I am 37 and have a history of depression and employment problems. How can I get employed. But not fast food?

I have had a history of job jumping. I have never been employed longer than 8 mths. Now I have been out of work for 3 years because of my trying to get well due to my major depression. I have a Vocational rehabilitation counselor and a employment specialist. But no one wants to look any further than my resume. I have experience in material handling(forklift certified). History of shipping/receiving and distribution 5 years worth. I have a family to take care of and I am desperate to fix this. But how and who?

I am 37 and have a history of depression and employment problems. How can I get employed. But not fast food?
Have the Vocational Rehab counselor send you for retraining in a field that most interests you. Then change your resume from chronological order and just say 5 years work history in _____. . .you did not say if the job hopping was due to the depression or if you were fired as a result of depression. These things are like dominos. . . One follows the other. Hard to know which came first the chicken or the egg. You must delve inside and figure out why you job hopped. Is it hard to work with others, or you did not like your work, or mentally you could just not function. Learning these things about ourself will help you hone in on being successfull in you next job. For example: If it is others you don't like being around choose a field or work where you can work alone. All that advice is only if you are stable with the depression. If the depression is not stable then you set yourself up for failure and more depression just like a boomerang. Employment services don't normally care much but you do need a good supportive voc rehab worker. If you are not getting the help there ask for a new one.
Reply:David - Depression can have many causes: mental (what you are thinking), emotional (too many blocked emotions) and physical (an inactive lifestyle). To work through your anger and depression you need to work on all levels.





MENTAL - According to Richard Carlson, author of "You Can Be Happy No Matter What," most people think happiness is conditional and outside of themselves or expect that it is a fleeting feeling based on the events in their lives or their circumstances. They don't realize that their happiness is inside of them IN THE MOMENT.





According to Carlson, most people are unhappy because most of their thinking is negative. Negative thinking IN THE MOMENT leads to a negative feeling IN THE MOMENT which leads to a negative mood. Then the negative mood leads to a negative feeling in the moment which leads to more negative thinking in the moment. It becomes a viscous circle.





The reverse is also true. Positive thinking in the moment leads to positive feelings in the moment which leads to a positive mood.





The trick is not to try to feel better or think positively, the trick is to think positive thoughts and to FEEL GOOD. When I feel down, I don't try to change what I'm thinking/feeling, I just DELIBERATELY start thinking positive thoughts about things I like..





When you start to think or feel negative, STOP THINKING ABOUT WHATEVER YOU ARE THINKING and DELIBERATELY start thinking about things that make you happy. You have to make a deliberate effort. I just say things to myself like "I like the song Forever Young by Rod Stewart, I like chocolate chip cookies, I like the movie "The Simpsons" By changing my focus I immediately change my feelings and then my thoughts automatically go back to positive. You might want to make a "Happy" list and carry it with you for those times when negative thoughts/feelings get the best of you.





EMOTIONAL - Every day we all feel many different emotions. Emotions are just ENERGIES IN MOTION in our bodies. Emotions are meant to be FELT and RELEASED. In America, we are taught that emotions are weak and so most people ignore or downplay their emotions.





Every time you don't allow yourself or you aren't allowed to fully experience an emotion, to feel it, and to move through it, the energy of that emotion becomes stopped and blocked in your body. It remains blocked until you go back and re-experience that emotion. Then the energetic block is freed and cleared. Virtually all of our physical ailments come from energetic blocks in our bodies, energetic patterns that are connected to our emotional patterns





When emotions are blocked for a long time, your body shuts down emotionally and you get numb (depressed). You feel tired and have no interest in anything. The emotions that are blocked also tend to LEAK out (like in angry outbursts).





One good way to release blocked emotions and anger is to use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or Emotional Tapping. In EFT you apply gentle acupressure tapping to specific body points to release blocked emotions. EFT is easy to learn (you can learn the basics in 15-30 minutes). You can use EFT anytime, anywhere for any emotional or physical issue. One basic round of EFT takes about one minute to complete. EFT works quickly and painlessly.





Please download the FREE EFT Instructional manual from the EFT website (www.emofree.com). Also, please watch the FREE introductory video.





PHYSICAL - If you are a person who doesn't exercise on a regular basis, your body gets "Stale" and you feel tired and lethargic. Taking a brisk 15 minute walk every day will do wonders to improve your mood. Exercise releases endorphins, which are natural mood elevators into the bloodstream, which makes you feel GOOD. Exercise also helps to release stress (anger) so you won't feel depressed all the time.





One last thing, drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Your body is 70% water and water helps flush toxins out of your body. If you don't drink enough water your body cannot cleanse itself internally and you will feel lethargic and have no energy. Some depression is really just dehydration.





In terms of employment, my 19 year old son (who goes to college full-time) was recently employed in a security job. He attended a three day training class (for $75) and then got a $12/hour job. Since 9-11 Security is a growing job field. His job is steady but low pressure.





Good luck!
Reply:Maybe you should get on disability until you are better to work full time. Then once on that you can apply for VESSID, which might help you if you need further education. Also, Careers for ppl with disabilities might be of some help,,sorry i dont know the exact name or web-site,,,but if you do some research im sure you will find it.





good luck and hang in there!
Reply:Could you possibly work for yourself? Maybe you have some skill that someone is looking for.... even if its manual labor. That would let you set your own hours and deal with your emotional stuff as it comes up. At least you could think about starting your own business on weekends or something... if you did happen to get full time work.
Reply:Well I'm 32 and had a similar problem. The best I can recommend is working through a temp service. I started with a temp service and ended up full time within the first 90 days. Good luck!

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