Do you work?

longest unemployment I had was almost  a year and I was a case ready for asylum and I like to work, so it's not for me

yes support is a fiction 99% of time

but if you lucky you can get OK deal to start

I start work 2h before store closes, so I don't need to deal with customers much, colleagues, if causing me trouble I start to ignore, it's complicated with managers since you can't avoid them, but luckily they all seem OK for now

worst case scenarios are when you can't avoid stressor

Jess said:

don't like social media personally

same here, because everyone is spying on you, company you work for, your family and mine isn't nice,

Lots of bakers are self employed, don’t have to look very far on Facebook to find people baking from their kitchens and selling the goods (still have to be registered with the council for food hygiene etc) then you can take on as much or as little work as you want rather than having someone dictating how fast you need to work in a restaurant. Quite a lot of volunteering opportunities available with animals at zoos and sanctuaries if you have any nearby. It’s a good way into jobs even if you don’t have an animal management degree 

I work, and I work full-time, but I have flitted between jobs over the years and never really settled in one place. 
What type of job are you looking for? There are numerous online search engines that can provide you with the details of job vacancies in your local area. Do you know what type of job you would like to 

Oh I see, yeah that is a little awkward and I guess worrying for you. If they do question you not applying you could always say something like you think you're needed more where you are now, just sort of make an excuse without making an excuse :) 

But hopefully they won't question you about it.

Thanks :) I've already looked up a few things and have a couple of ideas already.

I am so sorry your dad passed away. I lost my dad when I was twelve.

((Hugs))

Hi, volunteering sounds like a good start and a great thing to do :) your helping others and that's amazing! 

There's always hope. I'm sure you'll get a job sooner or later. I read online all the time how hard it is getting a job.

I am currently volunteering at a local charity shop whilst looking for employment. I have applied for many jobs but can't seem to get past the interview stage. But I live in hope!

Thank you for explaining - I’ve never heard of it before. Sounds enjoyable :) 

Didn't get my first job until 35 had an apprenticeship with a social enterprise for 2 years last job I had was temp 12 hour shifts cleaning out cocktail picthers then dad died so I quit been unemployed since

Look up what you could study from home. Your a beautiful woman capable of anything you want

Hi Kate Kestrel,

How to explain diamond painting, also known as crystal art? It's a little like painting by numbers AND cross-stitch combined. Instead of stitching, one basically applies rhinestones or plastic rhinestones to a pre-printed image. I'm probably not explaining it very well, so I apologise if my explanation makes little sense.

I consider myself fortunate as I have an understanding DWP work coach. For the moment, the only requirement is that I maintain contact with her. She knows I am far from being 'work ready' and that there are other aspects of my life that I need to focus on first.

The fatigue and lethargy comes and goes. I might have a run of days when I have the energy to deal with housework, and then days when I just need to take it easy and rest. I never really know how I will feel from one day to the next, so have had to learn to go with the flow and take each day as it comes.

I have always had an interest in crafts and I suppose it could be considered my 'special interest'. I used to do a lot of knitting and cross-stitch and went through a phase of making hand-embroidered greeting cards. As much as I enjoyed it, I was forced to stop due to repetitive strain injury. The diamond painting is a good alternative and I find it therapeutic. 

What is diamond painting?

Many colleges do food related courses of various kinds - might be worth looking at what is available locally to you. Or maybe an apprenticeship somewhere? 

It's not all rosy.

I work for the company through an employment agency.  And I know for a fact that one of my references includes a statement that I have autistic tendencies.

The company I work for knows nothing about my history or background, it trusts the employment agency to send them suitable workers.

Now they have full time vacancies and have invited us agency workers to apply.  If I apply I will have to give full employment history, references, go through a couple of interviews etc and my secrets of being fired from previous jobs will come out.    If I don't apply they may question my commitment to the job.

Hi Robert,

I'm glad your new job is going so well so far. You must be really happy about that! I'm sorry you're not that much better of than before, but maybe at some point you'll get a raise or find something with better pay :) 

It sounds like a very relaxing job with not too much stress, so that must be fantastic for you. Keep up the good work.

I hope you are coping ok in the workplace :) It must be difficult having no support. You can always get support here from me and everyone else if you need to.

Oh wow yes you should definitely consider doing writing as a career! You are clearly very good at it and I'm sure a book by you would be amazing. I think you can sell via Amazon. Also get yourself a social media so you can reach out to lots of people, that should help you a lot. I don't like social media personally but it's a great way of reaching people.

Hello, it's nice to meet you :) 

You know what's best for you and what's best for your help. What the dwp want isn't important, what is important is that you do what you want to do and what will be best for you. I can understand it being terrifying for you, and there is no rush so if you want to think about it all then that's fine. Plenty of time to think about it and what you might want to do, if you choose to work. It's up to you what you do. Just make sure you don't let anyone else push you into something you don't want to do.

Being tired all the time must be very hard. I hope you're ok. I get tired a lot but it's just anxiety for me.

Your diamond painting sounds amazing! And doing things in the garden must be nice too. My dad used to love doing DIY as well.

I have been in my present job three months now.

So far so good.  They don't know much about my background because I work through an employment agency.  I haven't said the "A"  word even once.

I work two days in the office and three from home over the internet and video calling using Microsoft teams.

The job is low paid but it pays the rent.  When I was on universal credit my monthly take home pay was £850.  Now working, I get £1500 but I have extra  £200 expenses such as paying internet, bus fares council tax, prescription charges.  So I'm only around £450 per month better off.