About to be homeless - any suggestions?

[Stevemercer]

I suffer from depression and once tried the Thai mental health system. Never again! As another posted said, there are many forms of depression and it is not wise to self-medicate. In any case, sophisticated anti-depressants are not available in Thailand and you have to order them over the internet (assuming you know what to order).

I'm with a previous poster in suggesting you need treatment for the depression asap, but am at a loss to suggest how to do this in Thailand. If you find yourself thinking suicidal thoughts, then things are at a desperate state and I believe you have to throw yourself at the mercy of the embassy.

If things aren't quite that bad (mentally speaking) then your immediate problem is get some work/money. There might be more opportunities in Isan (Khon Kaen, Mahasarakham etc.). All hospitals in Thailand have been given a bucket of money to employ ferangs one day a week to teach patients English. This is in preparation of the switch to ASEAN. Plenty of local district hospitals are still desperately trying to find ferangs. You could try contacting the regional hospitals to see if they still need teachers. The jobs start 18 September 2015.

[DavidB4]

I personally think Thailand should require from all retirees proof of income of at least 65,000 baht/month (which is about 800,000 baht/year) and get rid of the 800,000 baht in a bank account rule. Right now, there are way too many people on a tiny pension who choose to live here and do not significantly contribute to the economy

One of the OP's posts.

Perhaps all young digital nomads should be required to show they have savings or guaranteed income to support their layabout lifestyles in Thailand when things go wrong.

personally think that's a croc of ___ !

[DaddyWarbucks]

My advice to you: FIX THE DEPRESSION FIRST. Everything else gets easier after that. Unfortunately thats not quick, anti-depressants take 3-4 weeks to take effect, but they do work. It might seem insane to spend your last money on seeing a doctor and paying for some meds but thats what I would do it you situation. Find a doc, get some meds and hole up in the cheapest place you can find until you feel better.

Once the depression is lifted you will find a lot of options you didn't consider seem available... and what seems hopeless suddenly seems achievable. Good luck and hope you pull through.

Your first advice is sound.

Your following advice is not.

Depression requires proper treatment in a proper setting by a proper psychiatrist who is able to communicate effectively with the patient.

All that completely negates "find a doc, get some meds and hole up in the cheapest place you can find until you feel better"

Clinical depression absolutely does not resolve when addressing it in such a superficial manner.

He needs to return home ASAP to deal with his serious issues.

Popping happy-pills in a low-rent setting might just work. Who knows?

As Hunter S.Thompson famously said: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

[resimi]

Please don't tell him to go home.

He has no "home" at home anymore, can't you see?

He will end up in a mental asylum, maybe get a winter depression, and will be done forever. Being mentally sick in Europe means you get stigmatized forever, worse than a criminal.

If you could witness and know about the mental health treatment situation here.... you would most likely retract your post.

[resimi]

My advice to you: FIX THE DEPRESSION FIRST. Everything else gets easier after that. Unfortunately thats not quick, anti-depressants take 3-4 weeks to take effect, but they do work. It might seem insane to spend your last money on seeing a doctor and paying for some meds but thats what I would do it you situation. Find a doc, get some meds and hole up in the cheapest place you can find until you feel better.

Once the depression is lifted you will find a lot of options you didn't consider seem available... and what seems hopeless suddenly seems achievable. Good luck and hope you pull through.

Your first advice is sound.

Your following advice is not.

Depression requires proper treatment in a proper setting by a proper psychiatrist who is able to communicate effectively with the patient.

All that completely negates "find a doc, get some meds and hole up in the cheapest place you can find until you feel better"

Clinical depression absolutely does not resolve when addressing it in such a superficial manner.

He needs to return home ASAP to deal with his serious issues.

Popping happy-pills in a low-rent setting might just work. Who knows?

As Hunter S.Thompson famously said: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

Anyone with a modicum of knowledge regarding depression knows it will not work.

Otherwise, great advice.

Thompson committed suicide.

[eskatonia]

I suffer from depression and once tried the Thai mental health system. Never again! As another posted said, there are many forms of depression and it is not wise to self-medicate. In any case, sophisticated anti-depressants are not available in Thailand and you have to order them over the internet (assuming you know what to order).

There are certainly competent mental health professionals here in Thailand in the private sector, and "sophisticated anti-depressants" are certainly available. Samitive J I know from personal experience has competent professionals and can get anything you can get in the west. ​Samitive J is not cheap buts far cheaper than paying the overstay fine and a flight home. With the OP's limited funds remaining he could afford to see a specialist at Samitive J and a months worth of meds.

