[Anxiousvalkyrie]

Yesterday at the Pdoc I had one question I didn't ask and it's driving me nuts. My husband is on disability for chronic fatigue and a few other things so he cannot work. It's basically up to me to get a job so that our lives can be easier. With my new diagnoses of BP1 and Borderline I wanted to ask if people with cases such as mine can actually live a normal life and hold down a job. In my past I always worked but it was incredibly difficult for me. The stress manifested in episodes and in a myriad of physical health problems that often got me fired because I had to take time off.

I know everyone and every case is different but the thought of working scares me to death. I know they're going to add new meds to the Zyprexa I'm already on and I believe intensive therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are on the horizon too. This will be decided in a few weeks. I feel pressure to find a job very soon as we are under a lot of financial strain which is causing stress in my relationship with my husband. I'm just afraid my illnesses are going to make it incredibly difficult.

I'd love to hear thoughts and experiences from you guys. My brain is obsessing over this question and it's causing me a lot of anxiety.

It's doable.

I used to have a high-stress job and it triggered lots of mixed episodes, which were followed by depression. (I'm rapid cycling.) I had to work from 8am until 7pm, and driving took me 1 hour each way due to rush hour. It was too much.

Now I have a low-stress job and no episodes have been triggered. So, I think the key to maintaining stability is to find as low stress of a job as possible. For example, a secretary job is low stress compared to a job in the food industry.

Usually the slower the pace, the less stressful it'll be. And the more "routine" your job is, the better off you'll be. (i.e., working the same hours and same days every week)

What kinds of jobs have you held in the past?

[Anxiousvalkyrie]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

It's doable.

I used to have a high-stress job and it triggered lots of mixed episodes, which were followed by depression. (I'm rapid cycling.) I had to work from 8am until 7pm, and driving took me 1 hour each way due to rush hour. It was too much.

Now I have a low-stress job and no episodes have been triggered. So, I think the key to maintaining stability is to find as low stress of a job as possible. For example, a secretary job is low stress compared to a job in the food industry.

Usually the slower the pace, the less stressful it'll be. And the more "routine" your job is, the better off you'll be. (i.e., working the same hours and same days every week)

What kinds of jobs have you held in the past?

In the past I worked in accounting and inside sales. Both lines of work we're incredibly stressful for me. So much so that my stress caused massive physical health problems. They also caused really bad manic and mixed episodes over the years.

Hm. Inside sales *does* sound really stressful. Also, my mom is a CPA, so I know how busy and stressful accounting can be, especially in April when tax stuff is due. It's a hard job.

Could you be some kind of financial analyst? Or maybe manage budgets for a small company? Do you think those types of jobs would be less stressful, maybe?

[Wild Coyote]

Simply put ...

((((( AnxiousValkyrie )))))


WC

[tanto]

You can do it. But if you feel like you can't right now while you are trying to get help for your BP and BPD you can always try to get on ssdi. I'm trying that myself. Ssdi doesn't have to be a permanent thing. If you can make the case that you can't return to the work you used to do and that you can't work other full time work until you get you mental illnesses managed well you, at least I think, are entitled to the benefits - at least until you are stable and healthy enough to start work again. You also get the freedom to work at least part time in a low stress job for a little extra if your ssdi payments are too low. They have a great program to get you back to work and out of ssdi, too, once you're healthy enough. Unfortunately the process could take a bit of time if you have to get a hearing with a judge. Just my 2 cents!

[Anxiousvalkyrie]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

Hm. Inside sales *does* sound really stressful. Also, my mom is a CPA, so I know how busy and stressful accounting can be, especially in April when tax stuff is due. It's a hard job.

Could you be some kind of financial analyst? Or maybe manage budgets for a small company? Do you think those types of jobs would be less stressful, maybe?

I've worked for both small and large companies in the financial realm. I hated it. Even going into work on days that I knew would be slow were horrible. I was not in a situation to quit though as when I was married to my first husband I was the only one working and had to support our family. The stress manifested in many episodes and physical health problems. I guess I'm a bit at a loss as to what to do now.

