Volunteering

[Clara1]

I am 45 years old and I have been volunteering in an op shop for six years. I like my job but I am not obsessed with it and I am not that materialistic. People always want to talk to me about my job. Sometimes I don’t want to talk to them because it’s not that interesting and I don’t care how much they want to spend. I don’t want to be rude but sometimes I feel like I need to find some more friends outside of work. 

[Croix]

Dear Clara1~

Welcome back. I think it is great you have been volunteering in an op shop for so long, good for society and in all probability good for you. I've been volunteering for a great many years too and still feels useful and I still enjoy it. However I'm not just in one sort of job and I think that makes a big difference.

In  the one job it can be a sort of hot house, wiht all your colleagues just talking about shop tihngs, and acquaintances asking you about your work -and if you have seen any bargains.

Have you considered dong something different as well? This might be refreshing, broaden the number of colleagues and allow you to switch topics when people ask about the shop.

Croix

[Clara1]

Hi Croix,

Thanks for the advice. Yes I think it’s a good idea to have two jobs. I will have a look at some job ads and find some other things to do. I think that will keep me happy in the longer term. 

[Croix]

Dear Clara1~

If you want to look at advertised positions then a couple of reasonable national search engines are:

SEEK volunteering

GoVolunteer

but of course one of the richest places to get involved is right here at Beyond Blue Volunteering😊

If you would like to let us know how you get on that would be great.

Croix

[Pete66]

None of use owe anybody our stories.
I get around in a wheelchair. I get total strangers stopping me when I am out shopping, asking what happened. I hate it. My life is not for your amusement

Take Care

[Croix]

Dear Pete66~

We have met before, welcome back. You have every right to expect privacy about what life has handed you, starting with the loss of a toe, and now the leg. I take it fitting a prosthesis did not go well? It is a hard road and I hope the antidepressants did their job.

It's true some people are intrusive, I find using a crutch prompts strangers to ask about it, they are pretty thoughtless. Fortunately those I meet for work or other activities don't do do this, even if curios they remember their manners. Small courtesies like giving me a seat in a crowded room are appreciated and are often done without words.

So how do you respond to unwelcome questions?

Croix

[Pete66]

So how do you respond to unwelcome questions?

If it is a kid, I will answer as honestly as I can. I am probably the first amputee they have meet, I want to show them I am normal. I usually leave them with a smile.
Adults, I will respond politely (I am just out shopping), but if they push, they will find that my voice is not disabled. I do not care if you are old enough to be my mother, and we are in the middle of the supermarket, i will tell you to 'F*** Off'
It is a hard road and I hope the antidepressants did their job.
I look at pills as a tool, they are not the cure, but they gave me the chance to rest and to find the cure. But i hate the side effects and do not take them any more

[Croix]

Dear Pete66~

Well that will leave the pushy ones in no doubt their questions are unwelcome 🙂 though I'm glad you are doing your bit to educate kids, the more opportunities there are to see the disabled just as regular people the better.

Medications are indeed a tool and I'm sorry the ones you were in had unacceptable side effects. If they gave you a chance to regroup that's good. I'm somewhat luckier as the meds I'm on do the job without side effects, however I am on them permanently, though that is not much of an imposition.

Croix