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Hello, homeless person here, living in a Minivan for the last 3.5 years on Disability with Schiozaffective Bipolar Disorder. I was a network engineer at Cisco S
by FollowingTheDao 4y ago
Hello, homeless person here, living in a Minivan for the last 3.5 years on Disability with Schiozaffective Bipolar Disorder. I was a network engineer at Cisco Systems until 2000 when my mental health took everything away from me.
Feel free to ask me anything.
- toombowoombo 4y agoWhat's your worst fear?
- FollowingTheDao 4y agoProbably my van breaking down and not being able to fix it because money.
- monkeynotes 4y agoHow do you survive? What does a regular day look like to you? What are your hopes for the future?
- guardiangod 4y agoI assume you are surviving off charity organizations. What in your opinion would improve the effectiveness of these organizations? More gov fundings? Better oversight? More training or planning?
- toombowoombo 4y agoWhich kinds of things make you happy during a typical day?
- matesz 4y agoCan you share the root cause of your mental health problems? Do you think therapy could be effective to your case?
- micromacrofoot 4y agowe don’t really know what causes bipolar disorder, it’s an issue with neurotransmitters that can sometimes be hereditary - sometimes it’s triggered by psychological trauma it can be managed by varying degrees with therapy and medication, but efficacy varies quite a bit from person to person
- FollowingTheDao 4y agoI have been in therapy for about 15 years, and as well I am an accomplished mediator. Therapy only helps with coping with the illness and with undoing the crap from my childhood living with a bipolar mother and brother as well. But when I am unwell it is like telling someone on meth to "remember their therapy skills". It is just useless. The root cause of my illness is a genetic sensitivity to several environmental factors. My main issue is with ion channels (specifically with calcium ion channels) and an inhibition of my Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase gene (NOS1AP). High Omega 3 and very low omega 6, limiting my dietary intake of phenols, limiting EMF exposure, mediation, have all helped me end my dependence on meds except for low dose klonopin or ethanol when I am exposed to an unforseen trigger.
- boppo1 4y ago>when my mental health took everything away from me. can you expand on this?
- FollowingTheDao 4y agoI HAVE BEEN FLAGGED AGAIN FOR "POSTING TOO FAST". :/ I will finish these question so keep coming back. I started dropping into mania, psychosis, and paranoia and then a deep depression that made work impossible and put me in the hospital. My girlfriend of seven years who I put through vet school left me (thanks!), my work gave me a mutual separation with 6 month severance. I sold my townhouse and rented a room for $350 a month and sold nearly everything I had to get by.
- voisin 4y agoWhat have you done for income over the last 23 years?
- FollowingTheDao 4y agoThere years after my collapse I was placed on disability while in the psychiatric hospital. I have recently acquired food stamps to help cope with the inflation.
- POiNTx 4y agoCan you envision what help would look like for you? What would have been or would be a good way of helping you get into a better situation?
- pkdpic 4y ago0. I'm sincerely sorry to hear about your mental health situation and the effect its had. 1. What has your experience been with shelters / housing programs and / or mental health assistance programs? 2. What factors keep you living in a vehicle? 3. How do home owners / business owners / neighborhood residents generally respond to your presence?
- FollowingTheDao 4y agoNOTE: I wish I could respond to all of these questions right now but HN is telling me "I am posting too fast." IS THERE ANYWAY TO STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING? 1. What has your experience been with shelters and / or housing programs? Fortunately I went right from an apartment to living in a van. I had no ability to get into a shelter in my area since they were all full. 2. What factors keep you living in a vehicle? Rent is too damn high. Cannot afford to save for a rental deposit. It is much much cheaper to live in my van and it gives me greater agency. 3. How do home owners / business owners / neighborhood residents respond to your presence? Never had a concern expressed to me because most do know notice my presence. I am kind, clean, and respectful so that helps.
- pkdpic 4y agoThose responses are really illuminating thank you. And thank you for being a kind, clean and respectful neighbor.
- s1artibartfast 4y agoAre you in a high or low cost of living are? If high, have you considered moving to a cheaper area? Do you currently make any income from working? What kind of workplace accommodations do you need in order to be able to work effectively?
- woodruffw 4y agoThank you for sharing. Do you have any thoughts on self-medication, and public awareness around it?
- bswitzer8 4y agookay, so how do you get disability without a home address? reason I ask is because I know this is a problem and I'd ideally like to figure a way to solve it. my life goal is to create a tiny home park for people that need a place to live with a nice low rent. tiny homes constructed like via habitat for humanity type scenario would be super cool.. and then some people can work at the tiny home park for small things to keep rent low.
- cykros 4y agoBear in mind that this was exactly the idea behind trailer parks and mobile home parks when they first started popping up -- a "leg up" for impoverished people, and, well, the results sort of speak to some problems that came along with that agenda. Not saying don't do it, but perhaps take a peek at the historical issues that arose when making sure your good intentions don't lead straight into an inferno.
- bswitzer8 4y agoYeah, I will do. I am not in a position yet if doing this, so I've got time to try and not repeat history.
- FollowingTheDao 4y ago> okay, so how do you get disability without a home address? I use a friends home address. But I was not homeless when I first obtainded disability. > my life goal is to create a tiny home park for people that need a place to live with a nice low rent. Nice goal! Good Kamma! I have seen this in many areas, they are doing it at a low level in Port Townsend, WA. https://www.ptleader.com/stories/local-volunteer-group-seeks-help-building-houses-for-the-homeless,93152 https://www.ptleader.com/stories/local-volunteer-group-seeks...
- bswitzer8 4y agoYeah, also you stay at any tent cities? There was. documentary about tent cities on netflix awhile back and it was just so neat. the city near me had people staying in tents under the bridge and then they had to move cause the city claimed it was an eye sore. Some of the people there had jobs.. they just had issues/rent was too high.
- Overtonwindow 4y agoWhat has been the biggest impediment to finding permanent housing? Do you prefer to live in a van?