Desperate, please help

evie77

I have been on sickness benefits for the last 6 years for agoraphobia and social anxiety. I'm desperate to find something I can do to come off them and can't help feeling that there must be some work available to someone like me, if only I can find it. I'm in my thirties.

I'm not fit for work in the general sense and have no specific skills, but am relatively intelligent (well I have 2 years of a degree :embarasse ) and would be willing to work hard for a low wage - has anyone got any suggestions of anything I could do online to earn some money? If I could be sure I could get £50/week I'd come off the benefits today. To be honest, I'm considering coming off them anyway and trying my luck at being self-employed doing affiliate marketing, surveys, texting work (though I don't particularly what to do adult work of this sort) and anything I can find. The uncertainty of it all terrifies me though, as if it doesn't work out I'll be in big trouble.

Any advice hugely appreciated. I've read through this section of the forum, just thought it was worth asking in case I've missed anything helpful.

ColinFishwick

You say you arent fit work "I'm not fit for work in the general sense" but still wont to work. Okay thats admirable that you wont to work but in the real world you have to convince an employer that you are able to work

Before you need to run you need to walk so to speak. Why not do some voluntary work this may prove to an employer you are capable of working even at a limited capacity ie a few hours a day

Stryder

If you do mystery shopping you can probably get 50 a week depending upon your location. Have a look at the boatd, and let me know if you have any questiond

Sixer

Look at the Lionbridge thread on this board. I think there's also a similar company called Butler Hill. These two are all about assessing internet searches (but don't ask me the details as I've no direct experience).

You could also try the text answering services, such as 63336 and ChaCha.

glasgowdan

I wouldn't waste my time trying silly online survey/mystery shopping/text work... stand tall with confidence and get a proper part time job. It's the best way to solving things in my opinion. Try and hold on for something that interests you though rather than a job you despise.

Good luck!

Stryder

Ignore glasgowdon. Mystery shopping can earn you 400 plus a month, if your commited. You can work it around study or other voluntary work. This will cover your loss of dole, get you experiences and references, and give you freedom also. If you sign up to OU you can convert it to credit towards a new degree, related or open (customisable).
This could let you blend finishing your degree and earning more, develop your confidence, and possibly cashing in on your uni work. If you join the OU before next september you will stay on the cheap rate. If you have clubcard vouchers you may be able to use them to pay some courses.

Fact is with current job market its unlikely you will find dream job easily. But see this as a ladder. Top of ladder is dream job and each rung is money, skills, experience, confidence, savings, training, etc.

Ps. Glasgowdon right about online surveys... I just to do a lot and now just the gfk media survey.

Money_maker

And I would suggest you ignore Stryder as agoraphobia and social anxiety do not mix well with mystery shopping where you often need to approach staff and ask all types of questions.

Stryder

It depends upon degree of agrophobic. Going to a drive thru is an an example that could be done if you drive. There are other jobs which require only basic contact, especially when its about checking products more than service. There are also linked auditing work requiring minimal 'human contact ' . However i think its presumptious to rule out work for someone who is desperate without knowing more about them. Her biggest. Lobstacle is probably lack of experience and references in terms of a dream job. Volunteer work and MS that will allow her to control her work load makes sense to me. Unless you have better suggestion

Margey

I suggest you maybe get help first to tackle the anxiety and agrophobia first and then think about getting some money. I would stay on sickness benefits if it is some money coming in, until you tackle your situation. It sounds like your in catch 22; you want to get money, but you will need to go out and interact with people in order to get you somewhere.

Tackle it and move on. I'm not saying it is easy but if you need to move on in life, get help

evie77

Thanks to all who've replied and thank you for the suggestions.

I've tried everything I can (counselling, CBT, anti-depressants) to sort out my issues, but if anything they've got worse in the past couple of years - I've not given up on trying to get better but I'm not overly hopeful. I'm not fit for work in the sense that I can't go out and do a 'normal' job, however the thought of being trapped at home for the rest of my life, reliant on benefits and unable to even try to do some kind of online work that I think I could perhaps manage to do makes me want to scream. I'm not trying to be noble, I realise my situation is far from that - I just wanted to see what ideas people had. Anyway I'll look into those that have been suggested, thanks again.

glasgowdan

My comments about online surveys and mystery shopping really relate to the fact that when you consider your hourly income from this work it is way WAY below NMW, whereas getting a p/t job would get you a lot more money per hour plus integrate you into a societal position.

I have always been quite hard line with friends with psychological hurdles. Any time in life I have experienced something I couldn't handle I just threw myself at it. It makes you realise how capable you can actually be.

You may get some admin work that you can sit and focus on, or data entry, how about something a bit more manual/hands-on such as dog walking for friends/neighbours. This would again minimise the need to put a lot of thought into relationships with others and allow you to be alone and get on with something that's not only paying you a fair rate but also upping your abilities.

Fingers crossed for you!

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