TED Community » Kay Walker

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Doing small scale things that add to global health.

People don't know that I'm good at

Many things connected with health research and education.

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• A reply on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: I don't wish for prosperity- just a small independent income from something meaningful until I become eligible for a pension in 5 years.

• A reply on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: I wish I had got into a field/some fields where I was wanted- I've tried several different fields but been shut out of them over time by regulations, politics & economics. Now my age is the barrier- if I ever get job interviews, I always lose to a younger, less experienced applicant, even for jobs having only a 12 month contract. I thought being a good health researcher would keep me in work for the foreseeable future, but it hasn't. Perhaps I should take up some useful but slightly difficult programming language and specialise in it?? I believe I could learn anything if it had the possibility of an income attached ultimately.

• A reply on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: Your father is fortunate he was able to retire on sufficient superannuation to make ends meet- I can't do that, nor am I eligible for a pension for another 5 years. It is the difficult circumstance of being motivated to work for a wage & not being able to find anything psychologically satisfying that bothers me at 60. Therefore I can't see life in front of me at all. If I must be dependent on someone else's income for support when it is the opposite to all my values, life is not worth living. I have lots of hobbies & interests but cannot do most of them because of lack of money for raw materials. I can't go to the theatre or ballet or travel to enjoy myself like people with income can do. It is quite discouraging. I hope you are able to keep up with things over the years so that you enjoy your time between 60 and 100!

• A reply on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: Unfortunately volunteering, while pleasant, does not produce the income needed to pay the rent, food & utilities bills!

• A reply on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: I can't spend time with my chilren & grandchildren as I was never able to have any. Therefore, I must find other things. It is difficult to get time with children now as you are suspected of being a pedophile or pornographer & have to go through police checks. Not a pleasant prospect for someone who is depressed!
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  A reply on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: You poor sod! Did you get involved in a shared retirement community scheme that went down the gurgler? Paid a huge "deposit" and discover you didn't own anything because your funds were squandered? It's happening a lot in Australia and the children of retirement home residents are also very angry as there is nothing left for them to inherit! My dad died in a Salvation Army Retirement Hostel while I was trying to sell his house to pay the $45 000 "deposit"! I couldn't even raise the $8 000 required for his first year because I had just taken out a mortgage to buy my own home. My father finally raised the initial $8 000 by selling all his remaining assets but the money disappeared from his savings tin in his wardrobe at the Hostel in the time between when he died & the time & could travel there to organise his estate & funeral (2 days traveling across Australia). I hope you are OK- do you have a "decent" place to live? You look OK in your picture. You need some sort of class action to claim your rightful deserts. [[hugs]]

• A reply on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: I think you will a lot longer than your forebears if you just get out there & hunt & fish right now. Most people our age will live longer than their parents purely because we had a better start & better health care & nutrition along the way. Enjoy your possible 20 plus extra years! I wish I could just hunt & fish or something while not having to worry about having income!

• A comment on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 15 2012: To Robert & the others who want me to take the checkout operator position in spite of my fears that I will top myself after the first day- I just can't do it. I don't depend on money/job/career purely for survival. I have a partner with a job who can just manage to pay for our food, mortgage & utilities. I need something that will occupy my overactive mind & also stop me from feeling trapped by being financially dependent on another human being. I deliberately never married because the thought of being legally bound to someone else's income repulsed me in the extreme. Now the law has changed so that I am legally required to depend on a partner or live on the streets. To Teja: thank you for some creativity in your reply! I must try again to meditate/be mindful and believe more in continuity. Perhaps I could teach others about the experiences of ageing, although that is theoretically a university subject in psychology that is over-populated with academics! I might offer something more on what young people might do while young to avoid my current predicament! However, I think part of it will be overcoming the handicaps of upbringing before trying to make a definite choice of job or profession.
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  A comment on Conversation: How will you spend your time and/or make a living between ages 60 and 100?

  Jul 2 2012: I am 60. I worked in universities as a lecturer for 11 years, then as a mental health researcher for 15 years. For 12 years I have been unable to get a full-time job, although I managed a few part-time ones until 5 years ago. I became so depressed that I am now not very suitable to work more than a few hours per day, but I have no work anyway. I have no superannuation or investments to live on & must depend on my defacto, which humiliates me no end. I haven't the faintest idea how I can exist until the end of this year, let alone until I am 100 [which is what I used to aim for as my father died at 95 of a congenital heart condition!]. I cannot see a future. Others live for their children & grand children but I've never had any due to physical health & circumstances. I enrolled in a Master of Public Health to get a new direction but no one wants to employ me. Even my supervisor says I probably won't work again, even though I am an excellent researcher & have published more than 20 papers. If I had the hope of getting a job as an older worker, I would gladly study anything as the prospect of being a checkout operator (all I have been offered) would make me suicide. I have really tried hard to take a new direction, I've done well in my studies & attacked my depression, made new friends & countless connections. However I cannot summon any hope nor "see" beyond the end of 2012. HELP!
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  A comment on Conversation: How do you actually cope with depression?

  Jul 2 2012: I too am at the final stage of my master's, having taken time off since April last year. I have suffered from depression on & off since at least my mid-twenties, but have had lengthy periods of remission during which I accomplished a lot. I find these days that I need to keep taking my anti depressants, varying the dose with my everyday functional state. I currently have a psychiatrist who has helped me several times. She is trying to attack my melancholia from several angles at the same time using different means, Therefore, besides the anti depressants (which used to give me moderate nasty side effects, but which I am determined to persist), I have been thoroughly assessed physically & biochemically so that I now take low dose thyroxine for Hashimoto's disease, Vitamin D3 for a huge deficiency, plus omega-3 fish oil 15 to 20mls per day (liquid, not capsules). I keep my coffee consumption to a minimum as it tends to make my head buzz with the antidepressants, I restrict wine to times when I am feeling OK & only drink the occasional beer which dosen't interfere with my mood. I exercise at least 20 mins aerobically as many days as I can, with 1 hour of aquarobics once to twice per week, walking for 1 hour on most days or getting on a "rock climber" machine. I've been "prescribed" socialising at least every second day- talking to store personnel is counted as socialising! I organise snacks and lunch with friends as often as I can and try to take part in community activities, eg. Google Photo Walks etc. I have many online friends as well as quite a few real-life friends whom I stay in touch with, no matter what I feel on the day. I have had hand/wrist arthritis treated with cuffs & flexible splints plus isometric exercises so I can remain functional & must keep any pain controlled using simple drugs, not codeine or NSAIDS. I have had to swallow my pride and ask for help with anything I find painful, eg. chopping hard vegetables, lifting anything heavier than a plate.