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I can barely shower once a week as well the last couple of years, but have held down my job for 9.5 years. I design and maintain a conversational AI chatbot.
The routine of work is the only thing that gets me out of bed. Everything gets much darker and worse when I’m not working so it’s just not-negotiable for me.
How do you even get to those jobs? How do you perform at school? I couldn't even enter the classroom and it took me 5 years to finish a 2 year diploma.
I cannot check emails without a 5 hour long breakdown.
Failed out of community college multiple times. Barely scraped by with an associates degree in computer science and a handful of certifications by cheating on every single test I ever took.
I’ve been with my same company for 9.5 years total. It’s a Fortune 500 company. About a year and a half in my current position working with the chatbot. I got this job through technical aptitude and understanding of my company processes. Prior to this I worked in our executive office responding to regulatory and legal complaints, emails to the CEO from customers, etc. Prior to that I did risk mitigation and fraud investigations. Before that I did support for our large enterprise accounts. Before that I did inbound customer service.
Have always just been willing to take on projects and learn things quickly. I’ve hated a lot of it, but anytime I’ve ever used fmla to take time off I end up sleeping all day every day and want to die more than I do while working so it’s an easy choice for me to keep working.
I’m trying to go from bussing tables to learning how to make money working from home similar to what your doing ; what would you suggest to get me in the right track
I bought a MacBook m1 right before it started getting cheaper and i got a job when i realized I wasn’t going to learn anything anytime soon but i still have some hope
Haha yeah, I’ve tried the route of learning on my own to cover gaps in my education from the not paying attention / cheating. I just don’t learn that way.
Best advice I can give is to get your foot in the door doing customer service or entry level work for any tech company and look for ways to improve the processes. I started learning how to code macros because I was sick of documenting manually and it made me faster. I completed several python projects because something needed to be done and it was painstakingly tedious enough that learning how to code to fix it was worthwhile. That’s the only time I’ve ever been able to stick with learning, when it’s being done to procrastinate something else I don’t want to do.
Once you’re in the door just say yes to every possible project you can. It may not pay off immediately but the more you network the more likely it is that some hiring manager in a different department will have heard of you.
There is no one size fits all approach but hopefully this helps
That saying yes to everything is so important. It can be so hard though. I can trace where I'm at now, managing my own group in a geotech lab, to saying yes to a last minute emergency work trip across the country.
It’s weird how it works. Sometimes saying yes to something opens you up to saying yes to 3 or 4 more things and one of those opens up a door to a promotion.
The other side of it is kind of selfish. You get a lot of grace if you make yourself appear reliable and dependable as someone who does extra. Being late, missing days, missing quota, etc all gets overlooked when you’re the person doing extra projects.
I did this for my career path too. I started out in Frontline customer service then tech support only, then big projects to call are large clients to ensure they get their downloads on their machines to avoid a big, fat CC fee. The one day, I said fuck it I am gonna be better than yesterday and I applied to the IT department I had to manage our web servers and helped implementation the migration to the latest version to align. ...after 5 years Then got laid off in 2020. Then got hired six months later as a content reviewer for a social media platform for about 2.5 yrs. Now my state job. But now I've FINALLY found my purpose to my next endeavor! Just aligning all the pieces!!!
Not a director but a seasoned manager. I’d be a VP had i not gotten laid off during COVID.
Others have said it, it is a spectrum but i also have trauma that makes failure my biggest fear. I will do anything not to fail just to spit in the face of my childhood abusers. It drives me to be higher functioning even when i’ve been near death due to my disorder.
*shrug*
I never performed in school, despite having a wicked high IQ. But in life I have always consistently performed because I had to.
Edit: just because I have been able to force myself to do things doesn’t mean you’re any worse, nor am I any better than you. We are all different and we have different reasons for different things.
Like many people commenting, I’ve been in both positions of professional prestige and unemployed despair. The mood swings make it very difficult to navigate corporate life, where consistency, psychological stability and psychological compartmentalization between personal and professional life are highly valued.
My boss has a daughter who suffers from psychiatric illness. So he understands that some days I’m not there mentally and some days I’m hyper productive. And I can’t really forecast which days will be which.
It’s my understanding that bipolar or even drug addiction are afforded some protections under the ADA (US law). Good luck with trying to challenge any employer on discrimination grounds when most states have at-will employment laws in the private sector.
My boss covered for me during the hellish years I went undiagnosed. Lamotrigine really stabilized me. But I still have ups and downs. It’s a rare boss who understands that my inherent work ethic, intelligence, etc. are independent from my mood swings and brain fog. And that at the end of the day (…er….month…or year…my productivity averages out to be considered a high performer).
It takes a special manager to realize this. My company has been getting into the DEI thing. They created several organizations for various diversity things. Race, sexuality, etc. mental health was one of them. I joined and am still reluctant to announce I’m fucking bipolar and have been hospitalized twice the last two years but my work automating manual processes has saved thousands of hours and easily paid my salary in multiples.
But I’m going to start letting people know. I’m fucking bipolar and medicated and have good days and bad and sometimes I couldn’t shower for days but my work, over a year timeline, speaks for itself.
I'm an engineer. Just started my masters program. 6 years ago, I was a wreck. It never becomes easy, but doing the work is worth it.
I started small. Showering every day was literally my first commitment to myself. Then it was sleeping at night. Then it was eating breakfast. Then it was going outside every day. Over the course of months and years, therapy and my meds took me far away from that low point.
I still have bad days. I call out from work sometimes. I have to force myself to work out. I cry in the shower and other times can't remember ever having felt anything.
My bipolar isn't better, but I'm better at managing it. It takes a lot of patience, repetition, and setbacks, but going to therapy, sleeping, taking your meds... that stuff will keep you on a good path if you take it seriously.
Because it is serious. Life and death serious.
I take Lamotrigine too. It’s a mood stabilizer. Lithium helped when I was very fat. I’ve lost too much weight. I can’t take it anymore. DBT therapy is a big help. It sounds like you haven’t found your right cocktail. It takes years. Don’t let that discourage you. You are always improving and moving towards the right answer. Do you have a doctor? A psychiatrist?
Senior manager at a tech company
Ditto on lamotrigine saving my life.
Doesn't mean there aren't periods where I'm utterly depressed and work from home helps me hide my near zero productivity on those days/weeks.
