I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine, about working while mentally ill. She said, "Let's say you start babbling at work. Let's say it goes on for three hours. What is that employer going to think of you? How are they going to treat you? And what if it happens a second time? A third? Do you really think they are going to keep you? So you give up your SSDI to return to work on a part-time basis, and then your employer fires you because you can't work. What exactly have you accomplished by forcing yourself to go to work?"

On the other hand, I know two bipolar people (not schizoaffective like me) who take a ton of drugs and work full-time. Neither of them is on SSDI. I don't know if they have a lightweight version of their illness, or if they're just more motivated than me. There are days, many of them, when I "zone out" for hours at a time because of all the noise in my head. No employer is going to tolerate that in an employee. This same friend said, "Even if you go freelance and work at your own pace, every employer out there is going to give you deadlines. If you miss deadlines, they aren't going to recommend you to others, and they won't employ you any more. Again, what do you accomplish by doing this?"

Her viewpoint sums up my take on working while mentally ill. If your symptoms are too strong, it's better you don't work than you fail yourself and your employer by returning to work when you are not able. That is, if you can find work, given the stigma around mental illness.

Anyone out there work while mentally ill? Part-time, or full time? Tried it and failed? Success stories? What sort of employers allow the mentally ill to work for them? Spill!