bipolar in the workplace: your stories

A person with bipolar recently commented on a blog post about bipolar in the workplace about asking for accommodations from an employer. Specifically, she's asked about personal stories of success and coping in the workplace.

If you've received accommodation(s) from your employer that work well for both of you, please tell us about it! Or, if your employer is not aware of your illness but you successfully cope with the job, tell us how you manage to function while dealing with depression and (hypo)mania.

- What do you need to successfully cope at work?
- Has your employer provided those needs? What was it like to negotiate?
- What advice would you give about disclosing to an employer and asking for accommodation, based on your personal experiences?
- If you're no longer working, what was it about your job or workplace you had the most trouble with? What could have made it okay?

Please share!

[This forum is research-free, so your answers won't be posted on the blog. If you'd like to learn more about workplace accommodation for mental disabilities, whether you're an employee or employer, here's a good site.]

I'm not bipolar, but I do have depression. I can have long spans of being "normal" and then land in a funk for a week or more, greatly affecting my production.

At those times, I tell my account manager that I'm struggling so she knows why my numbers aren't up to par or why I'm rejecting some of the more difficult reports that are in queue (I do medical transcription, and when I'm fighting a down phase, it's really hard to muddle through some of the ESL doctors' work).

Of course it probably helps that I'm in Wisconsin and the head office is in California. I don't have to disclose any of this face to face.

Just a note - nobody is obligated to answer this if they are uncomfortable. As Blogmeister stated, this is a research-free site, so the only discussion that should take place here is for the purpose of support. Please PM a mod or admin with any concerns in the meantime - thanks

I never disclosed that I was bipolar in any job I had. My last workplace I worked for almost 9 years. I worked a very emotionally intense position and it was very stressful for me. All of the positions were this way to my point of view. Since I barely disclosed to myself that I was bipolar, I didn't want to disclose this at work. I was hoapitalized twice when my depression got out of control and never directly disclosed at these times, although they may have guessed. I worked around to the accomodations that I needed by myself. I picked our least hectic branch office to work at, I went down to 3 days a week when my daughter was born. I had to quit 2 years after she was born and 5 years later, I applied for disability. I managed best at my work when I did educational tasks and advocacy. Counseling and crisis tasks were more difficult. I believe I was successful most of the time at my job; I think from time to time, the executive director and my supervisors were frustrated and annoyed with me, but overall were happy with my work. I haven't figured out how I could return to work successfully. That's how I came to apply for disability. I have both bipolar disorder,ADD, panic disorder in addition to being physically disabled. Were I not physically disabled also, perhaps I could work at some physical job or behind the cash register in a card store or bagging groceries. I don't know.

Meta

I am in my teenage years, working in a political office as the full-time student intern (local member of Provincial Parliament, who is also the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs).

I never said anything about it, although at one point my office manager so my scarred arms and asked what was going on. I told it to her straight – something I did to cope with stress, I no longer do it, and in fact do motivational speaking for other teenagers. She was understanding, and appreciated my honesty.

I did an article with a big newspaper on having schizoaffective disorder (Bipolar version), and was interviewed on everything. My boss found out then that I had a mood disorder, because I am heading/creating/facilitating a Youth Group for mood disorders with the Centre for Mental Health of Ontario. She didn’t say much about it, but my co-workers were really cool about it and wanted to know more about what it is like. I have ended up being handed every case involving mental health and disability… which is fine, but it’s a large work load when you consider half the phone calls we get are related to those two things.

I have been working three jobs, four if you count my winter position with the Minor hockey Association. Luckily, with my winter job, I can pass up times for refereeing to other refs. With my intern position at the politicians office, I don’t get any time off (in my contract), but they have made allowances such as not burdening me with any more work then necessary and allowing me longer lunch breaks so I can go for walks and cool down/calm down.

I work anywhere from 8-18 hours a day, by choice, and if anything it keeps me too busy to think about other things in my life. They let me leave early for doctors appointments and never dock me hours for it.

They are always very considerate of how I am doing. I tend to look extremely worn out during depression, very wound up when I am actively hallucinating and very agitated when I manic. My co-workers have even done research so they know the signs of things, and the precautions to take in the case that something happens (extremely delusional, suicidal, etc).

Basically, even though they have not made drastic changes to suit my disorder, they have educated themselves and show that they care. That for me is enough. I don’t really want to be treated special because of something I will struggle with for the rest of my life.

Sometimes all the work stresses me out, but honestly, its very gratifying work, and it fulfills me to be able to come home after working a super long, stressful day, and know I helped other people and that I did it without assistance.

Just my thoughts on things.

I disclosed to one co-worker because I had just started on Geodon & a wave of incredible sleepiness overtook me. She could tell something was wrong just by looking at me. I almost fell off my chair. I told her I was on a new medication for bp & was having a bad side effect & needed to go home so could she cover for me? I was working behind the reservation desk at a tennis club. She has never mentioned it again. As a side note, I fell asleep while driving home & veered off the road onto the shoulder & the noise of my tires hitting the gravel on the shoulder woke me up. Needless to say, I got off Geodon real quick.

I have adjusted my work situation. Since I couldn't predict my moods very well, I gave up the part of my job of dealing with people & now only work on the computer part-time doing the tennis club's billing. I can go in when I want & I don't need to interface with people.

I'm on the right meds now & could take that part of my job back, but I have some "foggy" thinking now from the meds so I don't think I could do the math needed for figuring out how much the court fees would be.

When I dropped the front desk part of the job, I just told my boss that I was dropping that part of my job to be free to take care of my husband who had just found out he had two tumors that needed to be removed & we didn't know if they were cancer or not (true), and, thank goodness, both were benign.

So I've made my own accomidations without telling my boss about my bp.