It's hard, isn't it? I have VA and SSDI plus retirement. (I wasn't diagnosed as Bipolar 1 on active duty, but had depression listed on my retirement physical.) It was helpful but it felt like I should have a regular job. I started writing poetry a couple of years ago and that's been useful. I got a free site from WordPress and went from there. I have creative outlets in writing, music, and photography. My main focus is on getting stable and staying stable. Since I've done well with that, I went back to school, though now I'm only taking one class a term because of my anxiety. I'm doing most of the classes online. I would like to get a degree, because I wasn't able to do that while working or being unstable. While that was going on I was married and my daughter went through high school.

I suppose it would help if you knew what you wanted to do that allows flexibility for your condition. If your children are school age you may have some leeway to get out of the house and take a non-degree or online class. Volunteering also works.

Sometimes being mentally ill is a full-time job in itself, adding on to taking care of home and kids.