Job suitable for someone with depression?

earthbound_misfit

Hiya, I'm hoping you lovely people may have some ideas or suggestions I haven't thought of to find work (two heads are better than one and all that)...
I currently claim ESA support group for mental health problems of a depression/anxiety/trauma-related type. Unfortunately I currently receive no treatment despite mental health services saying I need long-term therapy. (I actually find I'm much better not chasing up help or speaking to the 'crisis team' because a lot of the emotional pain I feel comes from horrible experiences with the services.) However, even if I can vaguely scrape by day-to-day, managing things like shopping, housework and socialising on an ad-hoc basis, this isn't 'sustainable' as I'm not earning a living. I don't want to rely on benefits forever, and the new tests from ATOS are enough to make anyone sick, I can't bear to be at their mercy, living in fear, I want to be able to look after myself.

The reasons I am unable to hold down a traditional job are:

1) Nightmares/night terrors/other interrupted sleep almost every night, this is worse when I have to use an alarm clock or be up at a certain time, and means I need to nap sometimes, struggle to concentrate and feel overwhelmed and panicky more easily. So flexible hours is a must.

2) Because of the above + a need to have 'thinking time' in order not to get overloaded and break down completely/deal with traumatic memories, 25 hrs a week would really be my maximum unless it was an arty-type job that I could do for hours without needing to concentrate in the same way (because this is where my skills lie?)

3) Something from home would be much better as I often feel overwhelmed by going outside on a 'bad day'. However things like popping out to get materials or something would be fine (I find a short, specific trip much easier, even helpful).

Gosh, I sound unemployable Anyway on to the positives:

1) I'm good at organisation.
2) My skills are mainly arty - especially making clothes, designed and pattern cut from scratch, well-made garments, individual tailoring etc. Also been told I have a good eye for colour (generally across all arty endeavours), and good at choosing clothes to flatter an individual's body shape.
3) I write a bit (struggle with concentration) and would love to be a writer, but so would the whole world! However this is useful for writing letters, spelling, presentation and generally making things look professional.
4) I'm also good with people (have previously worked in service industries and care settings), have a good telephone manner, and am polite - but with my current problems this would need to be in small doses.
5) Surprisingly am quite good in a crisis; can 'think on my feet', especially when assisting others (just not over extended periods, more one-off).

I've tried in the past to sell stuff I've made on ebay and etsy, also advertised making/designing unique prom dresses etc in shop windows but only got one enquiry (but one very satisfied customer! - now live other side of country so no word of mouth business). I have sold the occasional item of clothing (individually tailored), bags, and one painting, but that's just been random eg. someone liking something I'm wearing and wanting one too!
People are always saying "why don't you sell the stuff you make?" but it isn't that easy! Somewhere like etsy is flooded by the US market where fabric is much cheaper so they can undercut you, there doesn't seem to be any profit margin in anything... working for way under minimum wage per hour (a little under isn't so bad) and generally struggling to find the market for what I can do... very frustrating that people always rave about how wonderful it must be to be able to make clothes, but don't put their money where their mouth is!!

Sorry for the rant, just finding all this rather hard and I struggled to keep mind-numbing jobs more than a few months even before my mental health got this bad. I just want to find a sustainable way forward, then hopefully I can see a therapist privately too and actually get better.
Does anyone have any ideas of ways I could make an income/set up a small business, or jobs that might be appropriate?
Thanks for reading....

LadyMissA

Hi there - I was going to say what about selling stuff on ETSY but then you said it. I have a friend who does well on there and she has a Facebook page too with a big following.

What about still doing that but maybe trying to sell what you make to small shops?

earthbound_misfit

What does she sell? How does she get her products out there compared to the hundreds of other etsy users? Facebook's a good idea...
I'm worried about ending up with loads of unsold items (has happened before) and find my skills lie more with making something from scratch incorporating what ther person wants in the design, rather than mass-producing items (though if they sold, I'd do it...!) Sorry if it sounds like I'm shouting ideas down, it's just I've tried a lot of these things already and found myself coming up against brick walls, hence posting here!

evespikey

There's also Folksy as a British alternative to Etsy. You could start a blog which show the process of you making your pieces (would also show your writing skills).

LadyMissA

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

What does she sell? How does she get her products out there compared to the hundreds of other etsy users? Facebook's a good idea...
I'm worried about ending up with loads of unsold items (has happened before) and find my skills lie more with making something from scratch incorporating what ther person wants in the design, rather than mass-producing items (though if they sold, I'd do it...!) Sorry if it sounds like I'm shouting ideas down, it's just I've tried a lot of these things already and found myself coming up against brick walls, hence posting here!

She has for one her own website and also etsy. She makes wind chimes and things with drift wood, plus also she is an artist who paints and makes keyrings and bookmarks etc.

Maybe try a few small less expensive items to start with or set up a Facebook page to do some research into what would sell if you have some ideas already?

jobbingmusician

The perfect job for you, IMHO, would be working for someone like Mind who

- wants to employ people who have used services
- has MH friendly employment policies.

Why not volunteer for your local Mind doing something along the lines of the arts that you love, and see where it takes you? If you are an ex-MH service user who has experience working with other service users, you would be a strong candidate for any jobs in the field which came along!

theoretica

Could you find a field where there is less competition- it seems to me that specialists have an advertising advantage over generalists.

Rather than modern clothes and ball gowns you could become a specialist in fashions of 1873 or covering shoes to match outfits for instance. Or riding outfits including side-saddle skirts...

princessdon

How about using your skills to volunteer for a while (and see where it leads). Art is very useful for those with MH skills - you can teach others to do a skill. I am pretty sure many organisations would take you as a volunteer to teach.

You can always do your PTLS (Teaching Cert) too - you never know what may happen.

earthbound_misfit

Thanks for the suggestions so far
To those who've suggested working for mind/teaching art etc, one of my problems is sticking to regular times and leaving the house/interacting with people for long, this would be a bit of a problem. But useful for future

CFC

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions so far
To those who've suggested working for mind/teaching art etc, one of my problems is sticking to regular times and leaving the house/interacting with people for long, this would be a bit of a problem. But useful for future

Your only option appears to be self employment in one way or another, to be frank. Nobody is going to employ you to work from home on your terms.
Perhaps you should see whether you could subcontract work eg dry cleaners, wedding shops for general tailoring/zips repairs. Perhaps you should try folksy as suggested above, but putting only one garment on at a time. At one time a friend's mother was hand knitting Arran jumpers for a producer, that may be another option. If you can get a few income streams going, it may be enough.

getmore4less

Following up the subcontract for dry cleaners etc,

Is there any local demand for alteration services.

My OH goes to the next big town 18 miles away.

google throws up a few websites of people that do this sort of thing