[wiretwister]

My first encounter with the MI community was brought on by a work related stress,,

failure on my job could put people at risk,,and I wonder sometimes if I should be doing this,, but that is for another post...

what I wonder if the high stress jobs (a lot of nurses here) might actually be the cause of BP surfacing into our life's,, I understand it is chemical but could the jobs be the trigger....

if we had chosen different jobs do you think this may never have surfaced.. do you think maybe someday a genetic test will rule out certain job types...

now those that have never worked maybe a high stress incident was trigger...

maybe this is common knowledge but the idea just dawned on me...

if you could prove the job was the orginal trigger or cause of a life long uncurable condition would the company not be responsible for the injury just like workers comp..

or maybe not..

just a thought....

[BeyondtheRainbow]

My job (occupational therapist, I worked with patients with dementias and severe psychiatric disorders most of my career, regular nursing homes and home health the rest) was so stressful that it caused a lot of cycling and made it very hard to handle my bipolar. But I had symptoms before I ever saw a patient. They did get around the early times of working with patients (my 6 months of full-time clinicals and first 2 years working) but realistically that started about 3 months before clinicals when I kept telling my friend I felt "weird, something is wrong, I don't like feeling this way, etc".

There are episodes that were the direct result of work, one of which put me on disability. But even that one had a lot going on that wasn't work related (I had lithium toxicity and it took 6 months to get a blood level that wasn't falsely low because I was vomiting all the time from toxicity plus stomach ulcers). At first this was the toxicity and the sterss of my therapist leaving with almost no notice. And then it was work entirely. They'd had a position for a 2nd assistant for me posted for months but there's an OT shortage and it was taking a long time to hire someone, just when my sole assistant became very erratic. I knew they were going to fire her but were trying to wait until they had someone to help me. Eventually I caught her forging her timesheet and that was the end of her. So I suddenly was doing really 3 people's jobs and working enormous hours per week even if I weren't bipolar plus commuting a long way every day and then I couldn't keep up so I started working 6 days per week to help manage and I told them I couldn't do it for long. Then I told them I had about reached the end of my ability to cope, that I had paperwork stacked sky high plus all the stress and work hours and they didn't listen. So I wound up on disability for 4 months to get meds re-adjusted and to do some intense therapy.

My therapist informs me that I pushed as hard as I possibly could and used mania to work. So the stressful job did not help at all but it was my handling of the bipolar that was to blame. (I did things like cut back to 32hours but then was expected to keep up with the 40 hr/week PT and was disciplined when i couldn't do that but I never stood up for myself). I was fired twice and then my last 2 jobs were ideal for me. Which is good because I left knowing I was good at my job. I had known that in the years I worked in psych but the last 6 months of that job were so depressing and I felt taken advantage of so badly that it just wasn't good for me at all. I came back from disability and resigned a few weeks later.

[Ruftin]

(((wiretwister))) I felt my bipolar disorder long before my job as a psych nurse came about but stress from my 1st year of life up until now has certainly not helped. I do have to say my job has been my saving grace, demanding so much of me physically, mentally and spiritually, I have no time to focus on myself. It's as if I'm a different person while I'm working and as soon as I punch out for the day my old bipolar self meets me in the parking lot with a brisk slap in the face and a how do you. Thank you for your thought provoking questions. I will continue to check in to read others view points!!!

[Nammu]

Domestic abuse was my trigger but in therapy there were symptoms back in HS. I dealt with the feeling that something was wrong by becoming Vegetarian and sugar free, it helped but I still had symptoms. Then when I was 24 I got married and everything went down hill. Work was my escape. I had my first hospitalization when I was 27. It was a real eye opener. At first I was diagnosed PTSD and Major depression then they changed it to BP and PTSD when I was around 30 but I continued to tell everyone it was MDD until recently.

[raspberrytorte]

I believe a traumatic event that happened in the summer after I graduated high school triggered my bipolar (the anxiety I always had. I've had that my entire life). I didn't have my first "real" episode of depression until I was 23 or 24. In high school I was totally fine (except for the anxiety thing).

I know stress/excessive anxiety triggered my last mania situation that turned into psychosis and landed me in the hospital.

[wiretwister]

Originally Posted by Ruftin

(((wiretwister))) . It's as if I'm a different person while I'm working and as soon as I punch out for the day my old bipolar self meets me in the parking lot with a brisk slap in the face and a how do you. Thank you for your thought provoking questions. I will continue to check in to read others view points!!!

I do the same and find work distracting,, but strange, as before meds it was such a trigger.... and I could not work without meds.

[wiretwister]

Originally Posted by raspberrytorte

I believe a traumatic event that happened in the summer after I graduated high school triggered my bipolar ...

I know stress/excessive anxiety triggered my last mania situation that turned into psychosis and landed me in the hospital.

would we be bipolar free if we had never experienced excessive stress/anxiety... is bipolar a stress/anxiety disease .. common thought says bp people commonly have stress/anxiety but maybe it is other way around... that bp is a result of stress/anxiety and as such is being treated the wrong way...

not a mood disorder but an anxiety disorder that pushes moods to exstrems....

There are people without jobs or abusive backgrounds that are bipolar. I think the bipolar adds stress to daily life, jobs, marriages, etc.

[wiretwister]

Originally Posted by ValentinaVVV

There are people without jobs or abusive backgrounds that are bipolar. I think the bipolar adds stress to daily life, jobs, marriages, etc.

point taken..

but could they (maybe) be setup (physically, emotionally, mentally) to not handle the stress of their lives..
as well as the rest of us....

chicken..egg, stress first, bp first... ?........

ps: either way I agree with you, bp adds stress...

[~Christina]

Stress and anxiety makes everyone feel worse, MI or not.

One thing I do keep in mind... Yes I have Bipolar and it has been life altering in many ways.. But I don't feel like I am weak or I have it so much worse because I have Bipolar, I'm a kickass determined stubborn person. Many people I know and my T has told me they could never handle everything I do. I deal with chronic pain that never goes below a 7. I'm a fierce warrior
.
So did stress or trauma cause my Bipolar to manifest? I dunno it all started when I was 6. Undiagnosed until age 43, but I somehow managed.

I spent a year or so trying to pinpoint what I should blame. Took too much energy, I now just focus on enjoying my life.

Did I mention I am a warrior

Egg ? Chicken? Omlette?