YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

I have a question that I hope someone here can help me with.

I'm currently in a life situation that could be described as "royally fucked." I've been unemployed for four years despite my best efforts, currently penniless, a college student with one semester left before obtaining a degree, and facing homelessness in about a month and a half. I'm working on getting assistance from Medicaid and food stamps, and have received help from some of my family, friends, and student services at school.

All of these problems have culminated in my not being able to focus on schoolwork or writing (my desired profession). I can't get my mind off where I'm going to get my next meal, or tank of gas, or whether I'm going to be in a homeless shelter soon. My question is, what can I do to clear my head of my life problems and concentrate on getting work done?

Take a break from school, that would be the first step. You can always return after your situation improves.
Contact your local resources (311) and charities. Get your basics taken care of (food, clothing, shelter).
You can't be super human and try and conquer everything when you can't get your basic needs met. This is specially true if you live in North America where homelessness can be deadly due to the weather this time of year.
Most of the resources that will be able to help right away are located in the first 3 pages of your local phone book. If you are in a rural area you will have to head to a major city or town there is just no way around it.


Take care

I'd love to be able to take time off school, but I only have one semester left and my only source of income is tuition refunds. I've gotta go to school in order to get the money.

This is just a thought, and this might be the wrong way to think about it, but I'm going to go ahead and share it anyway. You're truly in a difficult situation and I can't really imagine how stressful it must be, but I wonder if perhaps you accept that this is a tough time in your life... and you are going to have to do some unpleasant things (such as live in a homeless shelter for awhile) until you get back on your feet... if you can accept that these are just things you will have to do in order to survive and move forward... then you might find a little peace. I'm not saying it would be easy... and hell, like I said, maybe I'm just wrong to think it would help... but it seems to me like you are spending a ton of energy fighting just the IDEA that you won't be able to do things the way you wanted. Once you truly accept that life is not going to go the way you want it and decide that whatever comes... you'll deal with it... you may free up some of your mental energy for schoolwork and solving the problems you CAN solve, rather than ones you can't. Either way, I'm sorry you are having such a terrible time of it. I wish you luck.

Heathen1981 your idea is flawed. If you become homeless someone at the school is going to notice and you will be asked to leave. The school can not have you there in that state. So be proactive and avoid becoming homeless in the first place. The classes will still be there when your life has improved. The opportunity to take these classes may not If you force the school to remove you because you can't manage your life. I'm sorry of this comes off as cold but this is how it will work. The school is ultimately a business. They will look at your situation as an inability to be able to pay them and that is enough. If you are pro active and take a break they don't even have to know the specifics. You can take the time to get help and they will take you back. If you try and muddle your way through it makes you the bad guy if things go south and you fail.

ghughes, I understand your point. If I had a job, even a crappy one, I would take your advice. But I literally have nothing else but school. It is my only source of income. I've applied for about 300 jobs in the past 4 years and have received 2 interviews. I NEED to go to school in order to have some sort of money to live on until I find another way to make money. I don't have to pay any loans back until 6 months after I graduate, which would be next December. I just need some income to stretch me until I find something.

I've joined a support group of sorts that's run by Student Affairs, and it's helped me out quite a bit. The adviser for the group talked to me about my homeless problem. She told me that she has a few group members who are still attending school while living in a homeless shelter. With that in mind, I don't think I'm in danger of getting kicked out just because I'm homeless now. My classes are paid in full by Pell Grants, which I don't pay back, so the loans are to cover living expenses.