It sounds like you jumped into the deep end in your job at the fast-food restaurant. It's a very high-stress, fast-paced environment and would make anyone anxious, in my opinion. I wouldn't discount your ability to work based on that job. Restaurants or retail of any kind might not be the best place for you. Before I went to college, I worked in a bookstore. I managed okay out front, but found that I was happier behind the scenes, working in the distribution center instead. No customers, no phones, just me, the books, and a few coworkers.

During and after college, I worked in hospitals and private medical laboratories, again, mostly behind the scenes, running laboratory tests. I had some patient contact, but not the majority of the time. It was a bit more stressful than the bookstore jobs of course, but I still functioned fairly well and enjoyed my work.

Unfortunately, my bipolar worsened and I wasn't able to work anymore. I went on Social Security Disability in 2000, but was back to work three years later. It wasn't perfect, and I still had hospitalizations, but I managed to work for another seven years before finally having to say enough is enough three years ago. I am back on Social Security and will likely never work again.

Now, as with anything, my story is not necessarily yours. My bipolar disorder went not only untreated, but sometimes incorrectly treated as Major Depression for many years. I wasn't diagnosed properly until I was 30 years old. So, with every untreated episode I had, brain damage was being done. I'm now 43 and have not only the mood issues, but some of the cognitive issues that go along with the progression of the bipolar. If I had been properly diagnosed at age 16 or so, when I started having symptoms of mania, I believe things would have been different. (Actually, it should have been caught when I was 14 after the antidepressant I was put on made me hypomanic, but it never was.)

You're at a much better advantage - you're getting treatment at an early age and have more options available to you.

Have you looked into what might be available through your state's employment security office? They often have job training or different evaluation programs to help you figure out the kind of job that you may be best suited for. It sounds like something behind the scenes may be more your style than dealing with the public on a regular basis. I wouldn't give up on the idea of working. Like you said, your bad experiences at work were before you were getting treatment. Things are different now. You may need to work with your pdoc a little more to get your anxiety under better control if it's still an issue. Yes, we'll always have symptoms eventually, but you can't let that stop you from trying.