Successful even with BP

What?! They can not legally do that! I love how they can give people time off for physical ailments for missing work, but something like this is just something we can "poof" away. I just think there just needs to be more education on this and talked about publicly by people like us. Wish Oprah was still on! LOL

There are lawyers trained specifically in how to fight against law suits filed for that kind of behavior, too. To prove that the "bipolar" is an act or whatever. Don't google it, it will just make you really angry.

Also when I was in the hospital with pancreatitus and almost died, (6 months after I had my youngest), sent me my paperwork for my short time off. In black sharpie written in giant letters she wrote "You only have 12 days FMLA. We will NOT hold your job!" I was in the hospital for 2 weeks and luckily my manager at the time allowed me 3 extra days unpaid, but I lied to my surgeon about how well I felt to get back to work before I was ready.

But another co-worker at the same time was kept on indefinate leave after being diagnosed with lieukemia for 3 years until she passed. Now, I don't blame my co-worker. Clearly she had a horrible illness. But it was wrong that my company treats me that way and her another way, merely because of my bipolar diagnosis.

I'm telling you, discrimination does happy and it's disgusting.

I consider myself successful so far. I got through college and got my bachelor's degree. I've been a teacher four three years (this is my fourth) and I do pretty well. I've had to take time off due to hospitalizations and took an extended leave last fall for ect treatment but I try hard not to let it affect my job when I'm there. I'm very lucky, my school administration is extremely supportive of me. I haven't disclosed my exact dx but they know it's a mental illness vs a physical one. I never told them but all my doctor's notes have come from the local psych hospital or a psych IOP so they know.

My coworkers do not know. Only three of them know. Two know because they worked closely with me and saw me struggling, so I explained. The other told me of his depression struggles when he was out for six weeks so I felt comfortable telling him what was going on. As far as I know no one else knows for sure. If they do they haven't treated me any different.

I'm really lucky to have such an understanding job. It's part of the reason I don't want to leave even though I would get paid so much more in a public school.

I've been somewhat successful while having these issues. Through the years I managed to have degree in accounting, and even passed the CPA exam.

I have had some job instability though. So far I have been at my current job for 3 years, which is a record since I managed to have a more "professional" career.

I do hope it lasts, as I certainly have my bad days. Hypomania has helped in the long run with school and probably the exam. If it bits at the right time it can almost be a gift to some extent.

I've never told anyone at work about my issues. There is so much shame attached to it for me that I have told almost no one in my life.

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Both me and my brother are diagnosed with BP2. I am really happy for him that he is very high functioning. He is successfull in a busy job and has a family. He needs a few days off now and then, takes his meds, and see his psychiatrist a couple of times a year

I have a doctorate and have been succesful in my career so far. When I have chosen to tell people at work they have all been shocked and in the I never would have guessed reactions. Most recently when I was depressed I told my supervisor and her reaction was "but you cope with everything so well!" I am incredibly impressed that she has not treated me even slightly differently since finding out.

I'm fairly certain a few other people at work may have guessed given how manic I was recently (and I work in mental health). But again if they have they aren't treating me differently which is all I care about.

I'm working on being successful.

I guess that is the kind of success I am aiming for these days...

I'm somewhat successful so far. I got a 4.0 in my major in college, graduated cum laude with honors in my department, and now I'm in a grad certificate program and have gotten 100% on all assignments so far. It's a struggle, almost constantly, but I soldier through. I'm worried about whether I'll get into the doctorate program I want to get into, but I'm trying as best as I can. It's just hard while working and being in a grad certificate program, and trying to work out and not gain a billion lbs because of my meds.

I love this thread first of all!

I feel that I have been successful and very likely more successful because of my Bipolar. I am currently working at the IT department at a large hospital. I am in a supervisory position, making a decent salary. I haven't finished school yet, but I am going to go back and do that. I have a home with food and electric.

I have also decided to disclose my dx with my boss and he has been nothing but super supportive all the way.

I also work for a hospital and I am BP II. Even working in the healthcare field, I think there is still a huge stigma. I recently had a health scare and was so scared to go to the ER because I didn't want to have to tell them I was BP. I was and am still afraid word will get out somehow and I will be treated differently. Sometimes I think about telling my boss so she could understand some things, but not sure she would be able to understand.

I like to say I am successful because I am an awesome mom!!! LOL I got through technical college and I have two jobs doing medical transcription so I make a living. I won't lie, it kills me sometimes. Most of the time I am soooo tired and want to lie down instead of work. I get to work from home which helps, but then I get into a depression because I don't leave the house for weeks at a time. Two sides of a coin kind of situation.

I have a doctorate, graduated from both college and high school with honors, was a national merit commended scholar, basically have been very very successful in my career and in school. Only a few close friends know I have bipolar disorder. I don't think most people would suspect. Mine tends toward the depressive side and I do a very very good job of pretending to feel normal. It's exhausting but I allow the exhaustion to affect my home life more than my outside life, if that makes sense. I may feel like absolute **** but I still put on a smile and work every day - it's after I get home that I neglect my home and self-care.

I truly think that success is achievable. I have to work a bit harder, exercise more mindfulness, and take extra precautions compared to some folks (or my younger self). I'm a grad student in my 4th year, dx'd last spring thanks to a wicked manic episode. It's been hard to switch lifestyles from the sporadically-motivated hare to the slow-and-steady tortoise, but I've learned to derive a kind of simple pleasure from the steadyish work. I think things'll work out.

The relationships damaged during mania have slowly healed, and I've finally got my financial feet back on the ground (and put precautions in place for the future). I know my meds may not always keep things as stable as they are now, and there's probably another episode in my future. But until then, I'm going to keep on chugging along. And hopefully after then too.

-:- M

A bit of an uplifting note, since a lot of people have had bad experiences with BP and employment: There are some bosses/workplaces out there that are good with handling MI, and I'm blessed to work for one of them. We've never discussed it explicitly, but I have a feeling that my manic episode wasn't the first that my advisor has witnessed in his career. Due to physical distance (we work at different universities) we communicate by email and only see each other for a day here or there every few months. I burst open the manic floodgate this spring, sending an email that was full of amazing superb (and retrospectively absurd) ideas; reading it later, it must have been apparent that I was manic or drugged or something. He didn't engage or denounce the delusions and neutrally asked to talk on skype or something (a request that I ignored). I was off the handle for a month and a half, and he gave me the space to wig out and the time to recover. He was back in town for a day while I was quite manic and he just steered clear of me. Once I got stabilized and got myself together, we returned to work and the status quo. Things have been good between us since then. I try to communicate more often, which is probably for the better anyways. Here's hoping that things stay that way! Figured that with all the sad stories about employers I'd pitch in a happy one. :- )

Love this! This is true for most people, not just people with BP.

Love! I really do think it's important to have these conversations not just to educate people outside of the BP community for those in it. It doesn't necessary have to destroy our life.