Let me see if I can respond to that w/o appearing to be making excuses or something like.
I'm not in therapy because I have no money for therapy. After being dropped by MHMRA I still needed meds. I talked to my mother's doctor about the situation. He prescribed the meds I had been getting from MHMRA. One of the scrips is IMO expensive. When I ran out of money my siblings paid for the meds. That and food and shelter was the extent of my "pay." I really didn't expect or want to be paid for taking care of my mother. It was something that needed to be done and I did it. I was a musician in between gigs and I was disillusioned with that job anyway. It wasn't as if I was giving up much. I sold all my equipment and did what I felt was my duty.
There was no house or estate after my mother died. Just bills.
After I began working again paying for my meds was not a problem. Seeing a therapist was something I considered but didn't pursue. I felt "good enough" most of the time I was working. My experiences being caregiver to my mother left me a bit empty and w/o much vision of a future. I was pretty much just going on w/ existence to see what happened because...well that's all I saw left to do. I had been depressed and ending my life was a frequent thought before my mother's illness. My commitment to taking care of my mother isn't quite over yet either. She had two cats. One died recently. The other is still my responsibility. I still see that as part of my commitment.
Accepting help from my family isn't a matter of swallowing pride. I just don't want or expect my family to do any more than they have already.
Other than the sister I live with I rarely hear from my family. I don't talk with my sister very much. She has problems of her own.
I have about $700 left in savings. I actually like working. It's good for the self esteem. It's probably
necessary for self esteem in my case. I have a really hard time just getting myself psyched up to go to the grocery store though, so I think getting a job is pretty unlikely. Guess I'm going to have to look into that "or something" suggestion.
Thanks for trying to help.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Perna
Yes, it sounds like you probably don't have a good case since you aren't in therapy or trying to find work or haven't a lot of the time. Whether you "could" find work is not something considered; the problems of the economy are not considered when dealing with your, personal illness problems. But I would check with a lawyer; they would know for sure if you had a "case" and be able to help you most (as they'd have a financial stake in your getting it).
Didn't your family give you some income when you were taking care of your mother (so they didn't have to take care of her!) or consideration afterwards (if she died, leave you the house or most of any estate, that sort of thing)? If you have siblings, I think I'd swallow any pride and come up with a plan whereby if they didn't want to be "burdened" with you that they contribute some for your past services and help you find a job you could do or something.
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