[Thaidream]

My faith in humanity has been restored in that so many TV posters have expressed concern and given positive reinforcement and potential solutions. Depression is life threatening and I know exactly how this man feels. While I have never been directly in his position, I have suffered from severe depression for years due to several deaths in my family. It is tough to work out of it. The best advice I can give the OP- Never Give Up- your life can change in an instant- but you have to keep pushing forward. I wish I had the finances to be able to help you, Unfortunately I can offer only moral support and a prayer. May God bless you in giving you the strength to move forward.

[opalred]

strange to me

anxiety builds to depression

but you have depression now anxiety coming?

[Kees5555]

How about your parents?
An uncle?
A school friend?
Nobody to help you?

To prevent new lower back problems: strength training !!!
Especially for back muscles, and addtional allround core stability.

[NoshowJones]

Get a teaching job out in a rural area. They will take a non native speaker out there. A lot of schools have teacher housing, find one that will let you stay for free. Live like a monk and save money and get your visa sorted out. It might take a while but you can survive.

How is he going to get a teaching job without showing his passport? He is on overstay as he needs to pay 20.000 Baht at the airport, or have I missed something?

[Altalake]

Is this really a begging letter?

You probably will not find much sympathy in these columns - but a fairy godmother (or godfather) might pop out of the rainbow for you.

But don't bank on it. (No pun intended).

[HeijoshinCool]

To the too many posters assuming the OP has clinical depression; you're being irresponsible putting such ideas into the man's head, one poster even going so far as to say he'll end up in a "mental asylum."

Knock it off.

[Capt Rob]

sounds like looking for handouts and a sucker to give money

at 30 prime of life should be working not on drugs here

Thanks a lot for your amazing advice.

If I may, I would like to give you some advice as well:

- You may want to thoroughly read a thread before commenting on it. I'm not on drugs and I'm not 30.

- I hope nothing will ever happen to you, be it an accident, an illness, the death of a loved one or any other thing life sometimes likes to throw at people. Because then you would know how bad it makes you feel when you are down and people use it to throw one final little jab at you. Yes, like you just did here.

" Nicholas18 " Well here you have been given a lot of suggestions/advice - a lot of it falls under the heading of ' tough love/poo '.

Most folk have also endured their own difficult issues, however most would have a retinue/network of friends to help out a little when the unexpected happens.

That they have put fingers to keyboard is obvious that they care enough to do so. Most people have helped a mate when needed and I presume they do not connect why you seem to have none ? You situation seems a tad bleak which means you may have to accept a few more 'lumps' before coming out the other side.

[eskatonia]

To the too many posters assuming the OP has clinical depression; you're being irresponsible putting such ideas into the man's head, one poster even going so far as to say he'll end up in a "mental asylum."

Knock it off.

What? if indeed he does have clinical depression, which is certainly possible from the tone of his posts, then yes he needs to get some professional help. There is (or should be) no stigma attached to seeking such help and its far better to get treatment than ignore it and / or self medicate.

[HLover]

Can the OP make tasty waffles?

[kannot]

Can the OP make tasty waffles?

dunno but you as the master could show him, plenty of waffle in that post.

[resimi]

To the too many posters assuming the OP has clinical depression; you're being irresponsible putting such ideas into the man's head, one poster even going so far as to say he'll end up in a "mental asylum."

Knock it off.

What? if indeed he does have clinical depression, which is certainly possible from the tone of his posts, then yes he needs to get some professional help. There is (or should be) no stigma attached to seeking such help and its far better to get treatment than ignore it and / or self medicate.

Absolutely correct.

The OP stated himself he has depression and anxiety, so no one is "putting such ideas into his head".

The only one qualified to properly determine his proper treatment is a proper physician.

It's irresponsible of "Cool" to put forth otherwise.

He should knock it off.

[notbkk]

Your a English looks excellent for Belg, so I suggest you visit Wonders Kids English on the web and apply for an online teaching job. Good money and working from home. Good company. Hope you have a PC or laptop. Best advice, I think. Good luck! Message me for not advice on that.

[luckyman]

If you are staying in Thailand without too many assests you need to have an so-called emercency fund of at least 50.000 THB

If you donot have that right now, you need to ask family or friends for a loan asap for a return to your home country as finding a new job here in today's economic climate will be very difficult.

[DavidB4]

Some of the compassion and understanding shown here lets me know that should I ever need help I would not look for it here! I hope everyone receives that which they've given, in spades.

[DP25]

Get a teaching job out in a rural area. They will take a non native speaker out there. A lot of schools have teacher housing, find one that will let you stay for free. Live like a monk and save money and get your visa sorted out. It might take a while but you can survive.