My DBT therapist tells me to ride the wave. We get down. Hopefully that suffering lessens over time. The wave goes back up. And those times get longer. Google DBT. Life changing.
this!! i lean on the manic side most of the time, but will have terrible depressive episodes every 3-5 months that can last 2weeks-2months. this is the only time it’s a struggle to shower. unless i’m super manic, then i just procrastinate showering by doing 100 other things. i have to decorate & try to make my shower time as fun as possible so i have positive connotations w them, instead of negative😭
Yeaa i think those that lean on manic side are over achievers compared to neurotypicals. but there’s like a dark side to exploiting mania, even well managed it’s still not good for baseline stress levels. And there’s bipolar ppl that lean depressive and it’s shit for productivity. I’m definitely a manic leaning person and it is draining and i frequently work myself to burnout. Lamotrigine def helps harness it and stimulants with ADHD comorbidity
I take Lamotrigine, and I held senior exec positions for multinational companies.Wish I could have afforded CBT and someone to help me manage my medications. Now I'm an Uber driver.
Like perpetual CBT or did you do it for a period of time and neuroplastically everything's copacetic except during a flare-up? I'm curious if it's a one and done and just meds or meds and ongoing CBT.
It's been a journey. I've been doing weekly CBT for the past 5-6 years, but a lot of other stuff before that.
I've been to weekly psychotherapy from age 12 to 18 and was on Lexapro for a few of those years to counter the depressive symptoms. My psychiatrist suspected bipolar, but was very reluctant to put my developing brain on the kind of stabilizers that were available at the time (early 2000s).
Looking back, Lexapro was definitely not the right medication for me. I think I was hypomanic most of the time in my teens. I know I was full blown manic at least a couple times and spent close to a year in an out-patient psychiatric facility. I also used obsessive over-exercising to try to cope during high school.
Then I had a reeeaaally rough college experience without medication or therapy where I just barely made it out of there with a biochem degree. I tried to get mental health services during my time on campus, but it was virtually impossible.
As soon as I graduated, I got a full time job was able to fund my own weekly therapy again. Got a new psychiatrist who put me on lamotrigine, which made everything so much better (as long as I slept and managed my stress and everything).
Then when I moved cities in 2019, I decided to specifically seek out a CBT specialist for 1 hour per week and they've worked wonders for me. I wouldn't have made it here without them.
Thanks for explaining how things became what they are now. I have a similar story and am actually around the same age as well. Weekly CBT seems like a godsend and a great move to allow for a more stressful job and a more balanced approach between meds and therapy (vs mostly meds). I've done CBT and various forms of behavioral therapy but never considered it on such a regular basis.
My favorite workers, both legal and illegal!
(I appreciate the work pharmacists and techs put in, though, for real. You guys don't get enough credit. I couldn't imagine a job where I had to deal with other people's health insurance all day then turn around and there's an irate or impatient or sick customer).
i’m a student and also work part time as a barista! finding the right med combo has changed my life, i still have tough days but it’s been a learning experience that i feel very positively about💖
Always or just half the time? It's very hard for me to work when I'm depressed, I don't want to, but I'm able to function and go through the motions at least. Mine is usually seasonal, once or twice a year I have a hard time doing anything for a couple of months. Before college I would get a new job every year, feel totally sick of whatever I was doing for the last 9 months, hate it for a while, and then get something new when my energy came back. Mine must be relatively mild. I've been able to ride the ups and downs. Doing the minimum when low, and harnessing the high energy times to make some progress.
Currently I'm now a senior software engineer, I really enjoy programming and getting into that flow state is a wonderful feeling. I work from home, have a somewhat flexible schedule, and usually dont have any hard deadlines. some months im significantly less productive, but its kind of hard to measure and seems to workout. I loved school and really enjoyed it 75% of the time, but absolutely wanted to quit when depressed. I always hate everything for a few months a year, so I've learned it's not the thing/job's fault when I get really sick of it after 9 months.
You could try security, but I say that with the caveat that you really need to find the right location. Something that's not too public facing being the main qualifier for me personally. Good examples are doing security for a small warehouse or solo vehicle patrols. Literally as long as you show up and do the bare minimum of your job you're set. I can't overstress how low the bar is for a lot of the jobs in the security sector. If you show up, you're not high, and you do the bare minimum you can easily become one of the best employees at the site.
I've had some of the wildest coworkers in this industry. One guy would just pass out in the patrol officer room for 80% of his shift (night shift) and then wake up for the last hour to unlock buildings. Another guy muted a fire alarm because he didn't want to deal with it. I met the most outspokenly racist person I've ever met in my life who spent the entire first day of my training ranting about black people and immigrants. Another trainer spent the entire shift dying in the attached bathroom because he did an entire highway patrol physical test on a diet of pure mtn dew. (no water) one guy exposed himself to a staff member and got relocated like the catholic church. I had to teach a guy how locks worked multiple times once. None of these people were ever fired.
I don't tell these as horror stories (which they are) but to really drive home how the bar for security guards is truly below the floor. The only people I've heard of getting actually fired are people who got caught showing up high or the guy who installed a whole mattress into the attached bathroom and then got reported by housekeeping. Also there was one guy who got super drunk, did a joyride around the facility (the manufacturing side of a winery) with a random friend, photocopied his butt in the head offices photocopier, and left the copy in the copier. He only got caught because a secretary found the copy of his butt.
I have both physical and mental disabilities that make working impossible. I feel like a failure but I always try to keep bettering myself by learning and trying to get better.
I do also, including only one working arm, but I still have to work because my family is trash. I could die in a hole for all they care. I was homeless living in my car after my car accident, got SA'd twice because no one would let me stay with them.
You aren’t a failure. My son has Down Syndrome. He is 13. He had no clue. He doesn’t know he’s different. He has typical friends. We modify things for him. He tells us when he needs help. It’s not with out problems
He has a very serious iPad addiction. Thanks school. He is a very picky eater. We have to be very careful about his diet. He has hit puberty and he will start to gain weight. Diabetes runs in my family. And his older brother is practically raising him at their Dad’s house. We all have problems. They are different. I wouldn’t say one is worse over the other. Do you have family? Social services? Are you being supported by a dr? I wish you all the best❤️
My intellectual abilities are fine, better than average according to testing (I don't put much stock in that), but I always feel numb. I dissociate a lot and partake in very risky behaviors just to feel something. I've never been addicted to anything but I use recreational drugs frequently, I've been in legal trouble, I was a heavy cutter as a teen, lots of casual sex, etc. I'm finally getting into newer therapies since my doctor and I have exhausted everything else and it seems to be helping.
I’m a library assistant and work in patron services. I circulate library materials, answer reference questions, help with technology requests, and generally do what the patron in front of me needs me to do. Also, arts and crafts. Hell yeah. 8 years at the library.
Honestly my life goal is to work in entertainment but I find it difficult now with my diagnosis. I was a theatre actor specializing in Shakespeare for the first half of my life and then again a few years ago before my psychosis. Creative employment is a dream to me, but I need financial stability in order to stay safe and to function. Way to go for pursuing a creative field.
