Anyone else ‘successfully’ holding down a job? Is it also torture?

aye i had nothing too and lived with my family and had nothing.. i got a job, then got a mortgage on a flat..... this is not slavery, this is improvement from a lost life. its far worse being stuck with nothing but uncertainty and nowhere to go and nothing to do.

i only just got a mortgage myself for a flat.
im ok with it.... because no one was offering me a mortgage aside from this one last chance company and id have never got a property and my own life ever without the mortgage and would have been homeless. so im ok and greatful to my lender and am happy to pay them back for it because without them id have been totally lost.

ofcourse if i lose my job or have a accident i may lose it all, but if that happens anyway even without a mortgage id probably still feel the same way and feel im totally lost anyway.

The job I have now no. Although it has its hard points I enjoy it lots. I work as a scientist and I love science. The job I used to have working for the civil service as an analyst was hellish.

The job I have now no. Although it has its hard points I enjoy it lots. I work as a scientist and I love science. The job I used to have working for the civil service as an analyst was hellish.

Work has always been the biggest cause of stress in my life. It is the one thing I force myself to do and has led to so many breakdowns over the years and a severe burnout. I am 35 now and I still havnt found a solution. I want to work from home but the only thing Im good enough at to work from home with is writing and I have tried to find regular work in that for 6 years and cant.

So its always back to the classroom and back to teaching, which I enjoy parts of, but always leaves me panicy, pressured, overwhelmed and stressed out. Only trouble is when Ive tried other things like retail and reception theyve been even worse

Most jobs Ive ever had have led to a breakdown in the end but need the money so dont know how to break the cycle

The exhaustion of having to socially interact with different people all day, plus live up to bosses expectations, most of which I dont understand, is usually too much for me in the end 

I've not worked yet but I'm looking into volunteering. 

It could be to do with your autism causing negativity but try not to dwell on it. You got this! 

That's interesting, maybe getting a job related to a special interest is the answer 

I have a part-time job. I'm not sure I'm "successfully" holding it down. I haven't been fired, so I must be successful on some level, but I make a lot of mistakes (although fewer now I'm getting used to it). Work leaves me exhausted and burnt out and I only work two days a week. I'm hoping to set myself up with some freelance work from home soon in addition to this, but I think getting established will take time and I don't know how successful that will be either. I find meaning in my life away from work.

Most of my jobs have been unbearable, though not all. It’s easier if I work part time, which is what I do now. I don’t actually kind my current job, but I hate everything that comes with it. Forced overtime, stupid management, brown noses, ignorant or rude customers, the lack of morale…I could go on. I’m there until I’m brave enough to move elsewhere. I have been self employed successfully,  but dont think I want to go down that route again.

Hmmm... sometimes work place environments for neurotypicals don't suit us.

Sounds like time for change.

I'm been lucky. I've always been over qualified for what I do but have been mostly in jobs where I was useful. I sometimes met the environments ND aren't socially suited for but managed to find a better role.

If you hate your current job, no it would be soul destroying to go on and a fast track to burn out probably. So start carving something else out now. Good news is, it's an employee's market just now. No one can get enough staff, so you need something that suits both your autistic talent and autistic needs better. 

While not an out right solution it seems as though you could expand your life beyond than just your career and paying bills if that's how you only see your life right now. Don't let it dominate your mind set, create goals and routines beyond your work life as well.  

I have been there in the past, in a job I hated with every day like torture. I can relate to that feeling of being trapped. Unwisely I kept going because I thought I had no other choice. It resulted in a massive burnout / breakdown, from which I never fully recovered.

Do you have a plan for when you hope to retire? Making future plans for a better life can sometimes make the present more bearable.

How distant is your free future? Could you bring it forward by paying extra on the mortgage each month? I used to go into the bank the day before payday each month and whatever was left in my current account I transferred to my mortgage account. I managed to shave years off my mortgage by doing that.

Would giving up work and moving to a cheaper area be possible?

Could you go freelance again, to at least be more in control and less of a wage slave?

Haha. Sorry for laughing but many would eagerly swap places with you. I would. For the moment I am just slave without future or mortgage, or family. But  I have 3 friends at last

I hated my previous job with a passion but needed money so couldn’t quit. Working the more unsociable hours in retail (before 24hr opening thankfully!) Being on the student transfer scheme I got some crap shifts dumped on me and the people were either power trip managers or spent the whole time moaning instead of being productive. I genuinely enjoy my current job (mostly!) which helps make it more bearable and it seems to have become a special interest early on which helps, there’s always something new to learn in medical technology. Managed to stick at it for 13 years now!