Many of us are unemployed and/or have medical issues?

[firehorsewoman]

Is it my imagination or are many of us dealing with serious health issues and unemployment or underemployment?

 

[Marcie Mac]

Serious health issues here and probably will be laid off soon. Not good as due to my age, insurance is really expensive - more than my mortgage Am thankful difficult child stuff is few and far between now

Marcie

 

[InsaneCdn]

I think it comes with the territory.

Somewhere, saw some stat that said that parents of high-needs kids are much more likely to end up unemployed or underemployed.

And... with the stress we all live under, we either ARE physically crumbling... or just might some day soon.

That goes for me, too.

 

[TeDo]

I finally have a job (only 15-20 hrs a week) that is NOTHING related to what I went to college for after over a year of not working. I'm just thankful it's SOMETHING. And they say the unemployment rate is going down. Yea??? Not anywhere near where I live. It's higher than I've ever seen it. As for health issues, I consider myself lucky (so far)!

 

[firehorsewoman]

I think it comes with the territory.

Somewhere, saw some stat that said that parents of high-needs kids are much more likely to end up unemployed or underemployed.

And... with the stress we all live under, we either ARE physically crumbling... or just might some day soon.

That goes for me, too.

Agree it does come with the territory....and see so much of it here. One thing that does surprise me is that there are fewer divorced and single parents here than I would have expected. When difficult child was three (I was still married at the time) and he was seeing a neurologist, psychiatrist and therapist they told his dad and I then that that parents of kids like ours were at high risk of divorce.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Divorce IS a high risk. It takes a while to figure out which people on the board have never been divorced and never been in other committed relationships. There are some, but even with divorce stats, the board probably holds true with your psychiatrist and tdocs' statements.

 

[firehorsewoman]

I finally have a job (only 15-20 hrs a week) that is NOTHING related to what I went to college for after over a year of not working. I'm just thankful it's SOMETHING. And they say the unemployment rate is going down. Yea??? Not anywhere near where I live. It's higher than I've ever seen it. As for health issues, I consider myself lucky (so far)!

I remember you posting about that. Hope it is working out for you and not another source of stress. I hope that you find something more suitable to your education soon. Cross your fingers, pray, whatever on the health thing....nothing is worse. You are at really high risk (like me) being single and a mom of difficult child(s). We hold things together and if we fall apart it really goes downhill.....fast.

 

[Hound dog]

Unemployed with chronic health issues, but my issues don't have anything to do with difficult children.

I don't know who keeps saying the unemployment thing is getting better, but either they're blind or lying. It's just getting worse and worse here. But I keep trying anyway. ugh

 

[Malika]

Not unemployed, not seriously ill (yet )

 

[DammitJanet]

I was a stay at home mom until my kids got old enough to be in school and attend after school care because daycare for 3 kids was simply not worth what I would make. The cost - benefit didnt weigh out especially with difficult child's. Then I worked for about quite a while until my health gave out and my mom's health went way downhill and she needed me. I have been disabled since 2003. I dont think my kids have a thing to do with my health issues. Mine are both mental and physical. I think I have passed my issues down to my kids in fact.

Now as far as being married, single etc. I was married to my oldest sons father but it was a very short time. He left us before my son was a year old I think. I ended up meeting my youngest two boys father in 1983 and I have been with him ever since. This past July made 29 years I think. (I have to figure out how old Jamie is and add a year...lol)

 

[Californiablonde]

I have good steady job and no major (physical) health problems so I guess I can consider myself lucky. Yeah I'm a single mom but both my kids are in perfect health and so am I so for that I am truly grateful.

 

[BusynMember]

I noticed the physically ill part too. For now (knocking on wood) I have been very fortunate that way for my (cough) advanced age. Mental illness...I always struggled with that, from the time I was a kid, way before I had difficult children. And it makes sense to me that people with mental illness tend to have kids who also have issues, if they are biological kids. And adopted kids are usually the products of difficult children.

I've had a few short term good jobs, but due to my serious learning disabilities and soft neurological signs, along with the face blindness which makes even my co-worker who sits next to me a stranger when I see her in the mall, I have had a terrible time holding down jobs which is why I got SSDI on the first try (God, that's so rare. They must think I'm pathetic...lol). I've always had a higher IQ than I work up to. "Confused" is my middle name and always has been. I can't multi-task or I forget what I was doing. Therefore, I am content just to be a lowly bus aide, loving the kids.

I think the divorce rate here is sky high. Almost all of us seem to have at least gone through one divorce. I know a few have not, but it seems that most of us have. Divorce and remarriage and kids from him and hub cause more stress. Stress causes health issues. Etc, etc, etc...

 

[KTMom91]

I'm on Husband 3.0...divorced Miss KT's father aka Useless Boy for his difficult child behaviors. I suppose I'd be considered underemployed; I'm a fully credentialed substitute teacher who stays busy. Health issues...yeah, but somehow I'm still chugging along.