Move out to California (colleges, living, education)

[whatlifeforme]

are you trying to **** someone off? if so why? please tell me that intelligent person.

and i don't think i am eligible to join the military; now what?

[ukiyo-e]

idk. survival and money is such an issue for me, and my mental health, right now, i figure just get a degree in something easy, and get out as fast as possible; read about physics and math in my spare time.

Besides not knowing why you think California will solve any of your problems or make them less burdensome, I'm not very impressed with your approach to college. You don't want to work hard, so you want a degree in something "easy," but have you any idea how many excellent recent graduates are out there who can't get jobs except ones that don't require college? I read a statistic a few months back that about 66% of the class of 2010 got jobs within three months of graduating, but only half those required a college degree. To just go to college and go through the motions without even really knowing what you want to do seems like a poor decision to me, especially if money is an issue.

I concur with some of the other posters who have recommended going into the military. I have several friends in their 30s who joined the Navy after high school and got some helpful benefits when they attended college later. And, you'll get medical care there if you need it (and if your medical and psychological problems aren't enough to disqualify you from enlisting).

California can be a fun place for young people - I moved there in 1985 and lived there until last year - but wherever you go, you take YOU with you, and while some places are better suited to different types of temperaments (I can't stand the east coast, myself), none will "make" you happy. Only you can do that.

[Snort]

Originally Posted by whatlifeforme

if i had the minutes, i would give someone a call now; of course people on the internet are so ****ing sketch..

North Carolina Suicide & Crisis Hotlines - When You Feel You Can't Go On... Call a Suicide Hotline. / SuicideHotlines.com - Direction for immediate crisis intervention for the gravely suicidal & treatment for major clinical suicidal depression.

Find your local number and give these folks a call. They have a list of contacts who really can help.

[Woof]

Whatlife, I have manic-depressive illness so I know what heavy depression is like. People outside the mental health field or who have never experienced depression don't understand it, they think it's laziness or drugs or you're just ****ed up. There's no education for most people about it, that's why they give you clueless remarks.

Basically you're going to need to get on Medicaid to afford treatment, which would be done either through your doctor or a county mental health center. If you walk into a mh center in most states you could ask if they will see you for an appointment AND help you apply for medicaid. I don't know if this will work where you live, some mh centers are as clueless about depression (especially in males) as the general public. I've found that a family doctor is usually more responsive about quickly prescribing an anti-depressant if you emphasize that you are depressed and at least vaguely suicidal, don't beat around the bush.

If you can't get it done where you live, then maybe you can do it in S Cal, but you have to remember that you're competing with people who are schizophrenic, and depressed people there just aren't as thrilling to the MH people as someone who talks to trees and thinks the parking meters are out to get them.

Also be aware that antidepressants aren't a magic bullet - they only help most people part way, and they don't help other people at all, or may make things worse. Research cognitive therapy, I think Wikipedia has a good article to start with.

[whatlifeforme]

Originally Posted by Snort

North Carolina Suicide & Crisis Hotlines - When You Feel You Can't Go On... Call a Suicide Hotline. / SuicideHotlines.com - Direction for immediate crisis intervention for the gravely suicidal & treatment for major clinical suicidal depression.

Find your local number and give these folks a call. They have a list of contacts who really can help.

maybe if i had a phone. as for whoever made the comment about me not wanting to work hard for a degree, you have no ****ING IDEA what you are talking about.

[whatlifeforme]

Originally Posted by Woof

Whatlife, I have manic-depressive illness so I know what heavy depression is like. People outside the mental health field or who have never experienced depression don't understand it, they think it's laziness or drugs or you're just ****ed up. There's no education for most people about it, that's why they give you clueless remarks.

Basically you're going to need to get on Medicaid to afford treatment, which would be done either through your doctor or a county mental health center. If you walk into a mh center in most states you could ask if they will see you for an appointment AND help you apply for medicaid. I don't know if this will work where you live, some mh centers are as clueless about depression (especially in males) as the general public. I've found that a family doctor is usually more responsive about quickly prescribing an anti-depressant if you emphasize that you are depressed and at least vaguely suicidal, don't beat around the bush.

If you can't get it done where you live, then maybe you can do it in S Cal, but you have to remember that you're competing with people who are schizophrenic, and depressed people there just aren't as thrilling to the MH people as someone who talks to trees and thinks the parking meters are out to get them.

Also be aware that antidepressants aren't a magic bullet - they only help most people part way, and they don't help other people at all, or may make things worse. Research cognitive therapy, I think Wikipedia has a good article to start with.

honestly, i think i am experiencing a disorder more severe than depression or bipolar. i had medicaid, but am no longer eligible as of my 21st birthday.

by the way, i think i'm going schizophrenic, which is why i'm like **** life - this **** is not fair. experience what i can before i go into full insanity, right?

if you read the thread, you would see i was on prozac = absolutely nothing.

[nullgeo]

Last winter I experimented with participating in Forum conversations for a lark ... something to do during the long dark wet days ... got my fill ... moved on back to real life the way I like it: 100% alone, out in the woods. But, every once in a while I check back in for amusement to see who's still blathering and who's still funny.

This isn't funny. And it's certainly not helpful.

This individual is NOT military material ... nor would the military be a good answer for a person with these issues. (I am a veteran and one of my sons is now serving.) The military is downsizing anyway and being extremely selective and this person would never make it in, let alone even through boot camp.

Furthermore, 'whatlifeforme's feelings and perceptions are perfectly valid. Once people find themselves fallen through the cracks of our society, their perceptions become reality. The state isn't out to get this person -- but neither is it out to help. The state is not human -- and the humans working for the state (or federal gov't) are not personally invested. What happens then is rote delivery of insubstantial advice and careless rejection.

Writing in with these issues to a blind forum of impersonal and disconnected opinion contributors is a fairly desperate act of seeking communication. It's doubtful that anyone has much if anything to actually contribute that can help. If any of you do have substantial resources to refer, by all means do so. If not, why not keep your negativity and wisecracks to yourself in this case?

[nullgeo]

Thank you SNORT and Woof for helpful replies to the OP.

whatlifeforme, here is a link to a helpline that is a better starting point for moving forward than this forum:
California Suicide & Crisis Hotlines - When You Feel You Can't Go On... Call a Suicide Hotline. / SuicideHotlines.com - Direction for immediate crisis intervention for the gravely suicidal & treatment for major clinical suicidal depression.

You do not have to be actually suicidal to be contemplating the "Big Sleep" ... these folks understand that and where it can lead ... give them a call

best wishes

[whatlifeforme]

schizophrenia amounts to lifelong suffering; anhedonia = never enjoy anything again; not treatable.

[Snort]

Originally Posted by whatlifeforme

maybe if i had a phone. as for whoever made the comment about me not wanting to work hard for a degree, you have no ****ING IDEA what you are talking about.

Can you go someplace and use a phone? I realize there are fewer public phones around these days, but hopefully you might be able to borrow someone's cell phone to make a toll-free call.