How is he going to get a teaching job without showing his passport? He is on overstay as he needs to pay 20.000 Baht at the airport, or have I missed something?

In rural areas a lot of schools are not fussy about paperwork and they don't understand it anyway. Many schools have teachers employed with no work permit and they don't know or care what visa they are on. They will look at the passport front page to see the nationality, but they don't understand the visa stuff at all and aren't interested.

Obviously there is a risk involved, but it beats starving to death on the street in Bangkok. If he's careful after a few months he should have the money to pay the overstay and get a new visa.

[mcfish]

Your a English looks excellent for Belg, so I suggest you visit Wonders Kids English on the web and apply for an online teaching job. Good money and working from home. Good company. Hope you have a PC or laptop. Best advice, I think. Good luck! Message me for not advice on that.

Q: Do I need prior teaching experience?

A: Yes, we are currently only hiring teachers with previous teaching experience.

[nithisa78]

Seriously...if you cannot, or will not...go back home, then find a remote temple where the monks will take you in.

Seriously study the language and culture, don the robes and hair cut.

You will be well taken care of....and might even run across a monk with some ideas on how to get you out of the country (if need be).

I suppose they cross borders in vans....to laos and such.

Final option is to turn yourself in at your Embassy. They will get you home, but you will probably lose your passport, and never be allowed back in.

Not sure about this..but check on the internet for smaller sailing/cruise vessels that want a crew. You might get smuggled out...with room and board. Bring Pirate fighting kit.

The U.S. Embassy has been known to hold your passport as hostage, waiting to get there money repaid.

Think things through, you're not a child. Make better friends and don't burn bridges. The idea of going to a Temple is good one also.

[HeijoshinCool]

To the too many posters assuming the OP has clinical depression; you're being irresponsible putting such ideas into the man's head, one poster even going so far as to say he'll end up in a "mental asylum."

Knock it off.

What? if indeed he does have clinical depression, which is certainly possible from the tone of his posts, then yes he needs to get some professional help. There is (or should be) no stigma attached to seeking such help and its far better to get treatment than ignore it and / or self medicate.

Absolutely correct.

The OP stated himself he has depression and anxiety, so no one is "putting such ideas into his head".

The only one qualified to properly determine his proper treatment is a proper physician.

It's irresponsible of "Cool" to put forth otherwise.

He should knock it off.

.

You're not doctors. And even if you were, you would not diagnose on an open forum. Predicting he will end up in an "asylum" is highly irresponsible.

Just because the OP has used the word "depression, " doesn't mean he is suffering clinical depression. Many people use the word who are just going through a rough patch.

[NoshowJones]

Get a teaching job out in a rural area. They will take a non native speaker out there. A lot of schools have teacher housing, find one that will let you stay for free. Live like a monk and save money and get your visa sorted out. It might take a while but you can survive.

How is he going to get a teaching job without showing his passport? He is on overstay as he needs to pay 20.000 Baht at the airport, or have I missed something?

In rural areas a lot of schools are not fussy about paperwork and they don't understand it anyway. Many schools have teachers employed with no work permit and they don't know or care what visa they are on. They will look at the passport front page to see the nationality, but they don't understand the visa stuff at all and aren't interested.

Obviously there is a risk involved, but it beats starving to death on the street in Bangkok. If he's careful after a few months he should have the money to pay the overstay and get a new visa.

I worked for three years in a school in a rural area, but had a work permit. I find it very hard to believe a school is going to give a job to someone

without even checking his passport, even apart from the front page. the director of any school doing this is taking some chance. This being Thailand,

I suppose palms will get greased somewhere.

[arjunadawn]

Try one of those crowd sourcing sites.

http://www.gofundme.com/

Thanks, but....

Your country is not supported at this time.

It looks like you're visiting us from Thailand, which is currently not in GoFundMe's list of supported countries. Please let us know if you'd like to see GoFundMe supported in your country. Learn More

I am unsure why you received this. I set up a GoFundMe earlier this year for a Ukrainian injured in an accident while in Samui- from Thailand. Moreover, if you cannot get a free vpn or proxy then you can hardly navigate the many issues you throw out.

Pause- I just walked through every step of the gofundme setup without problem to create account called HomelessNick. I deleted the posting. I have no idea why you could not do it. This would be the second time I have been able to do this on True ISP, once in BKK and once in Samui.

Edited August 24, 2015 by arjunadawn

[micmichd]

My advice to you: FIX THE DEPRESSION FIRST. Everything else gets easier after that. Unfortunately thats not quick, anti-depressants take 3-4 weeks to take effect, but they do work. It might seem insane to spend your last money on seeing a doctor and paying for some meds but thats what I would do it you situation. Find a doc, get some meds and hole up in the cheapest place you can find until you feel better.

