To be scared of getting a job in case I'm worse off?

[BenefitScrounger]

NC and prepared for a flaming.

I've been claiming JSA for over two years now and am on the Work Programme. I have no qualifications and all I could get (I think) is a minimum wage job. I have been lying about my attempts to get work because I think I am better off out of work.

At the moment I get full housing benefit plus council tax, free dental care/prescriptions (if I need them) and £71 a week to live on. My bills aren't covered obviously, but they're not huge, and I have lots of free time to indulge hobbies etc.. I don't feel the need to buy stuff very often as I'm not into fashion/beauty and I eat cheaply. I can afford to eat out once a week with a TasteCard. The only thing I miss is holidays abroad but I'm not sure I would be able to afford them if I got a job anyway.

If I got a full time minimum wage job, would I be worse off? Just thinking of travel expenses, student loan repayment and time lost - not sure if I would still get any council tax benefit?

Has anyone had experience of this? By the way, I'm childless and live alone.

Nope, not thick at all OP.
You're clever enough to start a thread which is not true and get a lot of people believing your shite and fighting amongst themselves.
BTW what do you think of Yorkshire terriers?

I don't know much about dogs. I like that one in Frasier.

My thread is true, so I must be very very strange. Or thick. Or mad. Or something.

I didn't see people fighting amongst themselves - just at me mostly!

Enough with the dogs - how about some kittens in cups?!?
images.kittenads.co.uk/kitten-cup.jpg

Oh, and I'm being hassled by a moth that is trying to beat itself to death on my monitor

SCREAM at the cup o'kittens.

And here's a photo of the OP as a baby
www.saynotocrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/baby-troll-dade.jpg

Stop this right now with the dog and kitten links.
'm going to squeeee myself right out of here.
And this is a serious subject [hic]

BenefitScrounger, good luck with your art. If this thread upsets you, you don't have to read it anymore :)

BTW, I'm actually trying to be nice. Not sarcastic. Honest.

I just think you are being a bit naive and that really pissed people off on this thread.

I don't believe you are are bad person though. Just going through a 'funny patch' and needed some advice on how to be a grown up. Unfortunately you choose Mumsnet bad mistake

Oops, screwed that last post up -suspect it might disappear. Apologies to this evening's moderator

GetOrf I know, kittens in a cup - it's both awesomely cute, and a little unsettling.

Op - you seem to have the idea that big companies are evil. The thing is that a big company is owned by the shareholders. Do you know who are one of the biggest shareholders in large companies. DB pension schemes. Basically the 80 year old woman who lives just outside of Birmingham on her widow's pension from her late husband who used to be a miner for the coal board....

And look at this little fluffball, how cute is she?

2.bp.blogspot.com/-2tap1qreKZY/T5LlX4KuNgI/AAAAAAAAC2I/obuW1AgO2ZQ/s1600/CUTE_KITTENS023.jpg

And here's a cat doing an impression of a hedgehog
www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/kittens-wearing-hedgehog-hats-yes-thank-you-580x386.jpg

Thanks Easter. Wasn't there a thread on here a while ago with people saying they were only pretending to be grown ups, and were looking for other 'non-real grown ups' to hang out with?! Where are they?

MummytoKatie - will think about that. Thanks.

on this thread I think benefitscrounger

Op - you should support yourself - find something you can do that suits your pov.
As an example
My friend is a full time artist and makes a good living. He promoted his work via an artists website while working part-time to support himself in london but then eventually dropped that as his demand for work grew and gave him a full time income.
Do you think your artwork would sell? Would this not work for you?

If you enjoy the volunteer work could you not look towards paid work within these charities?

You should also explore the issues you have that mean you can't stick at anything.

Either way you should not be taking jsa benefits as you are not seeking work.

The world does not owe you a living and re the comment that life is free for animals - it is not - they input energy into finding food and survival - if they lay back as you have done they would die.

imo you come across as someone who has little drive, has had too much time on their hands and as someone who feels that just plain old work is beneath them. And also quite lazy.

apologies all round but I can't help answering this question.

my crystal ball suggests that over the next period of time someone claiming out of work benefits and not attempting to seek work will be worse off

someone claiming oowb and seeking and failing to get a minimum wage job will be worse off

someone claiming oowb and succeeding in getting a minimum wage job will be worse off

someone in a minimum wage job will be worse off

almost everyone else will be worse off

someone not claiming oowb, not seeking work and with an unearned income of over £150,000 will be better off

sorry for nonsense, dog tired & trying to avoid biscuits

Look OP - FWIW I understand how having a mental health condition can affect every aspect of your life. I have a personality disorder along with my physical conditions. So I understand why you might be afraid of working, and the realities of it.

But if you're a regular who has namechanged like you say you are, then you know what AIBU is like. You should also know that posts about benefits always tend to get a bit intense, regardless of the stance.

Your initial post did you absolutely no favours, and the way you have worded posts all the way up to you most recent ones have again, seen working as an "option", which is going to anger a lot of people. If you had stated you find working hard because of an anxiety issue right at the beginning, you would have got a lot more sympathy and practical help.

Find a new GP. Get a referral to the mental health team. Also try and organise some voluntary work - a few hours a week in a charity shop or something, to get you back into things, and help break down the mental barriers you have built up. Also might be worth looking into getting a book called "Mind Over Mood" which is a do-it-yourself CBT guide. You can pick it up for a fiver on amazon. It will help you work on changing those negative thought patterns and filters that you may be so used to having, you won't even recognise they are there, until you start looking for them.

Here is a page from a wonderful organisation called Rethink about working with a mental health condition. They have lots of free work sheets, and are fantastic for practical advice.

This is the link to the "Mind in your area" page, to locate your nearest Mind center. They are free, they tend to run a variety of groups, and have phone lines as well. I know my local Mind does a "How to get back into working" drop in, so maybe yours will do something similar.

You can't just stay like this forever. If for no other reason than it is so depressing in itself, you will be doing your mood and anxiety no favours. You need to fight against your demons.

Post again, phrase it differently, and maybe post in a different section, and you will get the support you need to help you change your life for the better.

Best of luck.

I'm actually surprised this thread hasn't self combusted by now.

If you are real OP I hope you appreciate lovely people like boobs going out of their way to give you advice.

That cat doing an impression of a hedgehog is fantastic!

I actually don't think there is any point giving this op advice and i wish i hadn't wasted my time yesterday.

The mental illness isn't the reason she doesn't work, if it were Im sure there is lots of helpful advice she could get from this. But she has already said that its because big companies are evil, she won't have as much free time, she wants to live free like an animal, she wants to do her art, all employers are amoral, because society owes her, someone might say "tits" bla bla bla.

I hope you lose your benefits op . . . because you disgust me.

op,do you like yourself?

Dont want to kick you when you are down.
And I think you are down.
Only you can pull yourself up again,maybe with medical help.

I mean you are down as in an emotional sense.
Like you say, you are using bravado,but I think you are bright enough to know what you are doing to yourself.