‘I’m scared about my future’: young people on the stress and desperation of jobseeking

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In the second in our series, four young Britons reveal how the search has taken a toll on their mental and physical health‘The social contract is broken’: young people on feeling…

In the second in our series, four young Britons reveal how the search has taken a toll on their mental and physical health

“I had to quit and move back in with my parents because I had developed ME/chronic fatigue syndrome. I am now housebound and cannot look after myself. Although I cannot prove it, I strongly believe that prolonged period of high stress played a big part in the decline of my health.”

When Celeste, 24, graduated from the University of Edinburgh last year she spent two months applying for more than 100 jobs in the Scottish capital “just getting rejected or not hearing back at all from applications, 90% of which were waitressing positions”.

“It was a really desperate time,” she says. “I was paying rent all of that time, and it was one of the most stressful times of my life.”

Celeste had been doing part-time work in cafes since the age of 14 and eventually got full-time work in one, which she described as “very high pressure with terrible hours”.

She was feeling unwell before taking on the role, and became increasingly sick until she left to move back in with her parents in Dorset.

She had a health assessment for ME/CFS in August this year, but says it could be three to six months before she receives a formal diagnosis.

Once she has that, she can start to get more support, including being put on a course to “teach me how to manage my energy” and put in touch with employers “who understand ME and already employ people like me”.

She says the wait for a diagnosis is “frustrating”. Meanwhile, her application for a personal independence payment (Pip) has been rejected. She has appealed, but a decision on that could take up to a year and a half, she says, adding that she is relying on her parents to support her.

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