unsure of what to do in life?

[alexis123]

Due to my anxiety I struggle with everyday normal jobs/work, I don’t know what job to do from home that I’m interested in or that i can do, any suggestions for jobs working from home ( my dream was to be an author but for the meantime i need a realistic goal/job) and also don’t want a job as I don’t want to let down my coworkers and job as my anxiety can be unpredictable,and i also don’t drive, any advice and help would be appreciated! Thankyou 

[white knight]

Hi, welcome

It's pleasant to read you being realistic with writing as a career. I've written 300 poems (many are in the "Poetry corner, post your poems here" segment, without success

Anxiety is a serious illness that can push us into a corner regarding employment, add to that no wheels and you are indeed struggling. So, I did run 2 businesses from home at one point. 

I was retrenched in 1992 and twiddled my thumbs for manoths as I lived in a small town and there was no work. I told my wife I was going to knock on every door in town for lawn mowing services. At the end of a long day I returned home "how did you go , any takers"? she asked. "Not one " I replied. "Og well that's the end of that idea" she said.

With those comments in mind I went to my shed and loaded up my trailer with the mower, trimmer and old ride on mower. I painted a sign on the back "Lawns mowed today with phone number and parked at the end of town. As people drove by most knew me and blew their horn then they started pulling over. The pharmacist, the baker, the service station owner and even my doctor. Most of them lived out of town. So I had 4 new clients. They in turn told their friends and within 2 weeks I had 10 clients. What's more the land sizes were large in that small town so I could charge more. Less clients more income. In 6 months I bought a new ride on mower cash.

That was 30 years ago. I moved to my current town 3 years ago. I noticed a teenager riding his bicycle here towing a small trailer with a push mower and a trimmer, even a fold up broom. I chatted away and he told me he was saving up for a electric trike and a new self propelled mower. Wow! What determination! Last I saw him he had his "L" plates and mum was his driving teacher while mowing lawns lol.

Alas back to my mowing round, I sold 14 at xmas time that year!. But it was too seasonal so, built a train from a ride on mower with 3 carriages and went to shows. I found a nearby security job eventually.

So there's inspiration. The only other advice I have is not to worry about co-workers. They likely wont worry about you, sadly.

https://forums.beyondblue.org.au/t5/staying-well/30-minutes-can-change-your-life/td-p/154525 

TonyWK

[Bob_22]

Hi alexis123,

Hope you're having a good day and thanks for the question.

I definitely understand not wanting to work out of fear of expectations or letting down boss/colleagues. There are a variety of industries you can look into. For example, marketing jobs can be done purely online and are in demand. Alternatively, instead of looking for work you could perhaps look at doing some professional development online to get used to the hours. A great resource for this that I've used in linkedin. I know they have a lot of professional development courses online but you need a premium account for this. A free option that I've explored (and is marketing related) are some of the courses that google offer on their digital garage such as foundations of digital marketing and google analytics. These are industry recognised. I'll avoid saying more as I don't want to be flagged for advertising services.

There are plenty of other industries such as software engineering which can also be done from home. You would need a qualification but if you go through certain uni's you can study from home also. 

I would definitely recommend trying to get some work experience outside of the house if possible. Finding part time or casual work that is even a few hours a week could be beneficial. You will get exposure to the workplace culture, gain experience, possibly make friends and become more accustomed to stressors in the work environment. 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Bob

[theo-m]

I don't have much great advice tbh, but I am in a similar position to you - mental illness making it very difficult to work. For me, I brainstormed what actually happens with my illnesses that makes it hard for me to work, tried to figure out workarounds, and then looked for employers that accept those workarounds. Few and fair between though!! I have one good job for a month a year where I am fully supported by my work! Still looking for other jobs that accept my limitations. Again this might not help, but knowing you've got workarounds can help.

Also I'll be following this thread! As I am in a similar boat!

[sbella02]

Alexis123,

Thank you for reaching out, and I echo the warm welcomes of TonyWK, Bob, and Theo. 

I hear you. Choosing a career is hard enough, but add into it the struggle of mental health and self-doubt, it becomes very challenging. I remember being in my final year of school with no idea of what I wanted to do. I put down psychology amongst other areas because I liked it as a subject, and ended up liking it as a career option once I got into the course and immersed myself in the subject matter.

I too wanted to be an author for the longest time, and still do in fact. I chose to pursue a career that I do still enjoy that can provide a stable foundation and income to allow me to pursue my true passions on the side. Albeit, this decision-making process is a lot harder than it sounds, as there are so many career options out there. One thing that I did consider doing was incorporating writing into my career, through options such as professional writing, journalism or marketing, which were on my university application list when I applied. If you're interested in writing, I'd encourage you to explore such options.

What are your other interests? What subjects did you enjoy at school, if any?

I find that's often a good place to start. It may also be useful, if you haven't already, to try and secure a part-time job while you decide on what you'd like to pursue as a career. This may also introduce you to the workforce, and you can gauge what aspects of a workplace you like and do not like. My first real part-time job was in food and hospitality, and I learnt that I like the customer interaction and the challenge offered by the fast-paced environment, and I recognised that this was missing from the next job I took after this. You may also come to learn how your anxiety may change and adapt within a workplace setting, which can be useful information when choosing a future career.

Have a look at apps like Linkedin or Seek, as you may find job recommendations that you hadn't considered would be a good fit for you. You can also put out your profile to capture the attention of potential employers too.

I hope this is helpful advice for you. Career-choosing can be at worst stressful, but at best exhilarating. I'm glad also to hear that you're taking a realistic approach to this. 

Wishing you all the best.

Take care, SB