Categories
Antiwork

Living on Benefits

Repost because the last time I tried to post, my account wasn't old enough. Disclaimer: I live in the UK, so our benefits system works differently to the Americans'. Throwaway account for reasons that will soon become clear. I saw the post a little while ago that reached the popular tab about the person exploiting the system to get out of work and now sits around playing video games all day, and it's made me doubt myself a little. I have autism and a few other mental health conditions that stem from it that would make it almost impossible for me to find a work environment that can accommodate my needs, and as a result, my work coach has made it so that I don't need to look for work at all. I feel so much freer than I did when I was on full-time education, and I've enjoyed life…


Repost because the last time I tried to post, my account wasn't old enough.

Disclaimer: I live in the UK, so our benefits system works differently to the Americans'.

Throwaway account for reasons that will soon become clear.

I saw the post a little while ago that reached the popular tab about the person exploiting the system to get out of work and now sits around playing video games all day, and it's made me doubt myself a little. I have autism and a few other mental health conditions that stem from it that would make it almost impossible for me to find a work environment that can accommodate my needs, and as a result, my work coach has made it so that I don't need to look for work at all. I feel so much freer than I did when I was on full-time education, and I've enjoyed life so much more; I've taught myself more about history, I'm learning about other countries' cultures, and I've got into painting more recently. But sometimes I feel like I'm exploiting the system. I know that I've been legally given this, but I still feel guilty sometimes.

None of this is to say that I just sit around on my arse all day. I help out around the house as much as I can (I live with my mum, who is legally my carer) I go to the shop when we need supplies, and I help take care of the dogs. I pay rent out of my government benefits. But I still sometimes get that conflicted/guilty feeling when I'm feeling relaxed, or hear about other people having issues with work.

Am I being oversensitive?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.