[Dyskresiac]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck with financial help for people with a history of having mental health problems. I'm not looking for loan forgiveness, bankruptcy, or even loss of wages. I'm just looking for... a reset button. (Aren't we all?)

About 4-5 years ago I was in a situation where I was married to someone with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and I was providing for not just the two of us but also her 2 children. I also suffer from serious anxiety and I have a history of depression. A downward spiral of events eventually led to both of us in a crippling suicidal depression with loads upon loads of poor financial decisions being made.

We've now been divorced for 4 years and I'm still working on putting my life back together from those years and I just can't seem to get back on my feet. I make good money, and I'm NOW responsible... but my actions back then under those situations were NOT representative of me or my actions now that I'm in a healthy environment and doing better for myself mentally. (Medication, therapy, etc)

Does anyone know if there's anyone who works with, creditors and/or credit agencies to help people in these sorts of situations clean up after the storm has passed? Has anyone had any luck climbing out of this situation?

Thanks

Hi Dyskresiac, welcome to PC! I hope you find your time here to be of benefit.

I'm afraid the only help I've seen for people with mental health issues is disability, but you say that you are making good money at the moment so you may not qualify for it if you're making too much. My dad has had to claim bankruptcy twice which forgave his loans, but you mentioned that is not something you are looking for. You might just have to pay your loans slowly over time, unfortunately. I hope others on the forum have other suggestions because I don't have anything useful to add.

[leejosepho]

I believe there are credit counselors who will review your overall debt situation -- never mind the backstory -- and then assess your present income, expenses and such and then tell you the amount (every pay period) they will need in order to try to negotiate with your creditors and come up with some terms everyone is willing to accept. I would guess most of those kinds of agencies have their own fee for services rendered, and there is nothing they are doing that an individual cannot do for himself or herself even though the agency would have a lot more experience in doing all of that. If you might be so inclined, do a web search for "credit counsel my-city" (put your own city name there) and see what you get.

[MuseumGhost]

You might be able to find more information from your closest local members of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI, NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | NAMI: The National Alliance on Mental Illness ).

A State, or Municipal organization might also be able to point you in the right direction for advice.

(I live in Canada, but used to live in the States.)

Good luck with everything. I find myself in a similar circumstance.