18 y/o NEET needs help

NotSoNeat

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all having a good day. I am writing this post to ask for advice on what I should do with myself as I am quite lost right now. I suppose I should set the scene for you: I dropped out of upper sixth form about a year ago because I was stressed and felt depressed. I then went to college for a year and dropped out of that – also due to depression. I have since recovered and enjoy life, but I feel like a burden on my working single mum since all I pretty much do is sit around all day. I have no interest in retrying A-levels and I don’t have the confidence to get a job. I feel stuck. Do you have any advice on how I can turn my life around? (harsh criticisms welcome)

[Deleted User]

Create a CV and get applying.

MovingForwards

Get a voluntary role for a few months to build up your confidence.

Have you received any help from your GP? Meds / counseling? If you are still not feeling right please see your GP.

Are you claiming any benefits? If so, see what help your advisor can give you.

Have you prepared a CV? If not, make a start on it.

What do you want to do for work?

coffeehound

Hiya. I'd say forget about further education for now. The idea of that is probably stressing you at present and causing your sense of paralysis. I agree with the others to concentrate on getting a basic job first. The great thing about life at present is that a) there are plenty of jobs around, and b) you can return to education at any age (I went back aged 33).

Once you are in work, any sense of guilt and inner turmoil should subside leaving you clear to plan a way forward. Good luck.

tacpot12

Don't worry about not being confident enough to get a job, not many people are confident until they have a skill they know is in demand.

What did you enjoy studying?

eamon

Not every young person is equipped to deal with continuing education. I suspect that you are one of those people. I'm old enough to be your grandad and if I could turn back time I would never had wasted 2 years studying for and failing A-levels. You can always catch up with your education later on.


But you need to quickly find something that



1. Brings in an income
2. You enjoy and can become good at
3. Can see yourself doing that job/career/similar work in say 5, 10, 15 years
4. Added bonus points if employer will pay for your education/skills etc





So I'll throw something into the mix that you may not have considered.


Have a look at our Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force). In the Iraq/Afghanistan most regiments never went anywhere the action. If one of their recruitment offices is within travel distance, make an appointment and find out more for yourself.


Finally I have never been in the Armed Forces but If the adverts are to be believed its not all about going off to fight for Queen & country. They appear to keen to showcase all the other roles. So at the very least its worthwhile finding out more. You have nothing to loose.

theoretica

There are organisations which exist to help people in your situation into employment - probably your old college will know what the local ones are if you can't find out, or it is the sort of thing the local library will know, if there is still one of those in your area. They can help with sorting out what your skills are and what your realistic employment possibilities are as well as practice with interviews and help with application forms.

NotSoNeat

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've just applied for 2 volunteering roles with my local council, and I am now getting in contact with the Prince's Trust. My priority right now is to build up my confidence and get in shape so that I can join the army as an electrician.

steampowered

You should know that lots of people feel exactly the same way when they are in their late teens and early twenties.

There are lots of people out there who decide that college/university is not the best route for them, but don't yet know what route they want to take. That's totally normal.

All I can suggest is that you find a job - any job - it doesn't matter what it is.

A job helps you build a CV, helps you build self-confidence, and you will meet people / experience things that will help point the way forwards.

You might find that you really enjoy the job and want to move forward in that particular career path. Even if you don't like it you will still learn something from it and it will help you move on to the next one.

nalimcc

Just want to say I was in a similar position - dropped out of Uni when I was 19 and stayed in my room all day every day, too anxious to look for work. Would probably still be there if my mum hadn't given me a kick up the bum and told me to get a job.

Like others have said, get ANY job you can. I'd recommend a retail job - easier to get into and can help build your confidence. Don't get me wrong, they're a nightmare at times but that can help motivate you. Sometimes you need to get a taste of actual life instead of being stuck in a classroom feeling like you're not good enough.

Dox

People of all ages play the 'I don't have the confidence...' card to get out of doing things they think they would find stressful. One of the best ways to build confidence is to succeed at something - pretty much anything will do. Make sure you pick a goal you can realistically achieve, rather than setting yourself up for failure and thus 'proving' you aren't up to whatever it was you were trying to do.