Bipolar & working - Your story?

I'm curious as to what difficulties bipolar people go through when it comes to working and career goals.
What's your story?
How do you cope when the last thing you want to do is work?

I'm asking because my bipolar+anxiety disorder boytoy struggles with work. He's never kept a job longer than 6 months. He's a 22 year old college drop out who wants to be a famous author. Lately he's been on his depression swing, and has stopped showing up to work. He's lost motivation to save up for an apartment to live in; he's tossing around the idea of taking out a loan and going for broke so he can focus on becoming a famous author and not be distracted by a crappy part time job. I understand artists need time and such, but I feel what he's been doing and thinking lately is destructive to his entire future. I wish could somehow help him make a decent living and get him off this dead end path, but I'm realizing I can't change him.
Regardless, I'm reaching out to you guys to see what other bipolar people do to cope with the idea of working, and how you guys manage to stay in work.
Maybe your ideas can help. I don't know.

Working is very hard for me. I am capable of actually doing work itself, but consistently getting along with other people and not freaking out is very, very hard for me. Also, I tend to over commit myself and then get extremely overwhelmed then freak out more, then over commit more...the cycle is really never ending. I eventually get resentful for being taken advantage of and a million other things and leave. This has pretty much happened at every single job I've ever had.

I haven't had a full time job since 2006 and haven't worked at all since June of 2008. Its extremely hard and believe me, its not because I'm lazy or a slacker.

Edit:
I do have a bachelor's degree in English. So its not like I have/had no goals in my life, its just very, very hard to maintain sanity while working with people.

Interestinggggg, you're the opposite of my boytoy. You get strung out by the environment work happens in. Hence you being able to get a degree, probably. I guess you can control the work environment better in college?
Work is not something my boytoy is capable of doing, but he gets along with his coworkers rather well. Its more of an existential dilemma, his problem with work.

But clearly the disorder makes keeping a job difficult for both of you.
It seems to be the hardest part of bipolar, coping with work.

I have stayed with the same job for my entire adulthood (24 years now). It is a profession; it is what I love to do. I can imagine a 22 year old with high aspirations not wanting to "work" when he sees himself as a writer. But there is a reality that he needs to face. He needs a job and money to live, and until he has become that famous writer, that's probably what he's going to have to do. His ideas sound a bit manic. Is he being seen by a doctor who is monitoring his moods? Is he in therapy? Those are things that would be vitally important right now.

Oh man, you kick so much booty for working and coping with the disorder. Much respect!

These are very manic thoughts, but he's also speaking of not wanting to "wake up" the next morning...So I'm thinking mixed episode?
He is not being seen by a doctor regularly. I don't think he's seen one in months. He's been coping by smoking a lot of weed lately [thanks to his friends at work]. I can't tell if the weed is making is worse, or its just that he's getting sick of working like he did last time.
He is not in therapy, he claims he can't find a good therapist and wont waste anymore time and money. The one he liked moved to New Orleans, so he gave up after that. I'm not sure how to coax him into therapy if he'd have to pay for it and be patient enough to find one he likes. He is still on his family health insurance plan, though, being that he's 22. So maybe that would help with money. I don't know. He doesn't seem interested in a therapist at all.
This is his second episode since March, when he quit his last job. He lives with his family, and they dont help him think about these things. They let him rot and keep messing up his life. I live 100 miles away, I'm not sure how to get him to see how manic he's being and motivate him to take hold of his brain in upheaval...

I am the same exact way. I also have college degrees. If I had a job where people left me alone then I would be fine.

Amen Ranger. Quite honestly, if I could figure out a way to work without having to physically or verbally "report" to someone else, I would be able to produce tons of work...but the pressure of other people just does something indescribable to me.

I have Bipolar Disorder and went back to work last August after being at home with my daughter for 3 years. I was at home partially by choice, but mainly because of the Bipolar Disorder. It took two years just for the docs to find the right combo of meds for me. After a year of being on the right meds, I decided I was ready to go back to work. I first worked with a therapist that gave me a 'schedule' to keep so that I could start preparing for the workplace. The schedule was very important because it meant that I had to get up at the same time every morning and complete tasks. My T and I kept working until we felt that I could handle going back to work. I am a teacher and as most people know it is a very stressful job. I was worried about handling the stress and trying to deal with possible episodes. To make a long story short, I have made it this far (almost through the school year) without having a major breakdown. I have had days where I had to call in sick or moments that I am not proud of, but overall I feel that I have made huge improvements. I am only able to work because of my wonderful support team that includes a great therapist and an even better psychiatrist. Some days it is hard to get out of bed and there are many nights that I do not get enough sleep, but it is so important for me to work. It is not easy and it is not right for everyone with Bipolar Disorder. I encourage you to try and get your boyfriend to a good psychiatrist. Hand in there and don't stop trying!

I am also Borderline, so some of this comes from that, but here's my long story if you really care.

