[RisuNeko]

I work full time as a caregiver for 11 elderly dementia patients. It's a physically, emotionally and socially draining job especially for someone like me who has a hard time with being social for any length of time. It just drains me. I have to put on a mask all day everyday and it wears on me. I work the evening shift from 2-11pm

Then there's school, and it starts at 8am and gets out at 11am. So basically I have no time to eat or sleep. I'm only getting 300-700 calories a day. And to top it off I have severe insomnia, so for the 6 hours that I should be sleeping, I'm tossing and turning and end up going days without sleep, risking mania.

I just ended winter term and got As and Bs in school, which is great considering I thought I was going to fail one of my classes and have to retake it.

But today I spoke to my psychiatrist about my situation and he thinks I should talk to my work and my school about getting "reasonable accommodations" because of my mental illness and its effect on my work and school. I don't know exactly what that means other than filling out paperwork and getting it signed and turned in (and I hate paperwork). But he seems to think I should have reasonable accommodations in place "just in case". I don't understand exactly what that means either.

Does anyone have experience with getting reasonable accommodations at work or school or what that even means? Am I just crazy for working full time and going to college at the same time. I want to go to grad school in a year if I can get in, and I feel like if I can handle this I can handle grad school. That's my dream.

I have no idea what this could mean. Does it mean time off if needed?
You are busy. It is amazing that you can do, all that you do, with both work and school!

you should be very proud of yourself.

You need to eat MORE, though.

[BipolaRNurse]

You are AMAZING! Caregiving alone is exhausting; going to school on top of that is hard enough for "earth people", let alone us. You are extremely high-functioning. Congratulate yourself for your accomplishments and then take better care of yourself so you can continue to pursue your dreams. There is all manner of portable food that you can eat in the car between school and work, even healthy stuff like veggies and string cheese. You MUST eat or you won't have energy to do all the things your lifestyle requires.

You also need to figure out a way to get some sleep on a consistent basis. Sleep is the Holy Grail for us BPs; try going to bed and getting up at the same times every day, even on weekends; this helps reset your body clock and trains your brain to sleep on a schedule. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not tried it, and protecting my sleep is the one thing I'm pretty rigid about because it really does keep me sane.

Wishing you the very best in your busy life. You are an inspiration!

[BlackSheep79]

First of all, like ValentinaVVV stated, you should be very proud of yourself. I earned my B.S. and M.S. and it was not easy working full-time and going to school. I was, and still am on intermittent FMLA, so that might be what is in reference to work. Now my M.S. I did online because my degree was not offered at any of the colleges near where I live so that made going to school easier. There were at times that I had to take a semester off while earning my M.S. because of my BP, and this required a note from my pdoc. So that maybe what your pdoc is talking about. I have heard of schools giving accommodations, meaning maybe extensions on papers? I also wanted to state that I also did not go to school full-time because I knew that I could not handle the stress of working and going to school full-time. School may have taken me longer, but it was less stressful and my grades did not suffer. It may be something you want to consider. Your health is number one, and who cares if school takes a little bit longer to complete, as long as you finish. You need to do something soon because you are right about heading towards a manic episode.

[thom2297]

Reasonable accommodations were offered at my school (I did my M.S. online) for disabled students. Reasonable accommodations included more time on papers, more time between classes, etc. You may consider adjusting your schedule and make one or both (school and/or work) a part time endeavor. Going to school online suited me because I could not deal with the going to school full time and working full time. The online school was full time but I did not have to worry about commuting.

[RisuNeko]

I saw my psychiatrist today and he changed my sleep med regimen and I think it's going to work. 3mg of clonopin + ambien if I need it + geodon 3 hours earlier taken with a 500 calorie protein bar (so there's some extra calories, yay!). I just went to the grocery store and picked up my prescription and a ton of protein bars. I can take them to work and eat them on my breaks. So hopefully I'll be getting more sleep and eating a little more soon. I know self care is important but I've always been someone who puts everyone and everything before caring for myself. I end exhausted and a mess but at least I can usually keep all the balls in the air. I was depressed for at least 2/3 of my undergraduate degree and I still got a 4.0 in my major, graduated cum laude and got honors in my department. Was I miserable? Heck yes. But I still think it was worth it. I still recognize that my habits could use changing though. Self-care skills are worth learning and engraining.

The thing I worry about with grad school is that I feel like I have to seem like a perfect un-defective candidate when I apply and then IF I get in I can spring the mental health stuff on them and start to take it slow, but I can't go into it letting them know that I have issues or they'll think that I'm going to flake out or break down and flunk out of the program (which could honestly happen, but I reallly don't want them to know that).

I would love to be able to take extensions on papers if I'm manic or at an extreme in a depression, or have a little longer to take tests (I'm getting tested for dyslexia and dyscalculia soon, which might help with that). And for work, I guess the best I could hope for is to be excused for taking a "mental health day" every now and then if I need to, like if I haven't slept in a week, or if I'm manic too the point where it would be unsafe for me to be driving or working with the elderly people. I wouldn't want my bosses to think I'm lazy if I had to do that. I would want them to treat me respectfully.

[RisuNeko]

And thanks for the compliments guys! You are very kind.

Respectfully said, You need to congratulate yourself. You are too hard on yourself !

You are young. Take it slow.

[RisuNeko]

I know I need to take it slow sometimes and cut myself some slack. I'll work on that.

[Supersonic]

RisuNeko, could you keep us posted on what, if anything, you find out about this. Im in a very similar situation and have wondered what help there may be for those of us with BP. I've had drastic ups and downs with school, a few terms with high marks, then depression hits and the marks drop. It's frustrating to say the least. It only agrivates my depression when I know I'm not giving my best. Thank you.

[RisuNeko]

I found a "reasonable accomodations" form on my school's website and there's apparently a three step process to get accommodations. You have to attend an information session and go to an individual counseling session so they can assess your needs once you send in the form. It might be different at your school though.

Some of the accommodations they offer include note-takers, recorded lectures, in class aides, and accommodated testing (e.g. testing in a private room and being given a longer time). The last one sounds the best to me, especially if it's a math or science class. I'm not sure what else they offer but I'll try to find out and get back to you once I get through the process if I have the motivation to go through with it Spring term.

At my previous college I know they had a center where people would actually sit you down and read you the text book aloud so you could get through it if you had trouble sitting down and reading if you were dyslexic or had adhd or something. I remember a lot of the people on the football team made fun of each other for taking advantage of that when they didn't really need it.

Sounds great. I got a bachelor's year ago. But I was undiagnosed at the time, but looking back...

[RisuNeko]

I was diagnosed in my senior year of my undergraduate degree when I had my first big manic break right before my honors thesis defense. Somehow I pulled myself together and it faded back into hypomania and I rocked the thesis and graduated with honors, but I knew I had to go get help after that. I missed two weeks of school and all of my friends thought I had completely lost my mind or taken up meth or crack or something.

I fell into my worst depression ever after that manic episode. I had to move back in with my parents for 5 months while I got myself together. Then it lasted another 6 months or so after I moved back to my college town and got my own place again.

Rough. Commendable you made it.

What is your major?

[RisuNeko]

My B.A. is in Philosophy but I'm changing gears and working toward a masters in Occupational Therapy, hopefully working with either the elderly or people with mental illness. I work with the elderly now and have for the past three years. I have all but one of my prerequisites done, all I have left is to finish my last prereq and do two job shadows for 20 hours total and then apply by next winter.

Favorite philosopher? lol

[RisuNeko]

Wilfred Sellars. 2nd is Aristotle (more well known, obvs).