I am starting this new thread per a discussion that is being held in another one. We have been talking about patterns in our work histories; specifically, that a few of us have recognized that we face trouble at work right around that one-year mark, either breaking down, being terminated, or resigning to find other work and starting over.

Anyone experience this same pattern in their work history, particuarly, before they were diagnosed and properly treated? Also, for those who have been working for some time after treatment, have you been able to hold down a job for longer than a year, trouble free?

I would really be interested to know, because almost every job I've had throughout life (untreated) has lasted about a year before I've quit and found something else for various reasons such as not getting along with co-workers, bosses or supervisors, feeling like I was going to have a nervous breakdown, or calling in too much because I've started getting depressed and can't handle the same level of work for an extended period of time.

I would really like to hear about your experiences, progress (if any), and input.

I did work on a construction related job for five years unmedicated. It was not easy on my fellow co-workers or myself since we worked out of town a lot of the town. I was the only girl so it would get lonely too much for me on the road. I think the only reason I worked there for so long was that I didn't see any place else to go. I mean I was making mostly decent money even though I had a college degree I could have gotten an office job. What I found with the office job was that lack of experience meant me making several dollars an hour less and I didn't have the clothes for it. After I was terminated from the job for the Bipolar I had a hard time sticking to any job for very long and usually the three months was a miracle for me to get too. Then I got remarried and wasn't allowed to work then. So I haven't in a about ten years or so.

Emerald

Were you terminated from your job for having bipolar disorder, or did the bipolar disorder cause you to become terminated because of inappropriate behavior? I'm just wondering, because I am about to enter the professional workforce with lots of responsiblity for the first time in a very long time after years of waiting tables while in school for the past 8 years, and I am having trouble just completing my internship, which also has a ton of responsibility, lots of stress and pressure. On the other hand, I am only recently diagnosed and I am optimistic about things improving in the future on the meds. I have really struggled in this internship, and I have been confronted with just about everything bad, from too much work, too much stress, too much pressure, mean and rude co-workers, lack of structure, a total reorganization with people threatening to quit, you name it. I'm not handling it well to say the least, and I am worried to death about my reaction to the turmoil, as my professional reputation is on the line (and I haven't even really entered into the profession yet). It is a highly stressful government job where people's jobs depend on the quality of my work (yes, as an intern). I feel like telling my school internship advisor about my recent diagnosis, if only to explain away some of my whacky behavior and reaction to things at work. I am very close to her and feel like I can trust her.

Anyway, I'm very interested in all of your experiences, if only as support and to help me in making decisions.

Heh...I've really never had a job, due to my cursed mood swings. I'm so afraid that either I will cry if I am critisized, or become angry.

The very thought of having a job sends me into full blown panic. Yet, here I am, a senior in college - making a resume...

I am terrified.

My wife has bi-polar and has had a horible time holding a job. Some is physical but mostly she has these mood swings that she can't and won't accept someone who disagrees with her. she has made it to 1 year at the same place mostly because we both worked at the same job and I could do most of her work for her. Other than that she rarely made it a month and I think she came close to a year at another place and the owner died, so I can't say it had anything to do with being bi-polar. I to wonder if anyone has ever done a study on it's effects on bi-polar people being able to hold down a job and if it comes in cycles. I'm just retired and a former owner and publisher of a newspaper. I think I could handle such a study. I'll have to do some reasearch and find out if there any funds available for such a study. Great idea guys. TEXASCRITTER

I've not been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but my doctor and other mental health workers have said they suspect it is this.

I just wanted to say that my education and work history is so erratic that it looks terrible on my CV. At college I dropped a lot of my A'levels because I was having trouble coping so I left with only one instead of 3.

I then went into the construction industry after getting really excited about it but left after 6 months. I went to uni to study nursing but left after 6 months. I then went on to do 7 years of university and changed my degree course 4 times (each time being convinced i wanted to be a social care worker). I was fired from my job this week (construction based again) because I've had too much time off thanks to a huge spell of depression.

My limit seems to be six months before I get depressed/bored/paraniod that people hate me etc...

I've had loads of jobs whilst at university and my CV won't fit on two pages of A4. My parents feel that this shows me in a bad light and that I will never get a job again or stick to it. I have no idea what I'm going to do as I lose interest in careers after the initial excitement and buzz.

I would love a study into this.

