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Originally Posted by Alive99
But me, I still get pulled down a lot after a couple of good days. Then it takes time to go back up. If I was supposed to do things during such a downtime then of course that piles on stress too. So coming back up of course would take longer too.... Takes time to do all the stuff I got delayed with and of course it adds additional negative feelings on top of the rest (very dysregulated emotions too, I only lately started to be able to see them, I've started trying to deal with them).
Is this issue familiar to you?
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Yes. A few years ago I experienced the same thing, but I didn't manage it well. I quit my job because of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alive99
But I've restarted... and I instantly notice how I'm not able to do my exercise program (i.e. sports training). Because the stress just went up high. Because I was given a task with a short deadline and that task is of course harder anyway. I don't know what I'll be doing, because I really want to be able to do both work and training!! Thoughts?
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In my case, I try to balance it. If I have deadlines for my other job, I really skip the gym. Instead, I go on weekends to make up for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alive99
Reading this, especially the last few lines, is where I realised how peacefully stable the stuff is you are describing. Always knowing that you'll be able to just predictably warmup anyway even if it takes time. Feels like you being in a good environment too, with nice people. That is what helped me realise where my main issue is rightnow. Maybe just the medication though? I'm not on medication other than Xanax "as needed". I considered taking it last night but I fell back asleep okay.
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I didn't include the first 4 years of my diagnosis in my story. I quit my job after 2 years because it was too stressful for me. The schedule was more irregular than my teaching job now. I had to work very long hours, especially when I had business trips. Some months after quitting, I had a hypomanic episode. I suddenly decided to go to another country to work there. I was able to start training in one company, but I suddenly fell into depression again. So, I went back to my country, lived with my mom, and dealt with depression for around 6 months. I tried to do some freelance work during that time, but I was basically unemployed.
My doctor changed my medicine at that time, so all those 6 months were spent managing my sleep and overall mood. I think I can relate to that difficult transition from downtime to getting back to a normal routine. It took me several months, so I can't really say how I got through it. With the my mom's help, I managed to adjust within half a year. I never thought I would be able to be stable at that time. There were days I couldn't get up. By the seventh month, I think I got used to the combination of Lamictal and Seroquel. It wasn't perfect but I felt more and more like myself again.
Then, when I got the teaching job, I started forcing myself to follow the routine I wrote about before.
Sorry for the long story. I guess what I want to say is that medication does a lot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alive99
PS: Maybe you directly working with people helped also? I'm not working with people directly.
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You're right. Talking to students helps me a lot. It's definitely one of the reasons I can keep doing this job.