ls it healthier to work and live while having depression , or is there a centerlink disability pension, and if so , which is healthier ?

[Guest_1584]

Hey people .

l've met people on all kinds of Centerlink disability things over the yrs but can you get onto something due to depression ?

But then as in the title , maybe it's actually healthier for you to actually be out there in life and working and functioning ? - bloody hate that word but it's the only description l could think of . So what does everyone do , and which do they find is better ?

At one stage through a really bad patch l just didn't feel l could work or cope. So l asked Centerlink they told me l'd have to see the gp , get referrals ,go and get assessments and all kinds of other things can't remember exact details , but it was a nightmare l'd worry that l'd spend wks or mths putting myself through and then maybe get nothing anyway. But ok l'll just start with the gp and see where that goes first. And they told me it could get me 3mths , what, 3mths, but then l'd have to do it all again to get an extension or another 3mths and then again , and again , or some rubbish can't remember the exact details but it sounded far worse than the alternative and just struggling on to me.

Well, what a useless stressing , draining effort that was , here's a grown man in the mess l was in felt like l just couldn't even go on let alone cope or do real life , work , pressures buttt, saw a gp yet all he said was l'll give you a certificate for 2 days off . Two days, wt - to keep it polite here, 2 days l needed 2 wks just from the stress of dealing with him that once , without adding in my real problems. He wouldn't even give me a referral for the next step. Acted like there was nothin wrong with me meanwhile l'm wondering if l wanted to go on l mean that's the state l was in.

Centerlink also wanted me to enroll with a job agency and so here l was having to tell some 19yr old girl with a button and computer and the power to send me packing with no damn clue how  l was or living , threatening to stop any payment if l didn't jump through their hoops too in the meantime, it was insanity .And all that took about 2 wks of stress driving sitting round waiting and explaining myself over and over and what little money l had at the time on petrol , it was a nightmare and left me in worse shape than l started.

rx

[Guest_1584]

Hi katy and thanks for the thoughts.

Yeah about what l've suspected since the last time l tried, it'd be even more harrowing now. The other problem is l'm dyslexic so although l usually read and write fine l've written and corrected property contracts run my own business done taxes but at others l can't even count money dyslexia's a sort of block thing but no way l could cope with all that from Centerlink , throw depression.

Ah well , it's just something l've been thinking about . l do enjoy my job and hrs and free time but at can't even get out of bed times it gets a bit much . But hey , maybe it's better for me at those times that l have to and get moving anyway, l dunno. rx

[monkey_magic]

Hi randomx and all,

I'm on Centrelink and I work. My job network provider that I see is very understanding. I'm on a lower tier which means I only have to work minimal hours and can still get Centrelink. Instead of looking for other work or working for the dole as part of my requirements for getting Centrelink I was able to see a psychologist for free every fortnight instead. I'm not on disability but they still can cater for you if on jobseeker/ Newstart and you have a mental health issue or physical limitations. Or was I just lucky? I saw this psychologist for about a year.

Coming from someone whose just been on Centrelink and worked/ been on Centrelink I think it's better to work within your capabilities. Casual or part- time is fine. I get a sense of satisfaction and feel happier after I've worked.

If I stay home, broke, and have depression/ anxiety I feel lethargic. The mind can also play games. If you're working you have something else to focus on and hopefully some social interaction.

I think you are more likely to overcome depression/ anxiety working within your capabilities rather than staying at home with it.

You have to be proactive, in my opinion, but if you've been working a lot and need that break, take it.

[clown_of_mine]

I am probably more like your 80 year old farmer than I am an American but hay their almost family and a celebration is always fun.

[Succulent Queen]

Hi rx
I've relentlessly contemplated this throughout my working years & always arrive at the same conclusion-it's better overall to work. A further breakdown is to what capacity can you work and where.
There is also a need to lower expectations of what you can do v's what you think you should be doing. It's humbling to the ego to know your limits and your margin of realistic capability. Finding meaning within a job that is below your intellectual capacity & passions is also something to make peace with. So, there are challenges. But that's life everywhere whatever you may be doing. May as well earn some cash whilst dealing.
In truth, there is stigma out there. There is mild bullying. I've cried in the car on the way home. There are also people who silently get it and treat me fairly. I have plenty of laughs at work too. At the end of the day I tell myself that I've the right to earn an income & live a life of dignity & choice due to having a bit of money in my pocket.
I make a repeated daily commitment to get out of bed & just go. It's not always pretty but habitual behavioural patterns & deepening the grooves of neurological circuitry are crucial to survival. Work can help with this. Once you're in the shower it gets easier.
There's also the casual socialisation you get at work with others who are out there functioning. Being with functioning people improves mental health. There's also a huge amount of personal growth to be gained through working.
Quick story regarding The Clink as I call it.
I was on Newstart at the beginning of the pandemic. If you earn over a certain amount they cut you off after 6 f'nights. Every sixth f'night I took time off in order to earn below the threshold-which is pathetic by the way-doing this kept that Newstart safety net alive. In May I had a bad phase of depression and lost track of reporting dates for a few fortnights. They cut me off altogether citing mental illness w'out hospitalisation etc as inadequate reasoning. This exacerbated my health & I panicked through another phase of pondering the point of living. I realised then how cut throat and detrimental to my mental health Centrelink was. I've been off the dole for for 8 months and feel much better not having to wheel & deal my way around their rules or submitting to a demeaning &humiliating system.
Like I said, it's not all roses but in terms of the bigger picture working is overall more beneficial in my experience.
Look forward to hearing what you decide to do.

