Everybody is different, but for me, I struggle to function without a full-time, & even challenging job. It keeps my mind in order, and most importantly, it gives me a routine. Getting out of bed, getting dressed, on the train, beginning work etc. I was without a job for 6 months last year, and that's when I was actually diagnosed with Bipolar2. Without the routine, I really fell to pieces and spent day after day lying on the carpet in tears or just feeling completely out of control in general. At work, I have numerous coping strategies, depending on my mood. I often go to a toilet cubicle for privacy, and just sit in the little room and do deep breathing for 5 minutes or so and try to get myself together. Or I go outside and walk around the building for 15 minutes and breathe and try to focus - even if it's freezing. If I feel manic, I will go and find a seat outside and breath and count numbers in my head, or something really banal like that, to calm myself. The thing is, when I'm at home, I don't bother with these coping mechanisms, I tend to jump into the mania or fall into the depression. But at work, I have to be accountable for my actions so I'm 'forced' to cope. Because it's a busy and stressful job, it makes me very tired, so it leaves me much less subseptible to mania. In fact, before I started in a busy job, 12 or so years ago, I was quite the mess. I know this won't work for everybody. I am probably fortunate in that I can 'force' myself to cope, albeit temporarily!