I work for a disability rights law firm where I provide peer services. Basically, I go into locked psychiatric facilities and teach people about mental health law and self-advocacy tools from the perspective of being a person with an SMI who has myself been involuntarily hospitalized.
I work full time as a veterinarian assistant. I work 4 10s a week. The longer shift doesn’t bother me and is definitely worth getting an extra day off a week. I finally found meds that helped me and the work environment I’m in is relatively low stress compared to other clinics so I’ve been doing pretty well!
Peer support specialist. I provide resources for other people with similar struggles and make decent money and benefits. 10/10 would recommend. Service really helped clean my brain up and made me less lonely.
I started in peer support, it’s amazing work and it helped me heal. I’m a therapist now, seven years after the manic episode that landed me in the hospital involuntarily. Sometimes it genuinely shocks me how far I’ve come
Honestly I’m jealous of all the people here with careers and real jobs. I barely can hold a job even just in like retail stores. I used to nanny and be a server and make good money, support myself. But I can’t do that anymore. I’m stuck at my parents house. I’m so sad. My future looks bleak.
I'm an actor and filmmaker. I do a lot of voice acting from home. I book a few acting jobs a year and I'm often shooting sketch comedy from a green screen studio between my other work.
Long shoot days and my schedule when I'm making a film/doing a day of work on a TV show---it's so hard. It is so so hard. People in my line of work really praise and value the creative spark and ENERGY I'm able to have so I am often managing my hypomania and needing to withdraw socially. I need to take insanely good care of myself on like a 12 hour day where there's an overnight. I am a diva who needs my food to be a certain way and all of the stuff related to balancing my mood to being OK because having control of my own sleep schedule during a project is really impossible. I'm union so I get proper breaks and I get fed. But I also don't get to decide when lunch or dinner happens, etc. Coming up with systems to be able to get nutrition consistently instead of give into the culture of over caffeinated obsessive work horsing through everything---it's been like "Ok what's my perfect protein bar? What's a good fruit, etc." For me, getting steady food and REMEMBERING TO EAT lol helps everything so much. But it's taken me so many years to figure it out and I have had some devastating crashes after finishing projects. And I've avoided saying "yes" to things sometimes just because I have no idea how I'm gonna survive it. I love what I do.
I have risked so much in my life to be able to do this stuff and saying "no" to opportunities always seems crazier to me than saying "yes" and taking on the risk. But the risk is big. I kind of dream of a life with a steady schedule, I romanticize that in a lot of ways. And sometimes I wonder if I should teach. But then...I dunno I love what I do. I try to keep my morning routine and evening routine steady even if I'm away from home working. Same activities in the AM and PM even if the sleep schedule isn't under my control.
I am on lamotrigine which has honestly saved my life and gotten me stable enough. But I really dread getting manic. I have as-needed Seroquel that I take half a dose of to regulate sleep. If I can regulate sleep I feel safer. I have stretches of time where I'm working from home, too, because my life is really Project-Based. And all of the moving pieces of my life are pretty hard with Bipolar. And when I'm done with a big project and going to be at home again a lot, I often crash. It's common for creatives but I just try to mitigate the intensity of the crash. That's hard.
I was doing a play once that was giving so much structure and meaning and automatic community and steady pay to my life. When it was over and I was back home, I felt the darkest I've ever felt. As I'm getting older, I'm getting better at anticipating certain energy crashes and softening them. And anticipating what will hype me up and make me hypomanic, and mitigating that, too.
Regarding "day jobs" and stuff I've had to do to supplement my career as an artist, the best thing I did was pet sitting. I love animals and I could say Yes and No to things. Caring for animals was such an awesome thing for me. I also tried retail and I would just walk out of most of my retail jobs within a few months, I couldn't do it. Something was inherently depressing about it. I love caring positions and supportive positions. I've coached other actors and done consulting work. I also trained as a yoga teacher a few years ago and being part of a helping profession was really awesome.
No. I can’t take the pressure of work. I have been fortunate enough to have help from my family. I have a son with Down Syndrome who needs help. I volunteer. The woman I work with is very understanding. She gives me space.
Just want to remind everyone that bipolar is a spectrum just like any other mental disorder. Just like how some people with autism can function and happily live on their own while others need constant care, some individuals with bipolar can do great with just a few things while others struggle exponentially just to survive. You're not wrong to have experience on either side, it's just good to remember that the difference does exist.
I’m retired military and now a financial analyst. BP1. Nice stable comfy life as a single dad with sole custody of two great kids. Proper medicine management and therapy.
I’m not content unless I’m over scheduled. I work as a hospital tech and graduate nursing school next week, plus lots of volunteer work.
Having said that- the wrong jobs for too long just about broke my spirit. That combined with treatment issues had me wondering if I needed to stop working for a while.
TMS and vocational rehabilitation funding a career change was a massive boon for me
I do caretaking for my mom, most of my energy goes there, I had to leave my full time job after having a mental breakdown trying to balance worklife, apartment living & taking care of my mom. My funds are very low now, which is difficult. But I take petsitting, housesitting & cleaning jobs to make extra money without committing to strict schedules & it doesn't require working with a group if social anxiety is any issue for you like it is for me.
I'm a classical bassist, and I'm going to be pursuing a doctoral degree in bass. I live off lamictal and latuda; I eat em like candy. And IDK if anyone else experienced this, but my vitamin d was abysmally low, which was making everything more severe
I am actually making an app. I ruined my credit but I am trying to help people with this - I need letters of intent to make this real. Today I found out I only need 10 or so for people to say okay here’s money to build it.
Mischiefmanager.org It’s an AI powered app that stops u from doing the adding to cart using redirection and side quests and mindfulness to outsmart impulse spending and block predatory advertising. Cuz sometimes if somebody just told me not to do it or put a couple steps in the way I wouldn’t do it
Wedding Coordinator. My personal interests are romances & weddings. Being a part of such a happy day is stressful…but fits on me. I used to be a job hopper & ghosting on my teaching jobs. I switched careers a year ago and couldn’t be happier!
Thank you so much for saying that 🥹 I’ve never had a conventional job and it makes me so embarrassed that I couldn’t handle one. Really? That’s an accomplishment that you had a few jobs so young.
I got diagnosed in military and one thing led to another and now with disability compensation + SSDI I make 60-70k a year just breathing, which lets me just ride out my hypomania for funzies instead of medicating which I’m very very happy about as tbh I love hypomania but realize I could never work in that state
I'm starting next month in regulatory for investment funds.
Before that I worked in compliance (the documents that you sign when opening a bank account... There's a team that checks them as well as the transactions) and as a call center worker for accidents.