Once the depression is lifted you will find a lot of options you didn't consider seem available... and what seems hopeless suddenly seems achievable. Good luck and hope you pull through.

Your first advice is sound.

Your following advice is not.

Depression requires proper treatment in a proper setting by a proper psychiatrist who is able to communicate effectively with the patient.

All that completely negates "find a doc, get some meds and hole up in the cheapest place you can find until you feel better"

Clinical depression absolutely does not resolve when addressing it in such a superficial manner.

He needs to return home ASAP to deal with his serious issues.

"in a proper setting"

A mental hospital is the only place where he can go in Europe, a cold country with almost no sun in winter time. This is certainly not a proper setting to get rid of depression if you lived in Thailand, it's a setting to *get* depressed - and addicted to psycho drugs.

Once addicted, he would still have to stay there - now to cure him from addiction.

Even when cured and released, they will still not leave him alone - because he might feel to well now and become a "maniac"

Sorry to say, but that's my own personal experience. And I wasn't even suppressed in the beginning. I was simply in love - but with someone from the "wrong" culture (a Thai) This was enough to start a witchhunt, and I guess it's still not over.

I would not advice anyone to return to the West for mental issues after a decision for an Eastern culture. Never.

There are psychiatrists in Thailand. I would ask for a document saying you're unable to travel for psychiatric reasons, and then try to get rid of depression in Thailand. Maybe a temple would be a good idea.

Is there any temple in Thailand where you already know someone?

[FritsSikkink]

Strange, living in a country without having health insurance is a no-no, som nam na.

You might get help in Belgium from the CPAS?

Are you in overstay also?

I understand your problem would be to find funds for a plane ticket plus your rent plus overstay fee and what else?

I had (and still have) health insurance, but, due to the fact that I had a history of minor back problems, my herniated disc was considered a pre-existing condition and therefore not covered.

At the moment, I have two choices (but, neither of them are possible due to lack of funds):

1. Go back to Europe, which means a plane ticket, paying for the 20K overstay and the rent I currently owe. Pro: I would be in my own country. Con: I would be homeless.

2. Go to Cambodia and get a new visa, which means paying for the overstay at the border, pay for a new visa and have 20K on hand to show the immigration officer if needed. Pro: I could easily find a job once I'm not on overstay anymore. Con: I still am about to be homeless in a couple of days and, even if I did find a job right away, I wouldn't have any money to pay for a room during the first month.

So, yeah, complicated issue. Which is why I asked for suggestions here.

stay with one of your Thai friends

[MyFriend You]

Seriously...if you cannot, or will not...go back home, then find a remote temple where the monks will take you in.

Seriously study the language and culture, don the robes and hair cut.

You will be well taken care of....and might even run across a monk with some ideas on how to get you out of the country (if need be).

I suppose they cross borders in vans....to laos and such.

Final option is to turn yourself in at your Embassy. They will get you home, but you will probably lose your passport, and never be allowed back in.

Not sure about this..but check on the internet for smaller sailing/cruise vessels that want a crew. You might get smuggled out...with room and board. Bring Pirate fighting kit.

The U.S. Embassy has been known to hold your passport as hostage, waiting to get there money repaid.

Think things through, you're not a child. Make better friends and don't burn bridges. The idea of going to a Temple is good one also.

Your answer is irrevelent seeing he is from Belgium, not the US - and NO, they will not hold your passport hostage to get their money - it is illegal for a foreigner to be in a country undocumented and they would not do that - there is a program called "OC Trust Transfer" whereas someone in the US, a family member, friend, church, Veterans organization etc etc will C0-Sign a loan to elp out an American in distress to get him/her back to the US. Now if you have broken any laws in Thaland (as he has by overstaying) then all bets are off, you don't qualify for an OC Trust Loan. BTW - when a Country is at war, and all foreigners evacuated, who do you think foots the bills for most of the evacuees aurline tickets??? The Good Old USA, all evacuees sign an Intent to repay the cost, very few have not repaid the loans.

[eskatonia]

"in a proper setting"

A mental hospital is the only place where he can go in Europe, a cold country with almost no sun in winter time. This is certainly not a proper setting to get rid of depression if you lived in Thailand, it's a setting to *get* depressed - and addicted to psycho drugs.

This is completely inaccurate. Outpatient care is the norm for treatment in europe and anti-depressants are not addictive. You might have had a bad experience but don't go spreading falsehoods because of it.