“Would get a job if you were feeling better?”
It wasn’t a doctor or a judge or a parent asking me this, but a friend who has chronic illness herself. I suspected her motives, but before I asked her about them, I answered her first. It’s not an easy question to answer, only because there are so many answers!
- If I was feeling slightly better from time to time, I wouldn’t get a job.
- If I was feeling a lot better from time to time, I wouldn’t get a job.
- If I was feeling a lot better every day and thought it would last, I would consider working, but I’d try working for myself first. If that failed after 6 months or a year, then I’d give in and get a job.
- But if I was feeling a lot better every day and didn’t think it would last, I wouldn’t get a job.
And those are just a few possibilities. And they don’t take the loss of my social security and other benefits into account because my friend asked me to discount them. When I felt a lot better recently I was already working on a project to earn money from home. And sure, I started thinking that I could put more time into it and stand a better chance of succeeding. But then in the blink of an eye I returned to how I’d been feeling before. But even when I was feeling better I wouldn’t have considered getting a job, not only because I don’t want to work for someone else if I can help it, but because how I felt was still unpredictable. Better to work on my own schedule from home and not worry about someone else’s timeframe or spending energy on commuting.
But that’s me, and everyone is different. My friend had been doing much better lately, so she felt like she *should* work. She didn’t want to, but she was supposed to. Her husband came home tired from work every day, while she got to be at home. On the days she felt horrible she felt bad about this, but knew it was necessary. But now she was having more good days and felt she should do more. But her good days were unpredictable, so how could she do it?
Of course, she’s not the first one to raise this subject with me. Many of my married friends say they feel guilty that their spouse is solely responsible for supporting the family financially. Sure, some couples choose to have one person work while the other does not, but that’s a mutual decision. When chronic illness and disability are involved, it feels like there’s no choice.
One financial downside to being single is that there’s no one around to bring in any money. On the other hand, I’m only responsible for myself and my own feelings, and that’s freeing. I still feel sometimes like I *should* work, but only in a general way, only because that’s the pressure that I feel from society overall, and not from anyone in particular. Not that my friend feels pressure from her husband. But she’s aware of his extra responsibility. No one is responsible for me but me. It’s not easier, just different.
For my friend, I suggested that she volunteer one or two days a week to test the waters. She said she’d been thinking the same thing. I hope it works well for her. I really do.
As for me, I hope to never have another job, but I sure would love to earn a living with my own business! I’m working on it slowly, putting in a few hours here and there when I can. It’s going slowly. It may never work. But I’m trying. So maybe that’s my answer to the question? I’ll just keep trying to earn what I can when I can, but in a way that doesn’t set back my health. And of course, that’s the hardest part of all.
Chronic Rants 
Being medically retired at 42 means I will never work again. It is different in the UK. I am still working on trying to find some sameness in my days. What I can do everyday and what hurts or triggers a flare. I think you have the best idea for you to work a bit if you can. Years ago women stayed at home it was very rare that they worked and then society changed and the views of what happens. Hugs xx
Good luck finding your balance, Lorna. I find it hard to get any sort of schedule, but I’m working on it, too.