I don’t know how to reply without having every quote repeated, but i will say all of these replies have made me feel a kinship I haven’t had before. My doctor was the one who suggested disability after i had numerous dangerous episodes at work (i was a nurse and thankfully no one was hurt). My coworkers banded together and demanded my boss fire me.

My career was a huge part of my self-worth, self-image, self-everything. I cried all the time about losing everything i worked so hard for and a career I loved. The day I gave up my license was tremendously traumatic.

I want to say that life will never be the same but you can still work a little on disability in some states. You can look into that. Otherwise, be prepared for a mourning period like any other loss, but like losing anything or -one else, the pain lessens as you accept it. And it took me a long time with a long bout of depression. Work with your doctor about it. If you can afford it, therapy would help. I couldn’t afford it, tried to “do it on my own because I’m tough”. That is probably why it took so long to gain perspective .

My bipolar is so severe I saw the wisdom in my doctor’s advice, but it still hurts, and i still feel like a failure...but it is not a character flaw. It is like anything else I attempt that doesn’t turn out right...an opportunity to believe I can find hope in something new, in a change, in an opportunity for growth.

I’m still working hard at looking at it this way.