girlofprey: (R for raygun)
girlofprey ([personal profile] girlofprey) wrote2016-08-31 04:56 pm

(no subject)

My Jobcentre appointment was awful. Apparently, since the last time I was on ESA about 6 years ago, it's become a much stricter regime - to the point that you're expected to spend five hours a day searching for jobs, or filling in application forms, ideally with the government's jobmatch website open so they can monitor your activity. Given that filling in forms is one of the things that still triggers my OCD, and that I'm not even looking for 25 hours of paid work, this is really not what I was expecting or hoping for. So I cried pretty much throughout the appointment.

Luckily, the advisor I was seeing was also a disability advisor - the one who trained the disability advisor I used to see while I was on ESA, in fact - and she was very sympathetic. She said she'd put me on her disability caseload, and I could have all my appointments with her since she knew about my problems, and they could restrict some of the requirements since there were greater barriers for me getting back to work than a lot of people. She also suggested I go back to therapy, since I was obviously 'still very emotional'. We had a long talk about my circumstances, and she suggested a lot of things - getting my parents to help me, getting family therapy - a lot of which were kind of no-goes, but some of which should be helpful. So. We'll see. I knew the Conservatives were fuckers, and I suspected that Jobseeker's might be more demanding now than when I used to be on it - but even thinking about what I used to do, essentially just apply for three jobs a week, made me anxious, so this was really out of the ballpark. But. We'll see. I'll give it a go, and we'll see how it goes.

[identity profile] slemslempike.livejournal.com 2016-08-31 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, that all sounds very horrid, I'm sorry. Glad that you have a disability advisor though.

[identity profile] girlofprey.livejournal.com 2016-08-31 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you. Yeah, it's really a best case scenario. We'll just see how I do with it. My mum was already looking for NHS jobs in the area by the time I got home, and there are a few, so maybe I'll even just have a job before too long.

[identity profile] whatho.livejournal.com 2016-08-31 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry. It sounds awful. I thought it sounded awful enough the couple of times I began the process and backed out in favour of a) going back to university and b) moving in my parents. Next time I think I've set up home in a tent on a riverbank. I hope it goes as well as could be expected. x

[identity profile] girlofprey.livejournal.com 2016-09-02 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I think I would recommend the tent on the riverbank. It's certainly a lot more full-on than the last time I was on it, but I guess, given the change in government, it's too be expected. Fuck the Conservatives, though.
jekesta: (bf)

[personal profile] jekesta 2016-09-01 10:46 am (UTC)(link)
*hugs you loads* That is shit.

[identity profile] girlofprey.livejournal.com 2016-09-02 06:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you. So far, it hasn't been too bad, but it was a little overwhelming.