Jobs for people with anxiety?

[Ayesha17]

Hi there Im 17 have social anxiety and was wondering does anyone know of work at home jobs?
Thankyou xx

[RatBrain]

Hiya,

When I was your age I really couldn't contemplate getting a job because of my social anxiety. Even now, my worst case scenario is 'first day in a new job.' I avoided working through school and uni by being really, really careful with money but I was still skint the whole time. My parents thought I was just lazy which was upsetting because I'm not scared of hard work - I'm just scared of people!

Anyway, I spent hours on the internet trying to find a home based job I could do but most of them are a con. In the end, when I was absolutly forced to get a job after my degree (office temping) because I couldn't pay the rent, I found it wasn't that bad. Obviously, it was still really stressful but I did cope and I remember thinking, 'I wish I'd done this years ago.' (Plus, it's reassuring to know that you can quit anytime from a temp job without repercussions). I know it's not easy but the more stuff you force yourself to do now, the more managable your anxiety will become.

If you can face it, try office temping like I did. No one expects that much of you and most roles involve you interacting with a computer rather than people. Even now - I'm 24 and have come a long way - I don't think I could face working in a bar or a shop.

Good luck. Ironically, I'm a research assistant and I work from home a lot now but I don't think it's healthy for me at all. I know that the only way I'll beat my anxiety is to face it head on.

[PoppyC]

Hi Ayesha
There are now a lot more companies who offer employment to people to work from home. I gained employment with a travel company.It is a proper job working for a national company and not one of the home based cons. I went on a training course for it and it really suits me. A friend of mine is a Virtual P.A.(V.A.) working from home and she is doing really well. I have a room in my house which I use for my office. The only thing I have found is that, is that working from home can be very isolating and depressing at times, even though I love my own company and don't like being surrounded by people and that is why I am looking for another job, working outside of the home.
Have a look on the jobcentre site, and all the other recruitment sites online, and also in your local papers.
Good luck!