Texascritter,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I really do think a study on this issue would truly benefit us as well as our doctors, if not just plain interesting. If you find anything in your research, please let me know. I am a grad student about to jump into the most hectic semester of my life, and there is no way I can handle anymore research at the moment, but I would be very interested in finding out more about this topic because as a working professional (like so many of us are, I'm sure), I feel it would help me be a more reliable and dependable employee, if not boss. Please let us know what you find.

Vector,

I'm so glad that you guys' interests are piqued like mine are about this topic. As we all only seek normalcy and stability in our lives like everyone else, part of that is being able to take care of ourselves appropriately, which includes being able to function and perform as an employee. Since work consumes so much of our lives as well as provides the only means in which to secure independence (as well as security, both financially and build our self-esteem), I think to know more about this topic, what to expect, how to handle it and cope, along with our medical doctors, it would help us to grow as individuals with this disorder and combat some of the stigma that goes along with it. Like you, I also start to worry after a while that everyone hates me. I actually put in a transfer to another department behind my boss's back with the manager of the whole organization. My boss has his problems, but I wonder if I would have been able to handle him better if I were on meds. At that meeting, the "big guy" told me that I seem to stress and worry too much, but agreed to the transfer anyway because my boss has issues, too and I had a valid complaint. But I am right at that "year mark," which has been a pattern over the years of when my frustration gets the best of me and I usually leave in some form or fashion. It's never really hurt me, as I'm a work-a-holic. But, I think I set myself up being that way. Now that I am diagnosed, I wonder if my depression and frsutration stems from trying to keep up the pace I set at work while manic, and when I hit the downward spiral, there is just no way I can maintain that same level of production. Not only do I get disappointed in myself, I start to withdraw from the entire workforce, worry that they think I'm doing a poor job, etc. I sort of sabotage it on my own with my depression. It's horrible, and I'm sure you all have experienced this in some form or fashion. I was able to get through school, and I have a perfect grade point average in graduate school, but the work is not going so well, and I am taking more hours this semester and I am petrified, because I have had lots of trouble (even if it's in my own head). I am hopeful about this new diagnosis though, and look forward to treatment, which should start next week. :D

Well, my story is weird. While I was in college, I had a really good public relations internship with a large corporation with a satellite office in New York. The first summer was awful, I hated one of the account executives and used to do work from home sometimes because I couldn't deal with the "stress". Anyway, eventually I learned to "get along" with the guy and after about a year I was bored with the job (and the people). Anyway, I ended up staying there three more years (total of 4) including about one and a half years after I graduated college. Anyway, then that job was relocated to Minnesota and I was offered the position out there and I said No thanks. Instead, I got a job working for a major publishing company as an editor (at 24 years old). Well, a new editor in chief came in after about nine months and pretty much brought in her own staff, which didn't include me. I got fired or how they like to put it "laid off".

After that, I pretty much had a horrible time. I struggled for months to keep my life and apartment in New York and was going on plenty of interviews but no one was hiring me. You know how they say, keep a positive attitude and all that *hit. WEll, to me it's all a crock. The fact is the people that are doing the hiring are sometimes jealous of your experience, expect you to look one way, when you look another, or would rather hire someone who will satisfy them in "other ways" (if it's a man hiring a woman) if you know what I'm saying. Anyway, the next three to four years were horrible. I worked for a small financial services firm owned by this couple that just took advantage of me - no health benefits, or anything so I ended up quitting after about 10 months. I ended up moving home (with no car, and no my parents didn't offer to help me buy one) working at a Blockbuster video for something like $5.50 an hour. I did that for about a year until I saved enough money for a car. Then I got a job at a clothing retail store that paid salary plus commission and another part time job at another clothing. Those lasted about 3-4 months. Then I started drinking heavily. My parents told me I had to leave their house so I did. I worked at a Shoprite as a cashier for about 4 months. A cashier at CVS for 4 months (none of this is one my resume by the way). When I found out I was pregnant, I applied for a job as a receptionist for a doctor's office and got it. I was there I think almost two years but was sick okf everyone after a year. I left there for a job with a law firm where I stayed for a while before I moved to Florida. Anyway, I'm still working for a law firm now (one year, eight months )and yeah, I'm sick of the people and the work. Seems no one is alone. :wave:

Gav,

I too throw myself into the job for the first month or so and set completly unrealistic targets (believing that I will obtain them easily). When I "come down" there is no way I can meet these targets which leads to feelings of worthlessness and guilt. I think that this in turn adds to my paranoia and I get the feeling that I have to run away before things get way too out of control. The spinning ideas and thoughts in my head distract me from any rational thought and before I've had chance to evaluate things I've packed up my desk and gone.

