Sharon Ager: Lisa has grown so much in the work world and helping people. She really loves what she does with her career. She doesn't just think of it as a job where she punches and punches out. She plans on helping other people for a long, long time. Ticket to Work was one of the best things that ever happened for her. I can tell you that. Lisa Seeley: I'm a work-from-home vocational counselor at Employment Options. I assist people who are on SSI (Supplemental Security Income) or SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) return to work. I specialize in work-from-home placements so what I do is I assess the client and then you know, depending on their skills and their you know, disability and things like that I, you know, help them return to work in a company that is suitable for their environment. Paula Vieillet: Lisa's work is exceptional. She's a very good counselor.She has a big heart and that would be the kind of feedback I get from the clients. She tends to share her personal experiences with them, helping other people helps you get outside of your own problems so by helping someone else, I think that also helps her. Lisa Seeley: I remember my first panic attack was at high school freshman orientation and I remember sitting there in the auditorium with you know, a room full of people or students and uh, just feeling like I was sick to my stomach and started feeling sweaty and dizzy and I'm just like oh my goodness, what's going on? Sharon Ager: We had a hard time trying to find the correct help for Lisa. And it was hard to get the right medication. Lisa Seeley: It just overwhelmed me and I had to actually have home tutoring my whole senior year in high school because anxiety just was overwhelming for me. I did work throughout high school. Um, I worked as a waitress but I suffer from anticipatory anxiety a lot too so I always had the "what ifs". What if I had a panic attack while I'm carrying this you know, food around? You know, what if this? What if that? So I didn't...I wasn't..you know, wasn't able to stay in a job for a long period of time. You know, I would quit because of the anxiety and then a couple months later I would you know, get another job. Kevin Seeley: She'd have panic attacks so bad I'd have to go pick her up, calm her down. She'd try to go back to work but it just wouldn't happen so she's missing work. Lisa Seeley: My panic disorder got you know, so bad that I was really uncomfortable leaving my house. I couldn't even walk across the street to check my mail and mailbox. Just the thought of going to the mall, driving, going grocery shopping or just simple everyday tasks were very difficult for me. Kevin Seeley: I couldn't provide by myself in the profession I was in, and she's just like I know I've got to do something but I don't know what. Basically, the kids are what turned her around Social Security disability-wise. She knew she had to start working. Lisa Seeley: I felt oh my gosh, I'm going to be on SSI for the rest of my life and I didn't want that. I wanted to feel productive but I needed to find someone that had work-from-home opportunities just because, you know, my disability did not allow me to drive or you know, go out into the community. So I called the 800 number, spoke with a representative there and I told them I was interested in the Ticket to Work program and I received a list of Employment Networks (ENs). I went through the list and chose an EN that wasn't a good fit for me so I [un]assigned my Ticket from them and reassigned it to Employment Options. I feel like I'm on top of the world. I feel like I can do anything and work has helped me get to that point. I actually hired an Agoraphobia coach. A woman that did suffer from Agoraphobia and she learned to harness her anxiety so now she was taking me out to the mall, you know we would go driving together. I felt uncomfortable but I did it anyway and that's what helped me is, I just kept doing it and kept doing it and you know, I do a lot of stuff now that I didn't do before. I travel. I would have never thought about flying on an airplane before, especially by myself you know, or being in a hotel room by myself but I love to travel now. I actually volunteer to travel for work. When I first started the Ticket to Work program, I didn't know anything about it and when I came to Employment Options, you know Paula told me, look, this is what's going to happen, you know, you're going to have nine months of where you could make as much money as you want and still have your benefits and uh, you know, be able to kind of test the waters to make sure that you're able to work and keep working. Going back to work, it's big. It's big in the aspect uh, financially, you know I am not on SSI or SSDI anymore. I'm able to be self-sufficient. Work has really boosted my self-esteem where you know, I just proved to myself that I can. I can return to work and I love working. I found my passion, you know. I feel really productive helping other people because I know how it felt to feel lost and insecure and uh, the Ticket to Work has really empowered me. It works. the Ticket to Work has really empowered me. It works.