Topic Tuesday // Navigating work life and mental health // Tues 17 Sep, 7pm AEST

[Former-Member]

Hi @eth - thanks for coming along and for sharing! Your contribution is definately still valued and valid and your history is part of what work life is and the fact that its not always straight forward and linear right. I like a little humor in the way you handle peoples questions to you. 

It sounds like you are taking some really great steps that are comfortable for you to ease back into work area via volunteering too 👏

[BlueBay]

@CheerBear @Former-Member  I’m constantly going from one job to another. At wirk I forget where I’m up to. 

[CheerBear]

So with you @eth in learning skills from being here on the forum. The hours I've clocked up soaking up the peer support experience (learning from others, practicing it myself) here has definitely helped me as far as skills in this area. Great to hear you're thinking about peer mentoring!

[Fracturedlight]

@Former-Member 👋

I currently work part time in pharmacy. Which has opened my eyes to how many people are on certain medications. I struggle most days to make it there. If I'm not working I feel like a failure, if I am able to keep working I feel.like I'm drowning. It's extremely difficult to navigate day to day.

[Lise07]

Thanks @Former-Member. Often with these busy threads I'm too slow to reply to the current question.

[Former-Member]

@CheerBear those are great transferable skills! Juggling lots of things at once is great - this can be linked to working well under pressure, or having good time management or prioritisation skills. Mediation is another great one - there is something in that around managing relationships, good team worker when you can manage possible issues that occur. 

@cutiepiekitty that is also a great note - helping to educate businesses around disability and access is really important and if you are interested I am sure a bit of research could lead you to some possible volunteer roles where you could help give your perspective on accessibility issues- such as surveys from the governement that might come out etc? Hobbies leading to work or being part of that work life is also wonderful - transferable skills could be around communication and education :ok_hand:

[Former-Member]

Welcome @Fracturedlight! Hearing you around how hard it can be to manage our expectations around work. It can be a bit of a balance - earlier I mentioned its really important (not easy always but important!) to remember that our value does not lie only or solely in our work capacity and also 'work' is different for everyone. Achievements can be big and small and can be part of work for some and it's just as valuable to be aware of those but we will look at that more soon in this discussion!

@CheerBear @eth - there are great skills to be picked up just from engaging in a peer support environment

@Lise07 - it can be hard even for me to keep up when it's busy! But thats part of the fun right? haha no pressure, take your time and reply to whatever works for you 😊

[Former-Member]

The time is really flying tonight - so great to be discussing this and a lot of really supportive things coming through around all vissions of work life. Lets move on to our next discussion point. Although this one might not apply to everyone's situation here right now, it can still be handy to reflect on for the future or to helps others that might read through or be reading, so lets have a go! 

Lets talk about interviews when it comes to jobs - paid or volunteer or situational on any level. Interviews for a lot of people can incite anxiety and fears. They can often feel a bit intimidating and we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves. What are some things you have found that have helped through the anxiety around interviews? What are some tips to consider that you have heard or have applied?

[cutiepiekitty]

My really hard "work" at the moment is on me, getting into counselling and starting. That in itself is hard work. but hopefully I will be able to learn to trust and be able to offer things to people that I have not met before. That is a skill that I hope one day to master. Currently most people are unsafe until I get to know them

[cutiepiekitty]

I would love to hear how others cope with this. I find it very difficult (impossible in some cases) to go into a room where I do not know the people. Sometimes even if I do know someone I can go into unsafe mode. Even worse if I am expected to walk into a room with anyone behind me.