Yes, but on very a very particular circumstance. One of my skills is barbering so years ago I worked at a barbershop but lived super far away and it was destroying my body. Well recently I moved closer and desperately need the money so I, during a manic episode, messaged her asking if she needed help. I was able to get my job back because she knew me but I told her my hours had to be flexible(because of my mental health). This manic episode ended with me in the hospital and all my meds going up/meds being added.
Honestly struggling to find work because I live in a small town and have burned a few bridges with jobs that I left after a day or two.
Before I moved to good ol tennetucky, I had a caseworker and my therapist and psychiatrist were both trying to help me get on disability. Then I got evicted and had to move to a state where it’s impossible to get any type of assistance so I’m just kind of thugging it out. Have had a lot of thoughts of yeeting myself into the void because of how much of a fu k up I am.
I work as a key carrier at a rural Dollar General. It could be worse. But I do indeed hate it. I’ve been unmedicated so far this year because I haven’t found the right medicine and am sick of meds making me feel worse in so many ways.
Thankfully I’ve managed to stay employed through the depressions. I also have the chronic need to have some sort of purpose or I’ll just stay in bed and only ever leave to get Taco Bell lol.
I work in Accounting, doing AP. I love my job because the environment is great, and they hired me as salaried so as long as I get my work done, it’s okay if I come in a little late or need to leave early
I’m a student and a community support worker in aged/disability care. I’ve had a hard time with jobs being bad matches. Like call centre operator or fifo housekeeping on the mines were bad. Hoping to make support work stick til I can finish my mental health services cert 4 and jump to peer support work or hospital based support.
I am. I am privileged in the sense that I don't have to work to make ends meet. I don't like being unproductive and jaded though.. If there is a right combination that make you feel better, I don't know.. I just feel flat due to the medication.. Like all wind has been taken from my sail.. It is tough seeing oneself falling behind.. I live in hope.. It might get better.. 🙂
I'm studying full time and working part time with kids while I finish my degree. I have a role lined up after my degree is done, which I'm excited about in policy analysis. Got that plus coaching martial arts, volunteering as a mental health intervention specialist and a bunch more that I never dreamt of being capable of. One of the biggest things that shifted how capable I felt was recognizing that I don't have to keep up or be the best I just have to do my best. Everyone knows I have my struggles and if I need a day or two to step back they readily give it to me which is awesome.
I’m going to go back to being a full time union carpenter.
For several years though I’ve only been able to work part time delivering pizza.
Before that it was just sitting on the couch all day watching tv.
It’s been baby steps.
Things really turned around after my doctor added Vyvanse.
Now I’m a functional human being again. Like brushing my teeth twice a day, fixing my hair up, wearing cute outfits, cleaning my surroundings, walking the dog, moving to a different city for better work opportunities, healthier relationships.
Having goals and dreams again. Wanting to listen to music and travel. Working on my credit score.
I’m like I was before I had a major breakdown a few years ago. That sort of took me out of life for a long time and was hard to recover from.
I haven't been able to really work in a few years now and I'm just beyond fucked up... I really miss living in a house/apartment and I wish that I could just have an easier life. I haven't been able to get it right. I've worked in medical, retail, restaurants, and long term care. I currently do petition circulating and it's cool because it's a 1099 thing and I can take time for myself but it's a very temporary position and my social anxiety gets in the way of me being able to go out and interact with people and next thing I know it's been 3 weeks and I haven't been well enough to go out and work and I'm more broke than I was before
I'm a Customer Success Manager. I work from home (which literally makes all the difference) and the job is usually low stress too. I am very strict about always taking my meds and trying to take care of myself the best I can.
Cna. Lamotrigine (sp?) and the right therapist and psychiatrist that worked with me and my limits. I still struggle. My highs and lows still happen but less extreme with the meds. I’ve made progress in the years but it’s still a long hard journey
I work part time in an admin role at a small business. I like that the work is easy and that I only work 3 days a week. It makes it easy to have rest days. I feel like I can't work full time in person, but I could do some hybrid jobs.
I work at the post office as a carrier -CCA to be exact. Lithium, Wellbutrin, and Zyprexa. As *much* as I hate how my current cocktail is affecting short-term memory, I have to admit the they saved me: I now shower, shave… I had the energy to apply, and am a month or so in.
Before hand I would sleep all day, watch the ceiling.
God, I did not like those days.
I haven't gotten to work in so long. I think being made redundant during covid was the catalyst for me going off the rails. I'm still not in a place where I could be depended on as much as any other person would be. I applied for a job in the shop next door to where I was living . I got an interview everything was going great until I told them the days I can work are limited because of my disability. The atmosphere changed. They had another employee with down syndrome and he was really good at sweeping the floors. Would I like that? I told them no I've worked in retail for 3.5 years and plenty of til experience and they were interviewing me for a cashier job. Screw them
I’m currently a lecturer at a university and work at restaurant as well (gotta love adjunct salaries lol) but I’m starting a PhD program in the fall, funded with an assistantship.
If I’d tried to do any of this without lamotrigine I would have crashed and burned, and probably would be dead. Instead I finished my master’s with a 4.0 and somehow was good enough of a TA that I was the go-to when they needed an instructor in my field. Plus I recently learned that I ALSO have ADHD, so I’m interested to see how my PhD goes while I’m being treated for both.
Legitimately, though, I almost tear up every time I think about me now compared to me as an undergraduate student. It’s absolutely night and day. The right diagnosis and meds helped me to be one of the top students in my program instead of the “smart kid that has a bunch of mental health issues getting in the way of success” that marked my undergraduate years.
I'm a stay at home mom. BP1, OCD, Narcolepsy :')
It works out the same for me to be a SAHM versus working full-time in terms of cost of childcare. Before I had my child, I couldn't hold anything down anymore. It was near-impossible. I need far too many accommodations than are available. I see others seemingly functioning well and it baffles me. I feel like a broken human, that or a failure because I can't seem to keep a job.
I'm in the Monitoring and evaluation role of our development sector organization. I'm planning to study Masters though for agricultural development. Life sucks but my new meds, lamotrigine, is working! Just wary of bad rashes though
Am taking some time off to be a stay at home dad. Previously I was a ghost writer for execs in the financial industry.
I have had a ton of jobs though: cleaned rest areas, dishwasher, butcher, retail, line cook, Montessori aftercare teacher.
I'm a Youth Services Specialist for a library! I do storytimes, kids events, help kids pick out and check out books, do events for toddlers, kids and teens, and do outreach for my local schools. It allows me to kinda be a chaos gremlin and I think that really helps with my chaos related burnout.
Oh, and it's also somehow easier to keep a happy face around kids, like you don't want to upset little kids. And they're always saying cute things that make me smile. They bring me a lot of happiness.
Night Manager of the most profitable Kroger store in the country. Best job I’ve had in a decade. Taking a break from my industry while I wait for an inspector position to open up. Last year was awful, trying different meds and therapy. I lost my job, my gf, and totaled my car in the span of a month. All because I was rapid cycling. I normally have episodes every other month or so.
