It's good to see everyone reaching out trying to support their fellow neighbor in need. What is even more amazing is that everyone is complete strangers. Let's face it, life is hard, it's nice to get a helping hand when you can.
So, here's my question? How in the world are we to re-enter mainstream, corporate America and ressume our fast past, hectic jobs with our mental BP illnesses? Or heck, any real job for that matter?
y different than most because I am also bipolar and a recovering opiate addict.
Does anyone else have a hard time holding down a job? Or have a hard time with their boss? I've been clean going on 4 years now so I am managing that ok. I just cannot seem to keep my work life in order.
I am currently taking Abilify+Zonegran for my BP but not sure if those meds are currently doing the trick.
I would love to hear some advice so I don't lose yet my 3rd job in two years.
Well I'm sorry that your bipolar meds aren't working.
You neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed to get that fixed.
But you might not want to here this right now but
you have to get well and stable before you can throw yourself out into 'Corporate America.' You also, as well , have to keep intouch with
your doctor or psychiatrist and tell them "Hey this is just not working",
and let them know what's going on so they can fix it so you CAN
when you are feeling well and stable enough on a working medicine, which may take a bit of time(it does for some people),
join back at work. Or find a new job if your boss isn't accepting and understanding to the illness.
Everyone gets sick sometimes.
And look at it this way, and I was told this once and it helped out alot with school,
"'you wouldn't send a kid with a broken leg to p.e. and expect him to run a mile every day and just be okay with that. It is the same thing, because you are the person that just mentally cant deal with the rush and the stress right now. You can pick up the pieces later and move on, but focusing on getting stable is our main priority right now.
You know Carrie fisher, robin williams (which you can tell in some
early skits), vince vangoh, and jim carrey all have/had bipolar disorder.
and eventually they carried on normal or functional lives.
There is hope believe it or not, you can get better.
Some times it just takes time."
and it really made me have faith and strive to get stable so I could
get back into life.
There ARE people here though. just throwing that out there.
I agree. Your priority is getting yourself seen regularly by a doctor and sorting out your medication. Only then can you take on career-related issues.
I had the same problem. I would get fired from job after job because I would forget to do important things or I would lose things....any number of reasons. I would quit because I could't deal with the pressure.
It is better now that I am the right med. Don't get me wrong I still have those feelings of "freakin out" and some people just don't get it. I am a server and I love my jib. I love people and I have fun but you get those certain people that treat you like dirt because of your job. They treat you like a servant instead of a server. You have people that want you to know you suck. Sometimes it takes a lot to handle that and to get myself under control. I have lost it a coule times and had to find an empty room so I could scream as loud as I could. THere are many tricks to help you cope with this disorder, it;s just finding the right ones for you. Right now I am having trouble with an antagonistic manager who says and does things to upset me. I have actually quit talking to him altogether so I don't lose my job for telling him off or just jacking him in the jaw.
I wish you a lot of luck. I know the whole job thing gets overwhelming. Sometimes you have to stop, tell yourself to slow down and prioritize. Pu things into perspective. It will get much easier to do when you are on the right meds.
I left working 9-5 and have no aspirations to re-enter that world until my medications are stable. I have also had a difficult time working for lengthy periods of time and usually quit my jobs.
Right now I work in hospitality-type fields that require no important decisions and I can leave my work at work. Even so, I find it difficult to cope with regular interaction with other people. My pdoc added Lorazepam as needed so that I can work without the anxiety that might lead me to quit.
I agree you should talk to your doctor about what your experience is that makes it difficult to work and adjusting your meds might help.
Thanks everyone for your replies.
I agree that I need to gp see my doc and get my meds adjusted. Problem is, the doc is convinced that she has me on the right meds. It's weird, I know how I am feeling, ( depressed, terrible + extremely tired) but everyone thinks that I am trying to play doctor. They tell me " the doctor is the expert on this stuff, not you". True enough. But I am the one that knows how I feel.
I just am at the point where noone is really listening to me.
Then you might consider actually getting a new doctor.
Bipolar medication is an important thing to get fixed- and first, second, and third
new medicine tries may not work, it may take many different combinations,
and medicines to acheive the feeling YOU need. not your doctor.
You ARE the only one who knows how you feel,
and you know if somethings not right. You are the expert of YOU.
You and the doctor have to work together.
and if she wont work with you, you may need a new doctor.
And if you do want to go back to the 9-5 world it can be done. I've had BiPolar since I was 17, and I'm now 39. I've had the same job for the last 10 years, I'm a Financial Administrator/Stock Advisor. I think part of the key is making sure you're in an understanding environment and that you are in a career that you really enjoy. So when you get your meds and treatment straightened out, going to work will be something you like, not be a chore you have to do. But one of the very important parts is to create a very good understanding relationship with your pdoc/tdoc. I see my tdoc every week, and my pdoc every 2 weeks.
I'd vote for getting another doctor, too. It's their job to listen to you and listen very carefully, and to respond to you. If you can't communicate and be taken seriously, it's perhaps time to change.
I had a pdoc like this and I changed. Finally, I am on the right meds, and when I talk to her and say I feel I want to try something with the meds, she usually agrees and goes with my instincts about myself.