[Anxiousvalkyrie]

Originally Posted by tanto

You can do it. But if you feel like you can't right now while you are trying to get help for your BP and BPD you can always try to get on ssdi. I'm trying that myself. Ssdi doesn't have to be a permanent thing. If you can make the case that you can't return to the work you used to do and that you can't work other full time work until you get you mental illnesses managed well you, at least I think, are entitled to the benefits - at least until you are stable and healthy enough to start work again. You also get the freedom to work at least part time in a low stress job for a little extra if your ssdi payments are too low. They have a great program to get you back to work and out of ssdi, too, once you're healthy enough. Unfortunately the process could take a bit of time if you have to get a hearing with a judge. Just my 2 cents!

Thanks for your thoughts. I don't live in the United States, I live in Sweden and our disability program works quite differently from Ssdi. It's a long process (sometimes over a year or more) to get approved for disability here unless you have a very clear cut physical problem. So unfortunately short term disability isn't really an option. :/

I have bipolar and traits of borderline. I used to be a computer programmer for the government and the hours, competitiveness of my co-workers, interpersonal intrigue, pressure from my boss and commuting were unbearable. I was taking sick leave every second Friday by the time i stopped working. It just got so hard to string five consecutive days together. I got all sorts of pressure to improve my attendance despite the fact that i had 52 sick days banked!

Attendance was really a high-profile issue in my department. I lasted eight years. Since then i have been on disability benefits [20 years now] and am doing well in a low-stress lifestyle. It's just me and my dog now -- i attended a support group for years but have given it up recently -- and i enjoy myself [mostly] and i can manage my episodes without all those crushing demands.

Life's still not a picnic but it's so worth it now.

[manicminer]

For me its been about finding a job that I can blend in to.

Be in supply management, breakdowns and emergencies can be massively stressful. But slamming your desk and screaming curse words goes unnoticed in this environment and going on angry tirades is a daily occurrence, so nobody picks up on me being a bit out of control.
Even coming in hung over isn't really noticeable when there are supervisors getting DUI's on there way to work. (Tho I don't do that anymore)
Over 5 years and still going at the same job.

Originally Posted by Anxiousvalkyrie

I've worked for both small and large companies in the financial realm. I hated it. Even going into work on days that I knew would be slow were horrible. I was not in a situation to quit though as when I was married to my first husband I was the only one working and had to support our family. The stress manifested in many episodes and physical health problems. I guess I'm a bit at a loss as to what to do now.

Hm. It sounds like you'll have a lot of stress no matter what since you'll be the breadwinner.

What about starting off with a small side job, like tutoring kids in math? Then you can set your own schedule. Or you can work for a tutoring company. Do you think that'd be lower stress?

Maybe that's not the best example, but my point is that accountants excel at math; therefore, you can apply your math skills toward something math related as opposed to going back into finance/accounting. (I'm just thinking out loud... Thinking of different ways you can apply your skill set...)

It might help to jot down a list of all your skills, technical and non-technical ones, to see what kinds of jobs you can find that match those skills. At least that's what I would try to do.

[Anxiousvalkyrie]

I kind of fell into accounting out of nessecity. I never in a million years would have picked it as a career willingly. I had my son really young and needed a job. I married my child's father and his parents owned a masonry company and needed a bookkeeper, so one of his family members who was an accountant trained me. I worked for them for five years and then went on to work for a big accounting firm and then to an IT tech firm where I did a duel role in accounting and inside sales. I hate numbers and math, but I kind of did what I had to do for my family. I took a lot of sick leave. Some of it for psychological reasons but a lot of it for physical reasons. Stress not only incites me to have episodes but it also manifests as massive physical problems.

I haven't worked in around 2 years now, well since I moved to Sweden. We've just been kind of scraping by. Been dealing with some medical problems and then my massive manic (my shrink says mixed) episode this past spring. But it's getting to the point where we are really feeling the financial crunch so I have to figure something out. I'd thought about going back to school, but I don't think I could handle going back full time. I don't think I'd do well at a desk job either which limits my options, especially given my work experience.

My husband keeps telling me to find something I'm passionate about and something that would make me happy. I sometimes do makeup for a photographer friend for his photo shoots and thought about seeing what I could do to turn that into a job, perhaps looking for training courses or something. I'm not sure whether something like that would be less stressful career path or not. But being creative helps me channel my negative emotions, but coming up with creative careers that are viable is proving difficult.

To be completely honest the thought of working at all really scares me. I'm terrified that ho matter what the job is I won't be able to handle it. It just kind of paralyzes me.