Unemployment Club

milo001

Well-known member
I really wonder how did some peoples with severe anxiety getting a job. I know how hard for me when I used to works. I tense up and my anxiety is at the extreme level. And I'm clumsy in the place so I always make mistakes and the anxiety become unbearable. And after not working for many years I don't know if I can even when for an interview anymore. It seems like my social phobia just getting worse because of me isolated myself from the society for many years.
 

milo001

Well-known member
I don't have any experience and I don't think I can do business. I think the only job I can get is in Mcdonalds.
 

AriAbs

Active member
I have a neurological disorder which mskes my SAD 10x worse. I fail at interviews and the jobs I get last 2 weeks. As soon as I can get my treatment, I'll be looking hard for one. Believe me.
 

Aylaa

Well-known member
I got lucky; I was just starting to get my life in order with the help of my therapist and the first job I applied for, I got. I don't think I did very well at the interview (I even arrived half an hour late - although that was not my fault) but they were desperate and I got hired.

I quit that job after two years and am now looking for something new, but I'm already struggling with writing an application letter. I know you need to sell yourself and lots of people exaggerate in applications, but if I write anything positive about myself I either feel like a liar or worry about setting expectations too high :/ I won't even get to the interview part if I don't manage to write any applications. (The fact that I moved to another country and have to write them in a language that is not my native language is not helping at all!)
 
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cosmosis

Well-known member
I am absolutely horrible at interviews, but I'm a hard worker and if I can somehow get into the job, I do well. What worked for me is temp agencies because they don't really interview and once you get placed, you can be judged by your skills and not your ability to bullshit and talk yourself up (as in the interview). But right now, I have my own business which is both great and horrible at the same time.
 

sorrow1

Well-known member
Theres probably a previous thread for this but I am interested in what people with SA actually do for a living?

I myself am currently in law enforcement (or the Police)

I have been thinking recently how I am still in my current job and how I ever survived.

Before my current employment I sucked at all jobs, However I was always good at application forms and bizarrely interviews. I could write a good application form which gave me plus points going into an interview and I guess I found that interview structures were normally always the same and I could feel comfortable in the fact I could plan what I was going to say and predict what the questions were going to be.

When I got any job Im sure my employers were always disappointed though, I would always get picked up on the fact I was quiet, didn't show any initiative or enthusiasm.
In actual fact I was too damn scared to talk to any of my colleagues because well interactions with them were unpredictable unlike interview questions and I couldn't show initiative because well I was too afraid in case I got it wrong and as for enthusiasm well who the hell would want to stack shelves all their life anyway?

However though I still to this day think the job I chose to do now has saved me. I took a gamble and signed up for a job that had a high level of social interaction and a job where I couldn't be the quiet sort who sat back all the time. In my previous jobs I could get by being that person but not in this one and I guess in a way it toughened me up and helped me learn how to adapt to a lot of situations. It wasn't easy and I'll admit there were moments where my anxieties were the worst they have ever been but I would recommend it to anyone to sign up.

Its a fulfilling job, one where people actually look after each other!
 

nicole1

Well-known member
The internet is your friend. Look up the different options you have: freelancing, online store front, blogging, much more. There are books on this very topic as well. Think of what you are good at, take some classes, and possibly go from there. You don't have to go the traditional route.
 

Sacrament

Well-known member
You can't let your fears get the best of you, and you can't be a perfectionist. Accept that no one's perfect, and that it's okay if you mess up sometimes, and that it's a learning process. If you feel terrible every time you make a mistake, you won't function in society or at home. You need to constantly expose yourself to the things you're afraid of. Send resumés to places you don't really want to work for (like fast food places, etc) just so you can go to the interview and practice. Practice interviews with a friend, and get to know a company before going to an interview, so you have an idea of what they're about and how you can contribute. Also, be aware that the person doing the interview is probably nervous as well, since it's not often that the 'big bosses' do the interviews themselves.

Most of all, if you let the anxiety get the best of you, you won't succeed. Remember that anxiety is a normal thing, and that everyone 'suffers' from it. The difference lies on how you deal with it, and how you reprogram your mind in order to filter out certain thoughts and open the door for more positive ones. Remember: it's okay to feel anxiety. It's the body's response to fear/danger. Back in the day, it was the difference between getting mauled to death by a bear or making a safe escape (anxiety triggered endorphines and adrenaline, which in turn kept you alerted and able to run from danger). Since there are no such dangers in today's world, the mind had to adapt, and makes up all sorts of dangerous situations and scenarios when in reality there are no real threats.

Allow yourself to breathe into the anxiety, and focus outwardly. Focus on your breathing, and on how it's okay to feel anxiety. Don't allow your mind to feed on the anxiety and vice-versa, otherwise you'll be stuck in a loop. Freedom is letting go, just as you are, and to go with the flow of things. Have an interview? Cool. Turn your fear and anxiety into excitement and just being overall pumped for the new experience, knowing it will help you grow and make progress in life, as opposed to being too afraid to go.

Take a deep breath, put your shoes on and just go. Think less, do more.
 

Aylaa

Well-known member
Is it normal to be this nervous when simply sending in an application? My mouse was hovering over the send button for minutes before I finally clicked it. Gaaah!
But now it's *fingers crossed*! (And writing more letters.... )
 
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