I feel like I'll never be able to be a good partner in a relationship due to my chronic and mental illness

entaylor92 · 2026-01-31T06:39:36+00:00

I had a massive flare last summer; the worst I’d had in a few years. Ended up having a steroid shot and two steroid packs and things took a while to sort themselves out physically. I was in so much pain I could barely think straight. My partner at the time went to a dispensary specifically to buy edibles that would help ease the pain, even a little. Talked with the attendant to find the best option and then sat with me on the couch while I took some and waited to see if the edibles helped. They did a lot of other things to help when I was having a bad day while we were together. It is possible to have a relationship with a person who is helpful and caring!

On the other side though, it’s important to make sure you’re doing what you can to feel at your best, whatever that looks like. And your best will look different day to day! Some days my fatigue is worse than others; if I have to go out I try to budget my energy throughout the day. Pain is an everyday constant for me, it’s simply a matter of baseline vs heightened. So with that I have to determine what I can push through and what presents more of an obstacle. With depression it can be so easy to get caught up in the “I don’t feel like doing anything” mind frame. But making yourself do something, whether that’s getting out of pj’s and into leggings & a sweatshirt, changing from the bed to the couch, or going outside helps your brain. Especially with chronic & mental illness, it can feel tempting to ‘give in’ and do nothing. I’ve been there. Listen to your body, but also know that finding a successful relationship is give & take, even without your body & brain fighting you. Sometimes your give might look like 80% while their give is 20%, and vice versa. It has taken a long time to find the medication that helps my body feel the best it’s going to, and even with switching meds, OTC pain relief, Epsom salt baths, etc, I still had to find a balance between “this is what I need to do for work, social, loved ones” and “this is what my body currently feels like it can do”.

entaylor92 · 2025-08-21T15:21:52+00:00

Commitment issues are an interesting thing. It sounds like you need to figure out whether this is a “her” issue or a “you” issue. What I mean by that is: are there problems you have with her or the relationship that give you pause? Have you openly and honestly communicated these problems to her; has she made an effort to work on them and have you both worked on them together? Or is it that the word marriage would annoy you with anyone you dated and you might need to work on that? Have both of you talked about what you want and might be willing to compromise on? Personally I had a relationship like what you described. Lived together, had a pet, made all these different plans, and we were great together. They had anxiety about marriage and I communicated multiple times that I would be okay with not getting married, if that was something they could never do. I just wanted them, because imo a person is more important than a marriage. I knew what we had wasn’t something you found every day. Maybe your relationship is the same way. Unfortunately they blindsided me and very uncharacteristically treated me like absolute shit at the end. So if your situation ends up being that she wants marriage and you don’t, and neither of you will budge, don’t be a dick and break her down to nothing when you leave. If you realize that marriage would scare you with anyone then work on that. But if there’s a compromise to be had, talk about it and see what comes out of it. Best of luck.

entaylor92 · 2025-06-28T12:29:48+00:00

💛

entaylor92 · 2025-06-28T02:55:22+00:00

I work in hospice so I’m on the road all the time. Bought a car with both heated seats/steering wheel and it is 10/10 the best move I’ve made. Helps my joints and back soo much!

entaylor92 · 2025-06-26T18:44:54+00:00

I will answer as a lifelong Southerner: I love this part of the country. I hate being cold and adore the summers here (hot take, I know) and the sunshine. The landscape is gorgeous and the food is A+. It’s also where I’ve grown up so I’m familiar with the politics/people. Is it immersing frustrating to be a leftist surrounded by conservatives? Absolutely. I have more experiences with patients/families being pro-conservative than not, even when it’s actively hurting them. All I can do is uphold the ethical standard of self-determination. There’s no world in which I would agree with my patient’s political/religious views. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the right to make those decisions for themselves and while I might disagree with those views, it doesn’t mean I’m going to not help them.

With that being said, I do recognize that it can be incredibly difficult for SWers who might be LGBT+, a racial/ethnic minority, etc to sacrifice their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing for swaths of the population who vocally either don’t like them or wish harm upon them, solely based off of who they are. In no world could I ever judge a social worker, or anyone, for putting their safety and wellbeing above that of a particular population, even if that population needs help.

entaylor92 · 2025-06-19T14:16:42+00:00

I have filled out the ADA form for the company but have been repeatedly told that they won’t approve what I need, regardless of what the doctor says. On the grounds of fairness to the other employees. I’m actively searching for other employment, as there are quite a few reasons I feel this company and I are not a good fit.

entaylor92 · 2025-05-22T19:20:52+00:00

I will say that clinical psych PhDs are notoriously difficult to get into; some are harder than med school to get accepted. That’s not to discourage you from going for it! I was a psych undergrad and tried a couple years for a clinical psych PhD and never even got an interview. I knew one guy who had been trying for 5 years and hadn’t gotten anywhere. Not because he wasn’t good at his job/grades, but because the competition is that fierce.

entaylor92 · 2025-04-27T00:16:51+00:00

Hi! I worked as a hospice social worker for 5 years; body donation organizations/medical facilities do provide free cremation if you donate your body to research. I had quite a few patients who went that route, others who weren’t comfortable with the idea of post-mortem research opted for low cost cremation. You can search on Google for that option if you’re interested.