When I lost my job in January 2009, I sat down and wrote down every single job I have ever had, including temp jobs I only had for a week or so. I was 28 years old at the time, and I had held at least 28 jobs. Sad.

The longest I have held any one job was my first job in high school - a movie theater - I worked there from my 16th birthday until I went away to college, when I was almost 19. So not quite 3 years. The longest I have held a "real" job (post-college) was 2 years.

I graduated from college in 2002 and I have had 6 jobs already since then. Six jobs, in 8 years - and that's post-graduation!

And I have only ever been fired, twice. Both times I was fired it was because of my mental illnesses. The first time, I had been skipping out on work doing crazy stuff because I was manic, and when I refused to tell my boss where I was, I got fired. The second time, I had a serious mental breakdown and landed in the hospital multiple times over a several month period, and missed so much work that they just let me go for too many absences.

Just yesterday, I called in sick. Why? I don't know. I have a standing doctor's note that tells my boss I have a "chronic medical condition" and I might miss work every once in a while. (So far, this company does not know that I'm mentally ill yet....let's hope it stays that way) I woke up feeling crappy and didn't go in. Stupid. I really should have worked.

What sucks is, this job pays really bad. But I can't afford to have another spotty job history on my resume. So my goal is to stick it out for at least 5 years, crappy pay or not.

I actually heard most of us in this generation will have held at least 8 jobs by 30. They will last an average of 1.5 years. As you get older you'll stay in them a little longer...4 years was the average during a lifetime. Your numbers are high, but people arent really keeping jobs long, period! I wouldn't feel so bad about it.

None of this is your fault, lovie. If you need time off, you need it off. You don't need to tell anyone anything, as long as they let you take time off here and there, IMHO. Thanks for the story.

You were extremely patient and strong during that process, big kudos to you! So many people seem to give up, you are truly a good model for how to cope. It certainly helps you value work. It's great you can still be an adult even though you have this debilitating disorder.
Thank you!

I have had a job since I was 18. I had my first bipolar cycle at 21 when I was in college. The depressive phase of my second cycle ended with me flunking out of grad school. (I'm a loser, I know) Then I got a job because I didn't really feel like being homeless or hungry!

I don't have constant bipolar cycles, so I worked and went back to school to do prerequisites for nursing school. That was 70 hour weeks with no episodes for over two years. I got married, went to nursing school. I had intermittent moderate depressive episodes but my relationship with my parents had fallen apart, and my mother in law was jealous of me taking her son's attention. Still graduated magna cum laude.

I've been a neonatal ICU nurse for 7 years and I love it. My job was something I clung to when suicidal, and fear of messing it up made me beg for help when I finally realized I was manic/bipolar after having my daughter. I was untreated and undiagnosed until that point.

I think the ability to work when bipolar depends on the individual. Some can, some cannot. Some people are just not going to be workers bipolar or not!

I write, sew, draw, paint and make jewelry I get the artist thing. I work thirty hours a week and still feel like I have enough time for the artsy stuff. If I can get my ducks in a row and pursue the jewelry thing I would still probably transition by working a few days a week.

I guess what I'm saying is that unless I'm depressed I seldom want to do just one thing. But when I'm depressed and I want to do nothing I blame going to work for my art not happening (and vice versa) when the truth is I need an explanation for the normal people around me because I actually don't want to do anything.

You need to take care of yourself. I had a boyfriend who always said "I will be happier when I'm doing ____ " over and over until I realized he was just depressed. You can accept him the way he is and possibly still be happy as long as you are taking care of yourself. If you make sacrifices for him you might come to resent him and yourself.

My story: did really well for years with the big boys; military, IBM etc...over did it, got burnt out. Quit working. Anxiety is keeping me from working. Can't focus and working on disabiliy until I get better. The end.

i don't really have a story yet, my bipolar+anxiety are making it hard for me to even start applying for work. i recently graduated from collage for 3D modeling, my work is (well according to the teachers) good enough to get entry level jobs in the art field but i just can not seem to get to the applying part, i fear getting rejected, not being good enough, work environment etc.

did manage to apply for some jobs today, so that's a step in the right direction.

I've worked since I left school, as I then moved out from home. Started studying correspondence and am now just about complete. I have been lucky in my last 2 jobs that I do kind of get left alone to do my own thing. As long as over a period of time I do produce enough work and when someone requires some urgent feedback, I can deliver.
I also battle with colleagues, and I get very frustrated with most of them after a while. I have a new colleague who does the same job as me, and because he has been in the company for longer, feels the need to "mother" me. He checks up on me, gives me small tasks... It's a matter of time before we have a fall-out, as I really cannot be told what to do when - I always have about 4 Excel documents, 2 e-mails, 2 Word documents... open at the same time and I swap between them as my concentration wanes. At the end of the day, they are all completed though.

As of next Jan. I will be working for the Federal govt 26 years. I worked 9 years before I knew Iwas bipolar. I've had to work. I have to take care of myself. Nobody else will take care of me. I tried once to get medical retirement and they told me my work was too good. If I couldn't do the work now I could get it. But it's not too bad. I can do it. It's all in the attitude. Male or female. Bipolar or whatever. Yes, you need meds and therapy. But you have to have the attitude that you're gonna take care of yourself and maybe your wife or husband or kids.

