For your edification, I will add that I also made a choice to be homeless. When I was evicted from my crappy apartment that was contributing to my health problems and family said "No, you can't come home again." I chose to not look for another crappy apartment. I chose to sleep in a tent and quit my job and try to get healthier because my job and crappy housing were barriers to me getting well.
I didn't think it would take nearly six years to return to conventional housing. I figured I would be homeless for a few months.
It's much, much easier to just walk away from a job and an apartment than to find your way back.
Edit: Homelessness often involves some degree of choice, but most homeless don't want to admit that because it just gets them more crap from people. That choice might be "I can stay with an abusive spouse or go be homeless. I'd rather be homeless."
Homelessness is frequently the lesser evil. If they had better options available, they would be thrilled to go with some other option. But they don't.
Point being: If you genuinely think homelessness is the absolute worst thing, you probably have other options. They may be less than optimal, but they likely exist.
> If you genuinely think homelessness is the absolute worst thing, you probably have other options. They may be less than optimal, but they likely exist.
My fears are based on whether I would have the enough resilience and mental strength to be able to bear with the situation without the drugs that I'm prescribed to or if the condition just get worst. Actually, if something happens, I don't have anybody to help me. Thanks for pointing to the decision process that I was underestimating.
If your condition is responding well to standard treatment and you don't just hate the side effects so much that you would literally rather sleep in the bushes than endure the side effects, you may not be at as much risk of homelessness as you imagine.
It's not uncommon for people on the street with mental health issues to be homeless precisely because they don't want to take the prescription medication they are supposed to be on. They then self medicate with street drugs because they prefer that to the side effects of the drugs they are supposed to be on.
I knew a guy for a time who was on the street for that exact reason. He preferred marijuana and drugs of that ilk to the drugs he was supposed to be on for his mental health condition. But this meant he was unemployable.
Some people with mental health issues never find the right cocktail to make their lives work. If the meds you are on are keeping your condition under control such that you can function, hold a job, etc., you may not be at high risk of homelessness.
I've never really seen data on that detail. What I know is "anecdotal." But I'm skeptical that simply having a mental health issue is really a huge risk factor for homelessness.
