Is it really that bleak? I am also broke and jobless at the moment, but I don't consider myself unskilled. In fact, I was very good at my previous job, but it's not something I'm interested in doing anymore, so I'm looking for other avenues of employment, though to be honest, I might go back to my old occupation and slave it out in an undesirable location for a year or two to get some savings going. In the meantime, I've been using the time to catch up on things I love. For example, I'm writing again and shopping things around for publication. For whatever reason, when I taught writing while abroad, I barely wrote at all. Maybe it was because I was in a non-English speaking context, or it was too much for me to process, or maybe I found it depressing to correct people all the time. In any event, getting back into it has made me think about going back to school, possibly for writing, though I'd have to do some research on what the job market is like for English professors (probably not so fantastic right now). My point is, life is too short not to struggle and fight our way through to things that we hope for. If I'm going to fail, at least I'll fail on my terms.
A beautiful sentiment, but i truly have no skills. I am 18 years old, i have never had a job in my life worth mentioning. I am expected to go to university next year but i have failed to even finish high school. I live with my parents who provide everything i have for me, and always have. My very life causes them great stress and is the sole reason my mother has depression. It really is that bleak.
At 18 you have far more time and options than you think. Knock out the GED or whatever is necessary to get that diploma. That's step one. Don't worry about not having skills at 18. You would have never projected my current life from my 18 yo self. If I could grant you my perspective, I would. It's far to early to start counting.
I am aware that his will sound like total bullshit being used as just an excuse, but i cannot work. I don't know why, but i find it beyond impossible to study or pay attention to anything for more than 30 seconds. Hell, writing this required several breaks.
Get on that adderall son. Edit: OK, that wasn't insightful enough of a comment for me to leave without adding on to it. What I really mean is: go see a doctor, talk to them about your attention difficulties, and see if something can be done to help you so that you can focus. You should also loop your parents in on this conversation and ask if they have noticed your attention problems, if they think you may have ADD or ADHD, and if they think this would be beneficial/etc. Also, seriously, at 18, almost everyone lives with their parents. I know 28-year-olds still living with their parents. That's really not a big deal. Don't start beating yourself up about it until you become one of the 28 year olds.
I agree with this. What you relate sounds like depression to me SeventhProphet. I've had bouts that were crushing, and extended. Seriously, see someone if you can. That said, ultimately, I have found that I have developed better strategies for working through that stuff. Also, I think it's very likely that your neurochemistry changes as you get older, and that might make it easier in time too. IMO action is the ultimate cure. Do things that you will be glad you did the next day. Force yourself to do one thing each day that qualifies as that, even if it's small. It's powerful stuff.
I do have depression, and psychosis. I'm not on meds though, my parents don't know and i'm not seeing anybody. I know that you're all going to tell me that i just need to talk to someone, but i'm worried that if i do that my parents will ship me half way across the world (it's a long story), and that would upset me. _refugee_ i'll look into ADHD, thanks for the advice.