I have bipolar disorder, and i don't struggle with work too much, I love to work and be busy even though my job is well crap, I find I'm worse off when I don't have something to do like work or school, it spins me into a depression, granted work is hard when I'm on a low, or in a manic state and getting irritable, and I loose my temper and snap at people, but overall I handle my job, the work environment, and my co-workers pretty well. As for the writing thing, I am a in the literary scene myself and he has some realities to face, he has to eat, he has to have money to purchase the material to write on or print it on, and it gets expensive mailing of manuscripts to various publishing companies. You can't write in a cardboard box or when your hungry. It takes years and years of effort and try to get published, (not to be discouraging) but it's realities he needs to face, the ideas he has sound a bit manic like, and I would encourage you to encourage him to keep his regular dr's appointments and stay on his meds

Best Wishes
Typo

I disagree with that...I would love to be able to work and have tried many times but I always end up overwhelmed and usually in the hospital because of a breakdown and have to quit the job. Even jobs I enjoyed. I just can't work at this time because of the bipolar, anxiety, and PTSD. All I can do right now is set small goals to help me improve my life and to try to overcome some of my obstacles, and I'm concentrating on that.

I was only diagnosed bipolar less than a year ago, but have struggled with it all my adult life. Work-wise, I do well in job for maybe 18 months and then start to get frustrated and over-sensitive to my colleagues, leading to more and more sick days and more and more erratic behaviour. Luckily, for the past 6 years I've worked in a large company where it's possible to transfer across to new teams quite easily, so I'm now in my 4th role in this same company. I still find it hard day to day, although my diagnosis (of which my HR department is aware) and subsequent med adjustments have helped me more than I can say. Like most people, sick or not, I need to work and even though I hate the idea that my boss might be looking at wondering 'Is she gonna flip...' the fact that the company is aware of my condition is a comfort.

Having said that - and as other posters have said above - everyone suffers in different ways and some people will never be comfortable in the working environment.

GRIZMOM I agree totally with you... I have had countless jobs and am not doing to well in the one I have now.... and its mainly my lack of attention span, irritability, drugged feeling from my meds etc... not from lack of effort.

I may have mislead in my last reply. I know too there's people who can't work. That's what disability is for (although now it's so hard to get). I've just had to work. I'm a lucky one. I only had one psychotic manic episode in my life. Most of mine is depression but it gets sucidial. So I can work. I don't think everybody has to work. I want my tax dollars to go to those who can't work for whatever reason. Being bipolar isn't easy and I can see why a lot of us don't work. I'm just lucky.

I am almost 29,I have had more jobs than I can remember. I started working at 15 and I had that job for 3 years b/c I was in school (most of the time) it was easy for me to skip work when I had to. since then its been just 10 years of rapid cycling that has led me to having 3 husbands 4 kids and prob 15 jobs.But I always seem to have a good excuse for everything...I'm great at pretending and I think thats part of the problem...I get manic and want to be this or that, I always think "it's so different this time!" then I crash big time but some how its always someone elses fault.(something I'm learning to avoid doing) now I stay home and babysit(great idea, leaving your kids w/ a crazy person! but I have learned control of myself,to a degree,) anyway I ramble now I'm going to school and after 6months I am fighting myself to not drop out!

These are all very interesting posts.
I feel like I do see a correlation between keeping a steady job and strong desire to work [secondarily: Work being something that's fulfilling and helpful to keeping the disorder in check]. Although I'm willing to bet that's the case with people who don't have bipolar.
I also feel like maybe the rapid cycling bipolar makes it more difficult to remain in a steady job. Of course, everybody is suffering terribly in many ways, but I'm getting the sense the instability of rapid cycling makes it more difficult to stay on any kind of steady track.
Additional anxiety problems on top of the bipolar seems to get people in more of a rut.
Also, I feel like the younger generation is struggling a bit more as well, given the hard economic times and the added pressure of having to navigate the world.
And of course, coping with that strange social dynamic between coworkers, which is stressful in general.

These are all really helpful stories.
I'm glad so many people were willing to be open and share their story with me!
[More the merrier, of course.]
I think I have a better understanding of bipolar people in the workforce, so thanks

Apparently my boytoy stopped taking his meds. So. Infer. I really hope he see's someone, because I get the sense he's in so deep he won't take me seriously. Especially if I don't drop everything for him. Which I simply can't do. I'm not the therapist he needs to see, anyway. Besides, I made plans long ago for the weekend, I have work at 5am everyday so I can't talk late, and I have a two hour long yoga class tonight. He's just going to have to manage...[Especially since he won't be exclusive with me because of the distance, anyway. ]

Doh.

bipolar and working.... im about to lose my job because i cant stay off this web site my hubby/supervisor just busted me. again.