Hi Harriet
I'm sorry it's taken a while to respond to this thread. Stress, anxiety and loneliness is something which is all too common to Dyspraxia and I'm sure that the majority of us here can relate to that in some way. This actually a very difficult thread to reply to because it is very easy to sound negative on this subject.
Stress and anxiety affects people in different ways and it's notoriously difficult to manage as we can all feel cocooned in our own worlds which others can't understand which makes us feel lonely.
But let's try to focus on the positives. You are young and you have a boyfriend. So you do have a support network and you must be doing something right
Coping with stress and anxiety is difficult at the best of times and the only real way to deal with it is to develop coping mechanisms. Break things down into smaller more manageable tasks and apply your own methodology to life. Everyone is ultimately different in some way and there is no need to feel embarrassed if you struggle with what others seemingly find easy.
Finding work is hard for anyone, and the job market is incredibly competitive. You need to focus on your strengths. Apply for work in which you have confidence in your ability. Interviews are difficult and stressful and dyspraxia can seem to multiply that difficulty.
It's too easy to consider it as a weakness and let it defeat you. But you can use it to your advantage. The key is to prepare for interview days in advance;
Research into the company you are applying to
Revise the kind of questions you are likely to be asked and write down material you can base your answers on
Have a list of questions you want to ask them ready
Make sure you know where the interview is and how to get there, do a demo run the day before to make sure
Prepare your suit the day before so there is no rush ironing job on the morning of your interview
Arrive at the interview 10-15 minutes early so you can compose yourself and revise your notes
If you forget questions in the interview, pause and ask them to repeat them (this is good working practise as you're clarifying and confirming information)
Remember that the interviewers know that your'e going to be nervous and so there will be some allowance for this. But by building up your preparation in advance you are giving yourself the best chance to do well and display your potential. It's not just about answering questions but giving an impression.
I always make myself a file to take into the interview with me it contains;
A print out of the interview invitation
The job description and person specification (if available)
My CV
A list of my references
My research material to formulate my answers
A list of questions to ask them
This shows that you have taken the time and effort to prepare for your interview and thus gives a good impression and it also shows a methodical approach. You can also refer to it if you need to give them information i.e. a reference compact, a qualification date etc.
It's about knowing your weaknesses, you know dyspraxia is going to make things difficult for you so you apply your own method to make things manageable for you. If you can apply that to an interview you can apply it to the job and the better prepared you are the less nervous you'll feel.
I'm currently going through a period of job hunting myself, if you want to talk in more detail please PM me, or we can chat via Gtalk or something.
