yet, she has been unemployed for almost eight years. She is going through serious issues, and has been for years, and I know my situation is different from hers, but when my emotional side takes over, logic gets shoved into the background and ignored. Anyway, I have a huge issue with panic attacks over whether or not i'm going into a major that will be able to support me. I seriously have attacks over worrying that I'll end up homeless sometimes. I worry that I'll finish, and no one will hire me, even for crap entry jobs, and that I'll end up having to work minimum wage, with hardly enough money to just scrape by. I worry I'll have to give up my meds, my insurance, basically everything just to have food on the table (and at times I worry I won't be able to afford that after rent and I'll pretty much just starve.. it happened to someone i know). I have visions of living in a total run down tiny apartment, in an area with rampant crime, and worrying every day about being rapped/murdered/mugged and shot. Or, that I'll end up homeless and end up living in the sewers or under a bridge. I periodically check on craigs list and indeed, and there are graphic design jobs that pop up. Some are beyond what I can offer (some even seem to want the entire damn world), but some make me think I could handle them. But then I freak out thinking how I'm competing against like 300 other people for one position, and how most of those have experience under their belts.. and I just panic some more. (And I seriously home that 300 people completing for ONE graphic design low pay job is exaggerated). The fact of it is.. my mom's been unemployed for almost 8 years. She has severe issues.. but now I'm worried about her on TOP of my own shit, and it just drives me to a breaking point. Just recently I started worrying that she won't have any retirement (hell, i might not at her age either.) She's going on 60.. and i worry that if she doesn't get a job soon, she'll have NOTHING when she ends up having to retire at 80 or so. And I have NO CLUE how I'd support her.. ON TOP of my own self, if I'm making minimum wage. It just sends me into a panic attack. I know my mom is influencing how I see my own future. And I try not to let that get to me. All I want is a career where I can make enough to live ok. Decent. 30K would be wonderful. 20K would be hard, but doable. 25K would be good. I just worry worry worry that I won't be able to get a career in graphic design, and have to fall back on minimum wage jobs, and not be able to support myself. With minimum wage in Michigan, you make like 7:40 an hour. Per month after taxes that comes to $924 a month. Is that feasible? To live off of... without starvation? I guess I just panic over this. All the time. ALL THE FU*CKING TIME.

TL;DR: If you are now drawing disability consider yourself ahead of the game ... After Your Job Is Gone | Techcrunch

The takeaway I get from this article is the moment you are laid off/dismissed start your application for Social Security disability. Doubly so if you are over 40. The clock is running. If you get another job in the next 6 months it's all good. If not you are at least on your way to securing your Social Security disability benefits. They may be modest but they are reliable and you eventually also become eligible for Medicare. The Terrifying Reality of Long-Term Unemployment | The Atlantic

So in about 6 months I'll have finished my bachelor's in Graphic Design. I live in the metro Detroit area in Michigan. Right now I'm terrified I won't be able to find a job. The last time I tried, which was around 09, I applied to tons of places that were just plain retail, Khols, Old Navy, Sears, JCPenny... the list goes on and on. I got an interview at Old Navy, didn't get the job. 8 years ago, I applied for a job at sears and got it right off the bat. I'm so worried the job market is STILL just as horrible as it was in 2009, or that there are 100 people competing for ONE freaking job... Even jobs in retail or as waitressing! I'm so worried I'll end up on welfare and not be able to support myself at all. I'm worried about my mom who has been unemployeed for 8 years due to issues. There's no way I can support the two of us. I worry that any graphic design posting I see, even if I qualify, will never give me a call back, because I'll be competing with like 100 other people for it. It's just horrible. It eats at my mind constantly and sometimes I have panic attacks over it. I'm living with my grandparents now, and my mom, but they're getting old and I have no idea how the hell I'll support my mother AND myself when we're on our own... At least she's seeing someone who can medically diagnose her with what her issue is, and hopefully get her on SSI or SSDI. I just don't know how I'll be able to live on 9 bucks an hour.. and after taxes and all.. it's more like 6.50... it's like choose to pay rent, or choose to eat. God.