[jbdaman301]

Hey guys, I'm new at this so bare with me. I was just laid off for for the 3rd time in the past year! I live and work in the North Dakota oil fields. My wife and I live in a 30' fifth wheel in an rv Park in the middle of nowhere, because apartments are too expensive to rent (upwards of $2000/ month for a modest 1 bedroom). I am a heavy equipment operator so I am used to the idea of layoffs but never like I've seen up here. I personally have been laid off a total of 6 times in three years. At first I took it personal and wondered what I did wrong. It didn't take me very long to figure out that it wasn't me, just the nature of this place. Needless to say it's been a hard 3 years here and every aspect of my life has been adversely affected by it, including my mental health. To top it off, my wife is bi-polar, has adhd, is constantly in a manic state, and ocd. I suffer from bi-polar, depression, anxiety and the occasional psychotic episode. And all that wrapped up in a 30' trailer with no money and nowhere to go. I just keep telling myself that the sun will rise tomorrow, but man I'm getting tired and beat up...

[nonightowl]

It isn't you. It's the way things work in this country, the hiring practices of employers, the mindset of not hiring people who are out of work (Hello? Who put them out of work?), the mindset of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps", etc. Greed too, what with prices & rent always going up but not your salary.

I've been let go many times too. All they can do is tell you to work on your resume and do mock interviews. When we have things like this going on, it's easy to blame the victim rather than come up with solutions. It's like how we criminalize homelessness. WTF?

Sorry, I don't want to go on my rant but I just wanted to let you know it's not just you. We have few safety nets in this country, and the ones we do have are hard to qualify for.

Personally I think this country is in the toilet and has been for quite some time.

Welcome to PC and I hope you find it helpful.

[Skeezyks]

Hello jbdaman301: Welcome to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. There are many knowledgeable & caring members here. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!

Im so sorry. that all sounds so hard.

Hello, jbdaman,



Please contact a Community Liasion if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Rainy

You are going through such a stressful time, I hope things improve soon.

Can your wife work? If she can't, she may be disabled and qualify for SSDI benefits. SSA.org has the information. Just a thought...

You have mental illnesses, too, that may qualify you for SSDI if you can't work.

The application process to get approved can take years, but not always. I was approved in three months. I applied online at their website.

[profound_betrayal]

jbdaman301, nonightowl is so right, it's NOT you!
So much of the pressure we feel today is due to greed - we get less & less & feel the squeeze.

Your situation is a hard one - no space, no work, no money with other issues. It's great that you posted here, you situation isn't sustainable.

rainyday107 has a wonderful idea - hope you try there & let us know how its goes. It would be great to hear of a reprieve, you have been through so much (& continue to)

[FireIsland123]

It sounds like the isolation is really making a very tough situation even worse. Yes? If you grew up in ND or not, its probably best to figure out how to get out of there. I know. Easy for me to say. But you have to be mobile. What would tell someone else to do? Where would you tell them to start looking? Who can they call to stay with? Would you tell them to get on a job website like Indeed and start looking far and wide? It sucks I know. But look at all these people who leave everything behind and travel 10,000 miles to come here? Look around. Where will things be where you are six months from now? If not good, start selling stuff, whatever. But another brutal winter up there will be unbearable. Trust me. I know. Good luck man. You've got the skills. You need to go where they are in demand and appreciated.