Hi,
I'm 46, am on a Disability Pension as a result of a head injury I sustained in 1996, halfway through my engineering degree. I tried working but couldn't hold an office job down. Years later when I was diagnosed and put on DSP, I got into volunteer woodworking as a form of rehab at a local wooden toy factory. I then built and sold wooden kids' furniture as a hobby from my shed a few years later for about 8 years (2010 - 2018). I found it helped with my depression, it helped me overcome alcoholism and helped re-integrate me into society. I took a few years off due to back problems and grief, but in the last few years, found I needed something to alleviate my anxiety when mum got bladder cancer. I've since got back into hobby woodworking again and make wooden benches, racks, tables, etc. Although I lost my dad in 2016, the stress and isolating experience of caring for my mum during her cancer treatment, have developed a mild form of delayed grief and PTSD. I'm almost out of free counseling sessions from Carer Gateway, so thought I'd see if I could connect with other people in similar situations. I've tried various forms of therapy (writing, meditating, walking, being out in nature), but the I keep coming back to the fact that not working can be very isolating. Hence why I'm here!
In terms of interests, I follow the Crows, F1 racing, even soccer lately although I still don't quite understand the offside rule...
