Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
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Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#2Great to see that things seem to have turned around for the better for you.
No one deserves to ever feel deppressed, I say this confidently, having been swallowed by depression once and succesfully coming out to tell its woefull tales, it's great to see another person escape from its cold, lonely, and sad clutch.
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#3> My post 4 months ago is why I'm here today. It's the singular action that pushed me to talk to my work, to talk to a therapist, and eventually to talk to my parents. The truth is it's easy to hole yourself up when you reach a dark enough place, but sometimes staying silent is its own torture.
Huge props to you for stepping out and sharing what you were going through. If only this was more commonplace for others in your situation.
At the end of the day, we all deserve to be happy, and I hope you reach that point very soon through careful management of all things “life”.
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#4Congratulations OP and thank you for sharing your inspiring update.
When I read your post it sounded like you were being a little too hard on yourself. Something that helps me is instead of thinking about how far there still is to go, thinking about how far you've come so far. Or as Adam Grant says:
"After reaching a goal, raising the bar often increases motivation but decreases happiness.
To enjoy your success, imagine how your past self would see your current achievements.
If you knew 5 years ago what you’d accomplish now, how proud would you have been?"
You're doing great. Thanks for sharing again and keep it up!!
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#5If you want some help getting your financial life back on track, the folks in /r/personalfinance are pretty understanding and supportive. If you lay out your budget and situation, they can help you come up with a plan, and having a plan to get back on your feet financially will probably have all kinds of good benefits for your general mental wellbeing.
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#6> My savings had already been wiped out by a car accident
I am always amazed when I see statements like this coming from people in highly-paid professions. It seems like the OP has already figured out that financial insecurity contributes a LOT to stress and can force us into very sub-optimal decisions. Props to them for connecting those dots.
I hope everybody reading this post takes a moment to review their financial readiness for different levels of calamity. If you don't have an emergency fund, make some small adjustments to pile up the cash ASAP.
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#7> My savings had already been wiped out by a car accident I am always amazed when I see statements like this coming from people in highly-paid professions. It seems like the OP has already figured out that financial insecurity contributes a LOT to stress and can force us into very sub-optimal decisions. Props to them for connecting those dots. I hope everybody reading this post takes a moment to review their financia…
Disability insurance too.
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#8Kudos for the courage of writing this up.
Just one thing that occurred to me. Reconsider the necessity to find a good therapist. It can be so immensely helpful.
Best of luck on your ventures and your health!
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#9> My savings had already been wiped out by a car accident I am always amazed when I see statements like this coming from people in highly-paid professions. It seems like the OP has already figured out that financial insecurity contributes a LOT to stress and can force us into very sub-optimal decisions. Props to them for connecting those dots. I hope everybody reading this post takes a moment to review their financia…
Disability insurance too.
Unfortunately, this advices is potentially too shallow to be useful, as (private/individual) DI is tricky.
For it to be useful long-term, you'll need to find a policy with both guaranteed renewal and guaranteed coverage increase as your income rises, before any chronic conditions appear (or are diagnosed) or things like car accidents occur and become pre-existing conditions.
There are other details that make shopping for a policy tedious/tricky, such as differences in "own occupation" coverage, post-disability inflation protection not being standard, and the fact that you probably want to choose a company that'll be solvent 40 years later (since there's no pre-existing condition exclusion-exception portability like for health insurance, AFAIK).
Meanwhile, while you're employed, those payments, which can be $50-$100/mo post-tax, may be a total waste, since your employer is likely paying for group disability coverage, and no (reasonably-priced) policy will double-pay. Usually, anything you get from Social Security (or any state-mandated) disability will also reduce the benefit. That is, the total from all sources will be capped by the most generous policy at somewhere around 60% of pre-disability income.
The market seems to be geared toward self-employed professionals, such as dentists, rather than the typical tech worker.
All that said, here's my advice: If your employer offers you a "tax option" or "imputed income" on the disability insurance premium, choose it (and if they don't offer it, ask for it). Paying the extra few dollars per paycheck in tax will mean that 60%-of-pre-disability-income won't be subject to income tax and would actually be close to a total income replacement.
Re: Update to Ask HN: What to do if I’m about to lose my job to mental health issues
#10Why don’t you see a doctor, and get prescribed some meds?