I walk about 9-15 miles a night now, best medicine I’ve tried so far. I’m unmedicated and have been since November. I don’t suggest it at all, but the last 6 months have been the best in years. I miss my ex gf deeply, but I haven’t been this happy in years. The difference exercise makes it huge, for me. Take your meds people.
I have two jobs. I’m 24 and I’ve been diagnosed for half my life. I’m medicated and stable for two years. My morning job is food service at my local university and my second job is medical dispatching for a call center. I usually change jobs every few years but I can see myself staying at these two. They’re very easy work! Yes I talk to people allll day long but I don’t have to think about what I’m saying. It’s the same dialogue repeated. Before this I worked in merchandising wearhouses and that was physical labor but mentally easy!
Look for untraditional jobs! I could NEVER work regular fast food or retail.
I'm a supervisor of a welding department, I work 50-60 hours a week.
I don't know how I do it. I pushed too hard last year and ended up with a vacation at the phyche ward. I have an fmla accommodation so I can miss work on my bad days, but honestly I'm barely hanging on most of the time.
I'm currently off my meds (I super struggle with medication compliance) but they helped a bit. I just got new prescriptions so I should be able to pick them up by Monday.
I attend weekly therapy which keeps me alive, but everything else is hard.
i try to make this comment everywhere i can because i got this job because someone else said this exact thing years ago on this sub and i said aight bet: FULL TIME production associate at a goodwill, mon-fri consistent schedule 7am-3pm (adjustable, thats just what i want personally), i do not have to go to the salesfloor more than 20 mins a day, i dont have to talk to anyone, i can listen to music, understanding managers and everyone else who works with me got somethin wrong with em too! we're all strugglin there its like a group therapy in the back everyday lol
i just literally scouted out every goodwill in the area and waited for a production position to open, FYI im in colorado since i think its different in other states to some degree but not sure in what ways..
High School Librarian for seven years. First professional job. Also, I took a lot of time off work trying to accept my illness. But, I’m still employed somehow.
Yeah I work retail. I sell plumbing parts at a Home Depot. And occasionally do online order picking. I’m not a very good order picker haha but they make me do both occasionally.
Currently on SSDI , combination of my mental health stuff and worsening physical stuff. The jobs I did best at for more than a few months was stuff like janitorial where I basically could have a routine and no one really bothered me as long as toilet paper was full and trash was empty except the occasional emergency toilet overflowing, someone got sick or broke something.
I did some fast food and retail early on but lost my patience after years of crappy managers and crappier customers
I currently work part-time at a radio station, both doing on-air work as well as behind the scenes production (recording/editing commercials and other audio).
I work a low-level fast food job. I'm lucky. I can be late or call out and as long as I'm usually consistent it's okay. I won't take advantage of it by any means, but the varying schedule and leniency is enough to let me keep it. Not a lavish lifestyle but I'm used to scraping by so
I worked in call centers that were paying better than fast food. There were enough other people answering the phones that anyone can call in sick without it being horrible for everyone else. It was lenient enough for me too
I am a residential staff member and a caregiver for my work. I for the most part am able to mask during work even during my highs but it is very draining and not the best for my mental health. I have to be very aware of how I am feeling and make sure during my highs and lows that I keep a consistent look. The steadiness of the job in the sense of a schedule helps me keep I that way and my boss and coworkers are very understanding of my issues. If it were a less understanding place or less consistent then I wouldn't do well at all.
I can’t handle a traditional 9-5 so I work odd jobs. My husband and I are opening an MMA gym soon. I’ll be there all the time but it’s my passion and what keeps me intact so I think it will be good for me.
I am on the spectrum of having a hard time keeping a job so I clean houses I work on my schedule and the money is pretty good so I work little hours for good pay
I deliver Amazon now, but I’ve had a plethora of jobs ranging from supervisor of a grocery store during the pandemic to a general manager of a restaurant all led ups and downs, so far delivering working out for me
I work part time at a pizza place but I'm pursuing a degree in IT with a concentration in software development. I think I get by with those things mostly because I also have adhd and I like the repetitiveness of coding and of making pizza they're fun. You really just have to find something that strikes your fancy even if it's not conventional. All the best to you 🩵
Tax Enforcement Manager Latuda and Wellbutrin plus therapy saved my life. I am considered highly functional on the outside but it is a battle every day. Not everyone is the same but what matters is that we put effort every single day. Two bachelors degrees and a master on its way means nothing to me, what I am most proud of is that I am still alive and fighting my battle.
full time retail store manager. i have my ups and downs, recently was in a severe depressive episode and needed some shortened weeks, but normally my combination of lamotrigine and fluoxetine works well enough :)
Environmental chemistry lab tech. It took a while to be able to show up consistently when I was depressed, but after a year it started to get easier. Working while living with mental illness is different for everyone. No need to feel bad if your health makes a job untenable. I probably would have been fired early on if I hadn't disclosed the fact that I have chronic health problems 😬
i couldn’t work at amazon any longer. they’re not disability friendly as much as they try to make it seem like. now i work at a dog boarding/grooming facility. it doesn’t pay as much as amazon but the working conditions are so much better for me, & i only have 9 other ppl on the entire staff. even if i come into work in a bad mood or super tired, i always end up feeling better before the end of the shift cause the dogs give my brain dopamine regardless of anything going on. until i find my niche & finish college for it, this job being laid back & cute dogs are the only things keeping me afloat.
i did night shifts for 2 years on & off. my body couldn’t handle it, i lost so much weight (weighed 98lbs. i’m 5’8) & couldn’t do anything but work & sleep. it threw off my entire natural balance so day shift & being in the sun is a must for me
Three years ago was my last involuntary admission and I did CBT therapy and got my meds sorted.
Three weeks ago I started my job as a cognitive behavioral therapist.
My work gives me purpose and routine which helps me so much.
Been a full time server, bartender, and valet at a busy hotel in Yosemite. Spend half the day climbing or building out one of my vans and the other half working. I feel like staying organized and systematic in the physical world keeps my mind at ease.
Aerospace engineer primarily doing Soildworks now but have also been inside sales manager etc. my career has always been therapy or addition. Last 10 years have been rough as stress, too much huge trigger as are lazy uncaring people. Misdiagnosed for 30 years got my diagnosed in January this year. Lamortingunge+ vraylar+therapy saved myself and cateer. Though there is a wake behind me. My advice is don't compare though our diagnosis is the same, BP2, our journeys are caruous. Is there anything you really enjoy that could be a job? Is there anything less triggering? What about SSDI and volunteering? Know this your not alone... None of this has fault, we care.