[Guest_1584]

Hi monkey and thanks very much for the detail and info.

l hear ya and it's great people are coming in and talking about all this l was really hoping some would. l was unemployed yrs ago myself yeah it's a pretty depressing life l still remember those feelings. Things people are talking about yeah , are also the way l've found all this too and usually work does help me a lot. Even during confusing or stressful times getting out and onto the job picking up my tools hours fly buy and the mind's preoccupied the whole time , it can really be my go too at times and l'll usually feel much better. Kinda makes the thread sound pointless right there doesn't it but as we know it's not always happy outcomes and those other times that bring this questioning about. Which are sometimes too often and too deep to be counteracted with just work. They'd be the times l'd be knocking on clinks door though right, or they;d be threatening me or forcing me to go through hoops soooo, and the very times l couldn't deal with their bs , bit of a vicious alternative to me.

Fantastic you've found your balance and system with them and work, great stuff well done monkey . Take care .

Hiya SQ and also a big thanks to you too for the detail and thoughts. And yeah , l do envy those that spend their life actually doing their calling spent a lot of yrs thinking about all that myself too, and living it. l actually did mine 13yrs, gambled everything, but l got out. lt's what l was meant to do , put here for and given a talent for but you know what , it also came with all it's own very weird things and lifestyle and probably fame too later on that at 13 yrs , l just longed to be just an ordinary working person again, l envied them. In the end it actually made me miserable and so l got out of it.

My little business since isn't my calling it's so short of myself and people can't even believe l use to do what l did. But l really actually like it and the lifestyle more andddd, l'm just one of those everyday people these days again that l envied all through that 13yrs , and it's great haha.

So there ya go , you might not be in your calling but there can be other huge satisfactions.For me it's my own hours good money for what l do work my own boss, traveling the state and yeah your spot on with working and mixing l meet some great people. All those things were really important to my and why l do what l do now instead.

Happy for you out of that clink rut , it's obviously helping you far more.

rx

[Guest_1584]

Buttttt, on the other hand realities kicking in today , l'm back to work next wk, had time off. Really don't feel like it , or another yr , or a new yr , or all the worries of life again. And the yrs and yrs more of it yet to go damn.

Even back in the stone age life would've been a daily battle , just staying alive would've been. But l don't believe humans were built to cope with the non stop unstoppable garbage we're forced to deal with these days . rx

[monkey_magic]

Hi Rx,

I agree with you. Some unstoppable garbage is unavoidable. In saying that perhaps you can do less?

I used to work three jobs, it was hectic. Now instead of working more I work less and Centrelink is my buffer.

I have time to swim laps, paint, play games on my pH, go to the gym, focus on me, basically.

Being busy, busy, busy can run you down. Can U share your load?

I also avoid situations or ppl that add to my stress or grief.

Play it smart.

[Guest_1584]

Hey monkey.

Really nice to hear you've gone from 3 jobs to a life again big congrats . 3 jobs is just too much especially with mh probs.

I've got a pretty cool set up too work wise , life wise to really, really , can't complain. My own hours lots of time off and pretty good money for what l do work, ; just find the life side of life relentless , even though l don't even do that much , don't even see many people , l'm the master of avoidance, yet it's still relentless at you at you always something. My gf says there's never just peace and yeah l find the same.

You paint huh yeah l figured , l use to paint , don't anymore . rx

[Guest_1584]

Think l need to have just one thread maybe l should just make it this one , god knows. l've had a fair few things goin on since l joined bb and l've wound up with threads everywhere.

Anyway , started back at work yesterday only did a few hrs always takes me a few wks warm up in a new yr but man , do not feel like it, spirits and mentally are down the tube. l was expecting some money in Feb this yr and ongoing from there which would've meant l'd hardly even have to work anyway buttttt, it won't be happening, it ain't coming , it'll be another 3yrs now , hence the questions with this thread. l have to somehow kick start my spirits again and except that l'll have to keep this going another 3 yrs , from mentally zero to suddenly needing another 3yrs , ouch, a very big ouch.

Depression is so damn tiring isn't it , it's mind boggling just how spirit and energy zapping it is.

rx

[fortunecookie]

Hey Rx

Thanks for posting this. I'm considering leaving work right now, as I just can't cope. Even though I love the work I do... But I've also been un- and under-employed before, which was super detrimental for my mental health. Even though I now have 2 years of therapy under my belt (ongoing), got into DIY, gardening and all sorts of things to keep busy, I'm afraid I won't find a job in the future and would end up hating life again.

Reduced hours would already help me. Sorry, I didn't read all replies, so don't know if that's an option for you.. but I think there's truth in what lots of the others said, that you'll feel better if you do work.

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for the post 🙂 good luck, whichever way you choose to go.