Support Needed for Overcoming Health & Life Challenges

Hello all. Thank you for taking the time to read this very messy story. I am asking for support from my community after a very difficult year. My therapist convinced me to do this because even she is worried about my ability to get through the next month. For a little more about my year, read on.

Over the past 12 months since finishing most of my coursework at the U, I have been investing most of my time in mental health. In January, I started Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for my treatment-resistant depression, which is a daily magnetic pulse therapy conducted 5 days a week for an hour. I was diagnosed with depression in 2016 and finally decided it was time to start tackling it more head-on than with just medication. During TMS, I wasn't able to work, since getting to and from treatment, plus treatment time took about 3 hours out of my day, not counting recovery time. You would be surprised how exhausting having something zapping your head for an hour can be. I did this for 11 weeks with some success in the beginning. Unfortunately, it ended in a bit of a tailspin. My mental health crashed to the lowest it had been in years sometime in spring.

They quickly transitioned my treatment plan toward Ketamine therapy. It has allowed me to start applying for jobs again since treatment is only once a week. I was feeling really good for a while, although the physical symptoms of an autoimmune disorder started in the summer. Aching joints, unexplained swelling, and more intense physical anxiety symptoms reared their ugly heads. I still worked to apply for jobs, although with many restrictions from doctors—nothing with manual labor or anything that would require standing for long periods. High-stress jobs were also out of the question with constant vomiting from stress. I applied to receptionist jobs, administrative positions, as an assistant, to jobs in planning, community engagement positions, coordinator positions and more. It's been many months with no luck. I have had about 7 interviews after applying to 150+ positions. I do really well in most of my interviews, but it's never the right fit.

Without a job, I have been living dollar to dollar. My friends have been supporting me and goodness I am so grateful for them. Unfortunately, I've hit a breaking point where I need to expand my 'ask'. I am 5+ months behind on rent and, while I live with a friend, I have really pushed the limit on my ability to stay in my housing situation. To top it off, my ketamine treatment is failing, I can't keep any protein down without vomiting, I am still without a job, I've wracked up about $2000 in credit card debt, the U is on my ass about late payments, my therapist and medication manager are taking a leave of absence, and I am worried I am not going to make it to next month.

I don't know where to begin with all the help I need, but I figure this is the first step: asking for support from my community. If monetary donations aren't in your capacity, I would love help in other ways. If you have a skill you think would help, a gig you think I would be great at, or other things, I appreciate all the help I can get.

I've been writing and re-writing this for days. Probably because I hate asking for help. So this story isn't the most put-together, but as my therapist said - the wording isn't what matters. Either way, thank you for reading. Any help you can provide is so so appreciated.