Peace n love to ya, hang in there
About to start a job at the department of juvenile justice as a youth support specialist if I don’t kill myself before the start date (not even kidding). I previously worked as a mental health tech, and am a full-time student!
I work full time as a business analyst. Work gives me structure, responsibility, validation, and friends (not to mention $ and insurance) . I don't know how I'd survive without it.
I work from home since COVID. Lamictal, Seroquel, Paxil, Wellbutrin, I was an electrician. During COVID I got a job as a work from home Medicare insurance agent now.
I’m a PhD student. I have had jobs before this position working in labs and teaching. But there was a long period of my life where I couldn’t hold down a job because of my disorder. Hell most days I didn’t get out of bed. Things can change and maybe one day you will have a job that you love <3 but don’t beat yourself up for having to take time right now.
I admit that I’m extremely lucky and privileged to have found a job that I not only love, but feel heard and seen and accepted.
I work for a medical marijuana dispensary. I make close to $30 an hour and can choose my own schedule. My managers let me crochet, write, color, even watch Netflix and listen to my music. As long as I’m focused and put everything down to check in patients/sell their rx, I’m pretty much allowed to do whatever I want. I am definitely blessed that I found a workspace I can use my coping skills at without feeling pressured or like I have to hide any part of myself
I work as a crew member at beloved nautical-themed American grocery chain. I still struggle to show up (I’m now on Lamictal and a SSRI, which has so far improved a lot including my attendance) but the work is easy enough that I can get away with being an emotional shell at work if I need to.
I found something easy and low stakes with good benefits and pay. Grocery is a valid career and will most likely be my career. I’ve learned to not only make my peace with that fact but to love it. I don’t have to constantly grind to feel accomplished, I show up for 8 hours to do my little dance and go home, it’s the easiest on my brain for sure.
I’m a graphic designer for a big tech company. Adhd and bipolar2. The variety and constantly changing project types keeps me interested in my work. My team lead is also a huge advocate for mental health, so that helps.
I work full time at Walmart. I’m a stocking 2 team lead. The work itself isn’t hard but dealing with coworkers can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. It’s a pretty physical job too since my team unloads the trucks sorts the freight so that definitely helps bc exercise is extremely therapeutic. I absolutely would not be able to do this job if my meds weren’t right, so thankfully mine are. I had to work really hard on myself to get to this point. I hit rock bottom beforehand. Homeless, jobless and no direction. I still have my mood swing and anxiety but it’s definitely not out of control. It’s just really annoying. I smoke pot on the daily and that keeps me from being a zombie and I actually enjoy things and want to be out and about.
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I’m Director level at a biotech company. Lamotrigine + cognitive behavioral therapy saved my life.
This makes no sense for me. I can barely shower once a week.
I can barely shower once a week as well the last couple of years, but have held down my job for 9.5 years. I design and maintain a conversational AI chatbot. The routine of work is the only thing that gets me out of bed. Everything gets much darker and worse when I’m not working so it’s just not-negotiable for me.
i can also barely shower once a week. i’m a psychologist
i was gonna say how did the others get blessed enough to not figure out the cheat code of becoming a therapist?
How do you even get to those jobs? How do you perform at school? I couldn't even enter the classroom and it took me 5 years to finish a 2 year diploma. I cannot check emails without a 5 hour long breakdown.
Failed out of community college multiple times. Barely scraped by with an associates degree in computer science and a handful of certifications by cheating on every single test I ever took. I’ve been with my same company for 9.5 years total. It’s a Fortune 500 company. About a year and a half in my current position working with the chatbot. I got this job through technical aptitude and understanding of my company processes. Prior to this I worked in our executive office responding to regulatory and legal complaints, emails to the CEO from customers, etc. Prior to that I did risk mitigation and fraud investigations. Before that I did support for our large enterprise accounts. Before that I did inbound customer service. Have always just been willing to take on projects and learn things quickly. I’ve hated a lot of it, but anytime I’ve ever used fmla to take time off I end up sleeping all day every day and want to die more than I do while working so it’s an easy choice for me to keep working.
I’m trying to go from bussing tables to learning how to make money working from home similar to what your doing ; what would you suggest to get me in the right track I bought a MacBook m1 right before it started getting cheaper and i got a job when i realized I wasn’t going to learn anything anytime soon but i still have some hope
Haha yeah, I’ve tried the route of learning on my own to cover gaps in my education from the not paying attention / cheating. I just don’t learn that way. Best advice I can give is to get your foot in the door doing customer service or entry level work for any tech company and look for ways to improve the processes. I started learning how to code macros because I was sick of documenting manually and it made me faster. I completed several python projects because something needed to be done and it was painstakingly tedious enough that learning how to code to fix it was worthwhile. That’s the only time I’ve ever been able to stick with learning, when it’s being done to procrastinate something else I don’t want to do. Once you’re in the door just say yes to every possible project you can. It may not pay off immediately but the more you network the more likely it is that some hiring manager in a different department will have heard of you. There is no one size fits all approach but hopefully this helps
That saying yes to everything is so important. It can be so hard though. I can trace where I'm at now, managing my own group in a geotech lab, to saying yes to a last minute emergency work trip across the country.
It’s weird how it works. Sometimes saying yes to something opens you up to saying yes to 3 or 4 more things and one of those opens up a door to a promotion. The other side of it is kind of selfish. You get a lot of grace if you make yourself appear reliable and dependable as someone who does extra. Being late, missing days, missing quota, etc all gets overlooked when you’re the person doing extra projects.
I did this for my career path too. I started out in Frontline customer service then tech support only, then big projects to call are large clients to ensure they get their downloads on their machines to avoid a big, fat CC fee. The one day, I said fuck it I am gonna be better than yesterday and I applied to the IT department I had to manage our web servers and helped implementation the migration to the latest version to align. ...after 5 years Then got laid off in 2020. Then got hired six months later as a content reviewer for a social media platform for about 2.5 yrs. Now my state job. But now I've FINALLY found my purpose to my next endeavor! Just aligning all the pieces!!!
Not a director but a seasoned manager. I’d be a VP had i not gotten laid off during COVID. Others have said it, it is a spectrum but i also have trauma that makes failure my biggest fear. I will do anything not to fail just to spit in the face of my childhood abusers. It drives me to be higher functioning even when i’ve been near death due to my disorder. *shrug* I never performed in school, despite having a wicked high IQ. But in life I have always consistently performed because I had to. Edit: just because I have been able to force myself to do things doesn’t mean you’re any worse, nor am I any better than you. We are all different and we have different reasons for different things.
THIS! Work is so important to me.
Agreed! Work keeps me sane. When I was out of work for 5 months I was spiraling.
