Like the title says, I feel like I can’t and am not able to see a way where I can advance further in life.

I have a lower-tier job in the medical field where I work 29-36 hours per week depending on the amount of work needed and also depending on how I’m feeling. I’m lucky to be in an office where they allow me to come in a bit later (9am) instead of the usual 8am and can leave at 5pm, which puts me at working a bit around 7.5 hours per day - less than most people.

Because of my part time status, I’m not eligible for healthcare through my employer, I can’t afford market place policy prices and don’t qualify for Medicaid.

In order to be full time, I’d have to work 32+ hours every week for 90 days straight without missing any hours at all. This overwhelms me because as you probably know, there are bad days that we have where it’s not a good idea to be working. I also get migraines and might not have any for awhile, but then have 3 in a single week. Some of these episodes make it impossible to be at work. I also have appointments with counseling and psychiatry where I might have to miss a day or a partial day. 90 days is a long time
when you don’t know how you’ll be feeling from day to day and when those other factors come into play.

Right now I’m accepting some help here and there from family members - they pay for my counseling and help in other ways too.

I’m smart, I know I’d make a decent nurse and the idea of total financial freedom along with what it would do for my self esteem are so appealing.


But how do people like us work and go to school and still manage?

By the time I’m off work, I feel SO done. It takes all I have to just keep my house in order, maintain a good relationship with my significant other, maintain the friendships I do have and then get ready for the next day.


I am so scared that if I try to add school on top of everything I’ll crumble. I know I will - I have before. The last time I worked and went to school, I could barely handle it, relapsed into drug use and was just miserable to be around because of how overstretched I felt.

I don’t know what to do - I feel so stuck.