not sure how to handle this...

the place I am living at right now will probably be sold in the next two months. I have no money, no job, and a severe mental illness that keeps me from that. I have applied for ssi but am waiting on a decision. (I have been denied twice before) I have about six weeks to find a new place to live. the biggest problem with that, is I've finally found something that helps make my severe depression 'not as bad'. (and I've been searching for something, like meds/therapy, for over eight years now) and that something is living on a farm out in the country, with open space, a big lawn, and pets outside. the problem is I can't afford that! anyone got any ideas?? I am running out of time here and the stress of it all is insanely overwhelming...

I would look for something "like" what you have right now, something not very far away or very different, etc. The less upset/change you have with this move, the better. You can keep looking for your ideal/best place to live when you have more time.

Did you appeal when you got denied?....if not then defiantly appeal if you get denied again. Unfortunately that doesn't help your immediate situation. Do you have any family or friends that you could potentially stay with free of rent until you could get SSI or figure something out?

jra, I'm also under pressure to find a place to live and waiting on disability...its tough and very frustrating...

THE THING about your scenario I don't understand is how you are surviving now if you "have no money, no job." And how will you be able to afford to live at any new place with "no money, no job." I don't get what your situation is.

I BELIEVE YOU when you say that living out in the country helps with your depression. But the "mental health system" (psychiatrists, SSA, social workers, etc.) won't accept that as anything legitimate in their eyes. In the U.S.A., as in most nations in the world, only the wealthy get to live where they want to. The rest of us must make do with something that is not what we'd really like.

OVERWHELMING STRESS--yes, I've had that too, in situations like yours. But, in reality, stressing is a waste of time. It doesn't move the ball down the field at all. Stress of this sort, at least to a significant degree, is voluntary, in my opinion. In other words, we get and stay in a state of "overwhelming stress" because we see the big hardship coming and yet don't take practical steps to solve it before it hits. We keep hoping for some miracle. Some of us might start buying lottery tickets, thinking that a big win will solve everything. In posting your question here, you hoped that someone might know of some clever way to solve your problem. Well, we let you down. If we had all the facts of your situation, maybe we could be of more help. If we knew more about your depression, more about your life history, more about your current finances, maybe we could help more. But we don't.

ALL I KNOW is that the worst situation in the world to be in, for me, is to be absolutely dependent on the goodwill, generosity, fairness, honesty, and competency of complete strangers in the government and in social service agencies and organizations.

WHERE are your relatives? Why aren't they helping you?

IN THE FINAL analysis, in my opinion, no one the earth really cares whether you or I die or live a good life or live a miserable life, EXCEPT FOR family members who still care about us. That may sound cruel. It has taken me a long time to realize this. Strangers don't treat us fairly in many matters because we are not important to them. There are 6 or 7 billion people on the planet, and most of them are meaningless to most of us. That's just the way it is.

SO, I think we must determine not to be dependent on society, on the government, on strangers. We must resolve to survive either by ourselves alone, or, by ourselves and whichever or whatever family members still care about us. Yes, I think it is okay to use programs like SSI and Food Stamps and Unemployment Insurance and Medicaid, and so on, if we can get them. But we should never, in my opinion, become dependent on them and expect them to always be there. We should always be making plans to become, as much as possible, as soon as possible. self-reliant, or self- and family-reliant.

THOSE OF US who have a psychiatric illness have an extra burden. And that's not fair. But so what. The wind blows where it will. The tree falls where it will. Life is generally not fair in its various happenings.

BUT STILL we can make life better by own own efforts. We must work on our problems. We defeat problems with work, with blood, sweat and tears. We can ask for help, but, alas, there's just not enough help to go around.

MY INSPIRATION for the ideas in this post come from the books by the following psychiatrists:

-Dr. Phil Stutz (author of Tools)
-Dr. Peter Breggin (author of Medication Madness)
-Dr. Abraham Low (author of Mental Health Through Will-Training)

I know I didn't give the answer you were hoping for. I hope this was of some use to you, nevertheless. I hope you can find a decent place to live. I hope you can get the experience of the great outdoors that make you feel better.