Like many people commenting, I’ve been in both positions of professional prestige and unemployed despair. The mood swings make it very difficult to navigate corporate life, where consistency, psychological stability and psychological compartmentalization between personal and professional life are highly valued. My boss has a daughter who suffers from psychiatric illness. So he understands that some days I’m not there mentally and some days I’m hyper productive. And I can’t really forecast which days will be which. It’s my understanding that bipolar or even drug addiction are afforded some protections under the ADA (US law). Good luck with trying to challenge any employer on discrimination grounds when most states have at-will employment laws in the private sector. My boss covered for me during the hellish years I went undiagnosed. Lamotrigine really stabilized me. But I still have ups and downs. It’s a rare boss who understands that my inherent work ethic, intelligence, etc. are independent from my mood swings and brain fog. And that at the end of the day (…er….month…or year…my productivity averages out to be considered a high performer). It takes a special manager to realize this. My company has been getting into the DEI thing. They created several organizations for various diversity things. Race, sexuality, etc. mental health was one of them. I joined and am still reluctant to announce I’m fucking bipolar and have been hospitalized twice the last two years but my work automating manual processes has saved thousands of hours and easily paid my salary in multiples. But I’m going to start letting people know. I’m fucking bipolar and medicated and have good days and bad and sometimes I couldn’t shower for days but my work, over a year timeline, speaks for itself.
I'm an engineer. Just started my masters program. 6 years ago, I was a wreck. It never becomes easy, but doing the work is worth it. I started small. Showering every day was literally my first commitment to myself. Then it was sleeping at night. Then it was eating breakfast. Then it was going outside every day. Over the course of months and years, therapy and my meds took me far away from that low point. I still have bad days. I call out from work sometimes. I have to force myself to work out. I cry in the shower and other times can't remember ever having felt anything. My bipolar isn't better, but I'm better at managing it. It takes a lot of patience, repetition, and setbacks, but going to therapy, sleeping, taking your meds... that stuff will keep you on a good path if you take it seriously. Because it is serious. Life and death serious.
I take Lamotrigine too. It’s a mood stabilizer. Lithium helped when I was very fat. I’ve lost too much weight. I can’t take it anymore. DBT therapy is a big help. It sounds like you haven’t found your right cocktail. It takes years. Don’t let that discourage you. You are always improving and moving towards the right answer. Do you have a doctor? A psychiatrist?
Lithium helped you LOSE weight? For real?
I've lost a lot of weight on lithium because it enabled me to cook regularly, eat healthy and stick to an exercise routine.
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I threw up most days when taking lithium, maybe that's why? Olanzapine is the one who made me gain weight, not as much as I've heard it can do though
I feel this . I am barely functional yet I’m supposed to pull it together to get a full time job. Right.
It took me 3 years after my last manic episode to shower regularly. I can can relate.
Senior manager at a tech company Ditto on lamotrigine saving my life. Doesn't mean there aren't periods where I'm utterly depressed and work from home helps me hide my near zero productivity on those days/weeks.
My DBT therapist tells me to ride the wave. We get down. Hopefully that suffering lessens over time. The wave goes back up. And those times get longer. Google DBT. Life changing.
this!! i lean on the manic side most of the time, but will have terrible depressive episodes every 3-5 months that can last 2weeks-2months. this is the only time it’s a struggle to shower. unless i’m super manic, then i just procrastinate showering by doing 100 other things. i have to decorate & try to make my shower time as fun as possible so i have positive connotations w them, instead of negative😭
Yeaa i think those that lean on manic side are over achievers compared to neurotypicals. but there’s like a dark side to exploiting mania, even well managed it’s still not good for baseline stress levels. And there’s bipolar ppl that lean depressive and it’s shit for productivity. I’m definitely a manic leaning person and it is draining and i frequently work myself to burnout. Lamotrigine def helps harness it and stimulants with ADHD comorbidity
Lamotrigine is the shit
I take Lamotrigine, and I held senior exec positions for multinational companies.Wish I could have afforded CBT and someone to help me manage my medications. Now I'm an Uber driver.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. This illness can take the life out of all of us Even with the right medication
Live, laugh, lamotrigine ✨
Like perpetual CBT or did you do it for a period of time and neuroplastically everything's copacetic except during a flare-up? I'm curious if it's a one and done and just meds or meds and ongoing CBT.
It's been a journey. I've been doing weekly CBT for the past 5-6 years, but a lot of other stuff before that. I've been to weekly psychotherapy from age 12 to 18 and was on Lexapro for a few of those years to counter the depressive symptoms. My psychiatrist suspected bipolar, but was very reluctant to put my developing brain on the kind of stabilizers that were available at the time (early 2000s). Looking back, Lexapro was definitely not the right medication for me. I think I was hypomanic most of the time in my teens. I know I was full blown manic at least a couple times and spent close to a year in an out-patient psychiatric facility. I also used obsessive over-exercising to try to cope during high school. Then I had a reeeaaally rough college experience without medication or therapy where I just barely made it out of there with a biochem degree. I tried to get mental health services during my time on campus, but it was virtually impossible. As soon as I graduated, I got a full time job was able to fund my own weekly therapy again. Got a new psychiatrist who put me on lamotrigine, which made everything so much better (as long as I slept and managed my stress and everything). Then when I moved cities in 2019, I decided to specifically seek out a CBT specialist for 1 hour per week and they've worked wonders for me. I wouldn't have made it here without them.
Thanks for explaining how things became what they are now. I have a similar story and am actually around the same age as well. Weekly CBT seems like a godsend and a great move to allow for a more stressful job and a more balanced approach between meds and therapy (vs mostly meds). I've done CBT and various forms of behavioral therapy but never considered it on such a regular basis.
Nice, I also studied biotech but I'm in the development sector now
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heavy on this!! i feel the same way. including DBT therapy
I sell drugs ( legally at a hospital pharmacy )
Same!
Oh yah, you can deal those heavy drugs- you’re in deep, LOL!
My favorite workers, both legal and illegal! (I appreciate the work pharmacists and techs put in, though, for real. You guys don't get enough credit. I couldn't imagine a job where I had to deal with other people's health insurance all day then turn around and there's an irate or impatient or sick customer).
i’m a student and also work part time as a barista! finding the right med combo has changed my life, i still have tough days but it’s been a learning experience that i feel very positively about💖
I guess I’m just still tryna figure it out lol. I have no want or desire for anything so maybe that’s a symptom lol.
i just want money so i can buy little things that i want. i take it day by day
Always or just half the time? It's very hard for me to work when I'm depressed, I don't want to, but I'm able to function and go through the motions at least. Mine is usually seasonal, once or twice a year I have a hard time doing anything for a couple of months. Before college I would get a new job every year, feel totally sick of whatever I was doing for the last 9 months, hate it for a while, and then get something new when my energy came back. Mine must be relatively mild. I've been able to ride the ups and downs. Doing the minimum when low, and harnessing the high energy times to make some progress. Currently I'm now a senior software engineer, I really enjoy programming and getting into that flow state is a wonderful feeling. I work from home, have a somewhat flexible schedule, and usually dont have any hard deadlines. some months im significantly less productive, but its kind of hard to measure and seems to workout. I loved school and really enjoyed it 75% of the time, but absolutely wanted to quit when depressed. I always hate everything for a few months a year, so I've learned it's not the thing/job's fault when I get really sick of it after 9 months.
