Originally Posted by
Supercrew 
You can panhandle, you can take trains, you have chaired meetings, you have access to a computer and you write rather well with coherent thoughts, why is it that you "simply cannot work"?
I'm not trying to judge your situation but you seem pretty bright and I think you are selling yourself short.
I can understand what you are trying to say here and I have to say that your point of view is not uncommon in fact it is how a lot of people view those with debilitating mental health conditions.
I attend at least one AA meeting a week, I use the computer, I can write coherent thoughts, I can drive, I can sometimes go to the grocery store on my own, I drive to my mental health appointments, etc.... So many would assume or ask the question that you have of "why is it that you 'simply cannot work?'"
To answer your question. I for one have PTSD, bipolar disorder, chronic anxiety disorder, agoraphobia,and major depressive disorder. The effects of these conditions are I have difficulty concentrating; when I am in a depression I can hardly get out of bed, let alone get dressed, take a shower, cook a meal, remember to eat, etc... The agoraphobia makes it where I can most of the time only make it out of my house if my partner goes with me. I cannot even go to the mailbox to check the mail. There are days when I have no problem leaving the house but those are few and far between. When I do drive I am easily lost even going to familiar places. The anxiety that is present when I do drive leaves me many times on the side of the road in an anxiety attack or I have to take an anti anxiety medication that has side effects that make me drowsy (not a good thing to be driving on). I have frequent flashbacks which can be triggered by stress, sounds, smells, and situations. When I have these it is like I am no longer here I am in that event and it takes a bit to sort out things and realize which is reality and which is not. These are not real good to have when one is driving as needless to say it is quite distracting and dangerous to not be able to tell reality from a flashback. I have night terrors which wake me from a sound sleep leaving me in a waking nightmare until my mind catches up with my body and realizes it is not real just a nightmare. I have horrible nightmares that I can not describe to anyone. I have difficulty in social situations. When I am in a social situation such as an AA meeting I have to sit by the door without anyone behind my back or between me and the door, I only attend very small meetings. When I am in a depression the first thought to enter my head each morning is 'put a gun to your head' (that is literally the exact thing that hits my head each morning). I fight with suicide on nearly a daily basis.
People that do not know me have very little clue that my mental health is what it is. To them I appear normal but to those that know me they understand the difficulty that these issues cause. They can see when my anxiety level is high and do what they can to help even if it is just letting me know it is ok and they are still my friends despite my issues. From outward appearances one would think "why don't I work" in fact I have had people ask my partner why I do not work. The best response we have come up with is I am retired. Which is not a lie as I have had to put my nursing and paramedic licenses into a retired state since I have not been able to work since 2006.
I hope my post has given you some insight into understanding how devastating mental illness can be even if things look ok or sound ok on the outside it is the inside that is a disaster. I honestly wish I could work. I went from a high paying career of 20 years to no income at all. That was devastating and affects not only my future but my partners future. It is sad that people just don't realize how debilitating these diseases are because many with them present well on the outside. I can only hope one day people will be more understanding and less judgmental of mental health issues.