My Gawd I relate to everything you said. I too got a settlement but this enabled me to move away from a town and family that was a terrible situation and I too had Slum Lords - they exist in Australian Country towns too!! lol

My apartment is great (I had some renovations done), my neighbours are great, I love where I live and failing meeting Prince Charming, I will live here for many years to come, maybe the rest of my life.

But something bad HAS happened since I got here. I made a 100% cut from family as they are so toxic and would you believe (I am a Beeper with other psych illnesses and also a 12 years sober alcoholic in AA) it, but in one of my earliest AA meetings in this new town, in walks one of my brothers, who is an alcoholic and addict who hasn't been able to get sober and clean as well as an untreated person with mental illness and he is aggressive, violent, completely unable to control his emotions. I am terrified him and it threw me into PTSD, actually CPTSD and it's been so hard. He's away in Long Term rehab now thank God - for him and for me. Truly, I wish he'd just move away forever - I wish him the best, but I wish he'd go away.

I also have the Social Security issue. It's called Disability Support Pension in Australia and our Government has just made massive announcements that they are going to push people off the pension onto work and it they don't go, they will partially or completely cut the pension. I have tried to go back to work, to study, to volunteer. I was in a high end career until 4 years ago when I got the boot due to the fact that I couldn't do my work due to my mental illnesses. I went from a high salary, to 20% of that, so I am hardly a "bludger" - if I could be working I would - I did heaps of post Secondary study to get my career. I have no idea how I would live if they took my pension away as I have not a single person to fall back on.

But I guess as has been said, on both the issue of my brother, and also the Pension, I need to live by AA mottos and live in the day and practise not projecting into the future.