Re: working or volunteering
Hi Josephine
I have not worked for about 9 years now due to anxiety and PA's . I find it difficult to travel on buses and live in a small town. Last year I was on a positive run and decided I wanted to ' get back out there'. There was a particular Charity Shop i used to go into and they were advertising for Volunteers. I thought I would go for this, and after a week of walking past the shop and chickening out, i finally went in and met Wendy, who is one of the managers there. I started off assertive, asking if I could volunteer and then I told her that i had a problem.. I explained my situation, that I suffered with panic attacks and may not actually be able to do this ! I even started blubbering ! . She was very understanding and held my hand and said that she would love to have me aboard and to take it a day at a time.. I started the next week. I worked with some other older ladies, and a different manager who was herself suffering from depression and on Citalopram. These ladies were lovely.. some have problems of their own, be it depression or an illness of some sort.. others were just pensioners who worked there in their spare time to help the hospice etc. I only worked one day a week, for about 3 hours. If ever i felt I needed air or to go home, I could go. There was no pressure.
As there was no pressure, like you would get in a paid job.. I found it eased my anxiety and i enjoyed my time there, however after about 7 months I suffered a bad dose of depression and anxiety and did not go for a few months.. they were understanding and said i was welcome back anytime.
I think Voluntering like this is a great opportunity for people like us, to get out of our safety zones for a while.. to do something positive and productve with our lives.. even if it's just for an hour a week. Most charity shops take on volunteers who are disabled in some way or just have some spare time to offer. I think you should go into the shop and ask to speak to the manager, say that you would really like to help out and volunteer but that you have this problem. You may find that they would of dealt with people like this before, and may be able to arrange a couple of hours a week to suit you. It is worth a try.. and believe me, when you have managed to do even just an hour of work, be it going through books or steaming clothes.. you will feel so good and proud of yourself.. I did.
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Living with an anxiety disorder and the affects it has on us and the people around us seems to be an ongoing battle to be fought. But we do win these battles and one day we will win the war...