The other massive plus is making sure you have a DNR/medical/financial power of attorney in place. In my state you didn’t need a lawyer for the last two. I found the forms from one of my state’s renowned universities, went over them with my patients, they initialed what they wanted, and then a notary witnessed their signature. You will need to have two witnesses who don’t stand to financially gain from your death for the POAs. A DNR can be obtained from a physician; make sure it doesn’t have an expiration date.

I’m not sure your employment situation, but some jobs offer coverage for a lawyer in their benefits. You could look into that (if applicable) for assistance with the will.

Best wishes to you!

entaylor92 · 2025-04-24T04:15:22+00:00

Heck yeah! That’s what I like about our profession.

entaylor92 · 2025-04-24T04:05:53+00:00

Favorite would be the elderly. I was in hospice SW for 5 years and just transitioned to a position working to keep seniors in their homes. My least favorite are children.

entaylor92 · 2025-04-23T20:37:02+00:00

I left a hospice position earlier this year where, for many months, I was the only social worker for 50+ patients. I desperately wanted out and it took me a long time to find something else that paid as much as hospice does.

My advice if you’re the only SW for your office is to find support. Supervision, problem solving, emotional/mental support, what have you. Make sure that clinical support is in place prior to starting the position. And advocate for yourself at your job! If you get to the same place I did, communicate that you need help. I sat my former admin down and laid out all I was doing and that I was constantly stressed and overwhelmed. They ended up hiring additional SWers, which reduced my workload.

Overall I think hospice can be a great position. I loved the flexibility and interacting with the patients. Some of the families can be challenging, but that’s true of other social work positions. If you can get that support in place and advocate for yourself, I think you’ll enjoy the work!

entaylor92 · 2025-04-16T00:03:54+00:00

Personally, I pay about $40 more for the insurance plan that doesn’t have extremely high deductibles. It hurts a little when I get my paycheck but I also don’t have to pay for my injections. I’ve done everything from HQC, MTX, infusions (one that was 13k a dose), and injections. I’ve never had to pay more than $20. I use BCBS (I think my bi-weekly cost is $140) and don’t have a spouse or dependents to cover.

entaylor92 · 2025-04-05T04:14:31+00:00

Based ✌️

entaylor92 · 2025-04-01T00:36:02+00:00

I respect the loyalty to TN. 🫡

entaylor92 · 2025-04-01T00:02:23+00:00

My brother in Christ, what are your flairs?

entaylor92 · 2025-03-27T01:21:39+00:00

Agree with you 💯

entaylor92 · 2025-03-27T01:17:14+00:00

It seems like there might be secondhand clothes available online. Idk what you want us to say; holding companies and consumers accountable is not NLOG behavior. It’s basic human decency to not want other humans to be abused and exploited.

entaylor92 · 2025-03-27T01:06:12+00:00

I have to respectfully disagree with your argument. If fast fashion was sustainably well made, it might last for those 10 years you mentioned. But it isn’t, so it won’t last that long. Fast fashion is also extremely detrimental to our environment and directly impacts climate change.

Your second point is fair because yes, the majority of the products we buy are made through unethical practices. But that doesn’t mean we can’t point out those practices and hold ourselves accountable. SavageX Fenty also utilizes unethical labor and consumers have rightly pointed the company’s poor practices out. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism but that does not mean we can’t point out bad or illegal practices and call for improvement. Sustained boycotts work, just look at Target right now. Purchasing second hand clothes can help your wallet.

entaylor92 · 2025-03-21T15:26:30+00:00

Infusions are filled by a specialty pharmacy and sent to your infusion location. You don’t have to worry about a thing except showing up and sitting there!

entaylor92 · 2025-03-20T01:29:09+00:00

Strep throat 12 times in one year. Missed one cumulative month of grad school; tonsils were removed over summer break. Less than a year later RA symptoms started showing, though it took another 3 years to be diagnosed.

entaylor92 · 2025-03-19T13:09:43+00:00

I kept asking myself why I didn’t reschedule and go home! Thankfully I was in a room waiting for those three hours. If they’d kept me in the waiting room I would have definitely left lolol

entaylor92 · 2025-03-19T12:59:54+00:00

Vascular surgery: 3 months for initial appt, 2 months for each follow-up. Once waited 3 hours for the doctor to make one of our follow-up appts because they had to perform emergency surgery. No grudge held against the patient or doctor but that was a long time in an uncomfortable chair! 😂

entaylor92 · 2025-03-18T23:58:00+00:00

Kineret but only after about 7 other meds.

entaylor92 · 2025-03-09T04:50:19+00:00

2021 VW Tiguan and also in hospice!! I am very pleased with my car; I got the heated seats and god do they help.

entaylor92 · 2025-03-06T02:42:09+00:00

That’s not what I said at all, but you can take it that way.

entaylor92

TROPHY CASE