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Should someone diagnosed with Manic Depression take care of developmentally disabled individuals?
I recently had a couple of episodes, am due back at work soon and seriously self-doubting myself. Is it the wrong field for me?

I think that as long as you stay intuned to your limitations you can be very successful in the career that you are in. In fact, the things your learn by having the disorder could in turn help someone else. Keeping up with your therapies and learning to manage your illness will help keep you viable for the work force. And always know when it may be time to step back.

I don't know where you live. But in some states in the U.S. there are strict regulations governing the services that are provided to persons with developmental disabilities. The state I live in is one example. As such, I would simply add a word of caution here. If you live somewhere where there are strict regulations in place, you need to be cautious. Your illness could lead you to do something that would seem perfectly appropriate at the time, but that will get you into hot water later on.

Of course, this is true of working with any vulnerable population. So from my perspective (& I spent years working in the field) sure... you can work with people who have developmental disabilities. But you need to be on top of your illness at all times... no fooling around going on & off med's, self-medicating, using "recreational drugs" that might react with whatever med's you're on, etc. Good luck with this!

Thank you for responding Chaotic and Skeez.

I do feel the compassion for others I have is a strong point...I can kinda put myself in their shoes.

Part of the reason I'm nervous is the fact that I've only been on these new meds a week and don't feel quite right yet...and the worry is... will I be- by the time I go back??

Only time will tell.

Also the problem with this illness, no matter how vigilent you are, it can pop up out of no where...which really sucks. I'm aware of my triggers and symptoms and have no problem calling out if I feel like an episode may be coming on. One time it happened at work though and wound up with a 3 day suspension.

I worked with developmentally/intellectually disabled adults for over a year before I realized as much as I loved my job...it just wasn't the right thing for me. My mood swings weren't under control yet so I spent a lot of time crying or locking myself in the storage room having panic attacks.

That's just my story. I think it just depends if you can handle the stress of the job and not let moods interfere with resident care. Its still one of my favorite jobs that I have had. (I quit during a mixed episode)