If the mood swings were predictable e.g at the begining of a season etc then at least it would be possible to schedule work to fit, although in reality this does not fit with a business ethic i'm sure.

Is there an obligation to inform employers of a bipolar or other mental illness diagnosis even at interview stage?

Vector,

I have been doing a bit of research on the issue of employer and bipolar employee relations, and it seems we have lots of rights in this area and our employers are required to accommodate us under the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are some definitional and other issues that will affect whether or not a bipolar person is considered disabled and therefore protected under the law that are a little unclear, but for the most part, if you have been diagnosed, or even as much as having been confronted about your behavior or performance and have expressed an interest in getting helped, and do, you are protected by the law.

The problem is whether to disclose your disability to your employer. Because bipolar disorder is a recognized mental disability under the ADA, there are certain accommodations your employer is required to comply with, but he/she is only required under the law to comply if you disclose that you have a disability. From what I have read, you are NOT required to disclose your disability before, during, or after an interview, not even after you're hired. The only time you are required to disclose it is if you are seeking accommodations and protections under the law. Employers have rights, too, and they can't be expected to accommodate us if we do not tell them.

But again, whether or not to disclose that information and when is entirely your personal choice. Also, you are not required to disclose what the "disability" is, only that you have a disability and need certain accommodations. However, it might be hard to receive the appropriate understanding the more vague you are about the illness.

There is a web site called the Job Accommodation Network, or JAN, that tells you all about your rights, the ADA, what you and your employer can do to make working conditions better for you, etc. We, apparently, have all the same rights as any other disabled person, and recently, there have been lots of lawsuits that have ended in favor of bipolars against their employers for discrimination. If you disclose, your employer is required to comply. It's as simple as that. However, it appears you will not be protected by the ADA if you disclose right before you are about to get fired. That is one rule that seems to stand.

Also, schools are required to accommodate you just as any organization is for a disabled person. Again, it is up to you whether or not to do so.

Finally, there is another web site on "bipolar dot about dot c-m" that lists all kinds of ways to disclose your disability to your employer, one being that you can go to the department of human resources and find an advocate, ask your therapist, or call the EEOC to ask for help.

Hope this helps, you guys, because I found that information to be a relief to say the least. :wave:

Hi gav
you've started yet another thread that i can totally relate to!
The longest ive ever held a job was just over a year, every other job has ended before this time. Infact, so of most things in my life, such as school, college courses, clubs, hobbies etc. Like you, i find excuses to leave, mainly such as not getting on with bosses/coworkers. The only way i can describe it as feeling "trapped" and needing to get away, almost a little scared and fearful at times. I generally feel very worn down and that i need to be free. Not sure if anyone else can relate.
None of the jobs ive had have been particularly ambitious or promising, mostly dead end jobs, but i would love to have a career. Maybe with the right traetment one day i can:angel:

Hey there, fallen,

I can COMPLETELY relate to that feeling trapped. I am finding out from my research that there are certain work-related circumstances, conditions and supervisory behaviors that make it very difficult for us to be productive, or that can cause us intense stress and cause problems emotionally for us and make it next to impossible for us to thrive in the workplace and maintain balance, hence the protection of our illness in the workplace under the law. Those two sites I listed were extremely helpful and you should check them out.

The problem, as I stated in my previous email, is whether to disclose the illness to your co-workers and boss so that they might accommodate you. It's a very difficult decision and one that I am struggling with at the moment. I have, however, written a letter to my university advisor telling her that I have just been diagnosed with an illness that has, in effect, rendered me "disabled" under the ADA. Since you are in the UK, I am not sure of the laws that would protect you, but I'm certain that if we have them, so do you.

What I found to be very interesting also is that almost every job I've ever had, I've had to endure either an overbearing, rude boss who micromanages us and yells and screams, or one that is totally non-existant, providing absolutely no positive feedback but requires you to do work beyond your skill level and tons of it with lots of deadlines (this is my situation now, plus, he is also not very nice to me). These are factors listed under these sites that say can aggravate our illness, and if we have to endure under those circumstances for too long, it can make life very stressful for us, probably even unmanageable. This, I would suspect, would eventually trigger our "fight or flight" survival switch, which causes us to react inappropriately and feel trapped, like you said, like so many say.