Thread by @April75Cruel

I’ve been on OW twice. I was denied ODSP *repeatedly* during the times I was most vulnerable, unable to fight, & needed the help. I was my only advocate as a psychiatry patient. It took 22 yrs to get my shrinks to listen to me. Since then, I’ve been employed for 6.5 yrs. 1/

I survived bc my family supplemented me. I LITERALLY had to DIAGNOSE MYSELF and then it took me 3yrs for my shrink to even consider my self-reporting. But I won...and what did I win? 2/

The right to starve to death the second any shrink decides to refuse to prescribe stimulants due to my age. I work a very physical grunt job. I’m 47. It is DESTROYING me. I finally make $19/hr. But I can’t last more than 6hrs/day. Physically or mentally. 3/

And Ford is literally gunning for my job. I sell bier retail in Ontario. I have a GED, because I didn’t get properly diagnosed until I was FUCKING 44. I’m smart AF, but I have only a GED. 4/

If Ford wins a majority, I have ~3yrs left at my job. I have a shitload of skills but I’m almost 50, I can’t work an 8hr day if it’s physical, and no one is gonna give me a chance to make livable money if I need on-the-job training to get it. 5/

So what comes next? Absolutely nothing, until I exhaust every cent I have left, and then maybe I’ll qualify for just enough money to feed me while I live on the street in my old age. #onpoli #VoteThemAllOut2022

/Fin

Addendum: Despite being under psychiatric care all those years, I kept getting denied for ODSP bc my shrink FIRMLY believed all I needed was to “try harder.” Employ “sleep hygiene.” NOTHING I could say to change his mind. He couldn’t be misdiagnosing me. I must be failing.

It wasn’t until he retired & I got a new shrink that I started to improve. She recognized I was mis-dx’d. I had OCD. Meds for that made a HUGE difference, but wasn’t quite enough. Solved my agoraphobia, tho. She FINALLY agreed to screen me for ADHD. Since then, I’ve been ok.

Yes, agoraphobia. I couldn’t go out AT ALL without a safe person, for 12 whole years. And that whole time, my shrink refused to advocate for me to get ODSP. He simply did not believe me. He kept financial support from me, forcing my struggling family to provide every penny.

These are the types of situations that lead directly to suicide attempts and serious self-harm. I’m still here, but lots of us are gone.

Once the OCD was corrected (2015) my anxiety dropped to the degree I felt I could commit to a part-time job. Started at min. Supportive boss. But I needed adrenaline to stay focused. I’d do sets of jumping jacks in the back. Talking about it is how I was first intro’d to ADHD.

Didn’t even know what it was until then. I was pointed to info re ADHD & girls/women. I didn’t want to get excited. I did a LOT of research. I didn’t get heard/dx/rx until 2019. Since? No more jumping jacks, & I’ve mastered the store level. I’d apply for mgr if I could work 40.

*From me, and my son