Not A Mooch

I don't work and am on Disability. This is not by choice. Especially recovering from two mental breaks. Newsflash: Both involve constant treatment and self care.
I didn't think of where to volunteer, and I knew my health wasn't well enough.  However, I now feel I am getting there.
I am applying to volunteer at a nursing home and at a hospital. I am becoming more active in library and community events. I try to attend physical activities at the YMCA. I am looking to POSSIBLY going back to  (very part time) work, and MAYBE class, one a semester.
On the current side, I clean, make (a lot of) phone calls, read, and am looking to learn how to knit.
I am attending a program that will finish soon. I socialize,  shop,  and more.
If I "mooch" from the government, I would like to know how.

My Views on My Mental Illness

If you have a physical disability people get it. With visual impairment; pain issues, and mental illness; not so much. MThain reason I have SSDI is because of my mental illness.
In the psych ward (I was there twice) it's not like you are meeting a bunch people like  the  homeless schizophrenic you often  see. Even if they do scream/hear voices, have a manic episode  and/or have a psychotic episode, most are just as normal as anyone. They are people, like me, that have simply lost their way in life.
However, we were subjected to glares and stares, from other doctors in the hospital.  We think we are overcoming stigmatizing. Nope. We have a long way to go.
Mental illness is just  an illness. To truly move forward, we need to realize that unless criminally insane, no harm is usually intended in a psychotic episode or manic episode.
Manic or psychotic eousides can be non violent. For example,  a person with mania (like me), could just go overboard with work, as in literally a few days and nights on a project. A stressed out person with psychosis may simply hear negative voices. With prescriptions, these symptoms can be controlled.
Meds can be both expensive and addictive. I recently had a SCARY Clonopin withdrawal, for example.
As many know, I am no addict. But I thought "as needed" had to mean all the time. Because I was so constantly anxious. 
Therapy can help. But it takes WORK. I am trying, myself.
Meds really are, unfortunately, a lifeline.
Just something to think about, when a friend says they have a mental illness.