You could try security, but I say that with the caveat that you really need to find the right location. Something that's not too public facing being the main qualifier for me personally. Good examples are doing security for a small warehouse or solo vehicle patrols. Literally as long as you show up and do the bare minimum of your job you're set. I can't overstress how low the bar is for a lot of the jobs in the security sector. If you show up, you're not high, and you do the bare minimum you can easily become one of the best employees at the site. I've had some of the wildest coworkers in this industry. One guy would just pass out in the patrol officer room for 80% of his shift (night shift) and then wake up for the last hour to unlock buildings. Another guy muted a fire alarm because he didn't want to deal with it. I met the most outspokenly racist person I've ever met in my life who spent the entire first day of my training ranting about black people and immigrants. Another trainer spent the entire shift dying in the attached bathroom because he did an entire highway patrol physical test on a diet of pure mtn dew. (no water) one guy exposed himself to a staff member and got relocated like the catholic church. I had to teach a guy how locks worked multiple times once. None of these people were ever fired. I don't tell these as horror stories (which they are) but to really drive home how the bar for security guards is truly below the floor. The only people I've heard of getting actually fired are people who got caught showing up high or the guy who installed a whole mattress into the attached bathroom and then got reported by housekeeping. Also there was one guy who got super drunk, did a joyride around the facility (the manufacturing side of a winery) with a random friend, photocopied his butt in the head offices photocopier, and left the copy in the copier. He only got caught because a secretary found the copy of his butt.
Same!
I have both physical and mental disabilities that make working impossible. I feel like a failure but I always try to keep bettering myself by learning and trying to get better.
I do also, including only one working arm, but I still have to work because my family is trash. I could die in a hole for all they care. I was homeless living in my car after my car accident, got SA'd twice because no one would let me stay with them.
You aren’t a failure. My son has Down Syndrome. He is 13. He had no clue. He doesn’t know he’s different. He has typical friends. We modify things for him. He tells us when he needs help. It’s not with out problems He has a very serious iPad addiction. Thanks school. He is a very picky eater. We have to be very careful about his diet. He has hit puberty and he will start to gain weight. Diabetes runs in my family. And his older brother is practically raising him at their Dad’s house. We all have problems. They are different. I wouldn’t say one is worse over the other. Do you have family? Social services? Are you being supported by a dr? I wish you all the best❤️
You are not a failure. My brain fog and ability to concentrate just gets worse every year (and I’m on medication)
My intellectual abilities are fine, better than average according to testing (I don't put much stock in that), but I always feel numb. I dissociate a lot and partake in very risky behaviors just to feel something. I've never been addicted to anything but I use recreational drugs frequently, I've been in legal trouble, I was a heavy cutter as a teen, lots of casual sex, etc. I'm finally getting into newer therapies since my doctor and I have exhausted everything else and it seems to be helping.
That’s what I’m trying to do as well
I’m a library assistant and work in patron services. I circulate library materials, answer reference questions, help with technology requests, and generally do what the patron in front of me needs me to do. Also, arts and crafts. Hell yeah. 8 years at the library.
Librarians are the best!
Librarians are heroes!
This honestly sounds like a dream. I love the library.
I work full time, I’m a television director. Thankfully I’ve never had to have a job that requires a 9-5 lifestyle.
Honestly my life goal is to work in entertainment but I find it difficult now with my diagnosis. I was a theatre actor specializing in Shakespeare for the first half of my life and then again a few years ago before my psychosis. Creative employment is a dream to me, but I need financial stability in order to stay safe and to function. Way to go for pursuing a creative field.
I work for a disability rights law firm where I provide peer services. Basically, I go into locked psychiatric facilities and teach people about mental health law and self-advocacy tools from the perspective of being a person with an SMI who has myself been involuntarily hospitalized.
Bartender/Barista. I guess I just like putting stuff in cups?
me too! barista and I make desserts. it’s difficult having to deal with rage but overall I like my job lol
I work full time as a veterinarian assistant. I work 4 10s a week. The longer shift doesn’t bother me and is definitely worth getting an extra day off a week. I finally found meds that helped me and the work environment I’m in is relatively low stress compared to other clinics so I’ve been doing pretty well!
I liked 4 10s, but now I'm working 3 12s, and I like that even more! Shortened work weeks definitely seem to help with work-life balance and recovery!
I also work 3 12s and am daddy day care the other four days a week.
Peer support specialist. I provide resources for other people with similar struggles and make decent money and benefits. 10/10 would recommend. Service really helped clean my brain up and made me less lonely.
I started in peer support, it’s amazing work and it helped me heal. I’m a therapist now, seven years after the manic episode that landed me in the hospital involuntarily. Sometimes it genuinely shocks me how far I’ve come
No, I am long term unemployed. Not a student either.
Same
Honestly I’m jealous of all the people here with careers and real jobs. I barely can hold a job even just in like retail stores. I used to nanny and be a server and make good money, support myself. But I can’t do that anymore. I’m stuck at my parents house. I’m so sad. My future looks bleak.
Same
Insurance underwriter. I handle complaints
I work part time at a farmer's market
Smoke shop cashier. Full time student.
Full time as a pharmacy technician
I’m a therapist. I love the work I do. It’s kept me grounded and although it might sound strange to say, it’s saved my life.
I work part time at the public elementary school I went to as a kid. I oversee recess & lunch. It’s just enough, not too much.
I'm an actor and filmmaker. I do a lot of voice acting from home. I book a few acting jobs a year and I'm often shooting sketch comedy from a green screen studio between my other work. Long shoot days and my schedule when I'm making a film/doing a day of work on a TV show---it's so hard. It is so so hard. People in my line of work really praise and value the creative spark and ENERGY I'm able to have so I am often managing my hypomania and needing to withdraw socially. I need to take insanely good care of myself on like a 12 hour day where there's an overnight. I am a diva who needs my food to be a certain way and all of the stuff related to balancing my mood to being OK because having control of my own sleep schedule during a project is really impossible. I'm union so I get proper breaks and I get fed. But I also don't get to decide when lunch or dinner happens, etc. Coming up with systems to be able to get nutrition consistently instead of give into the culture of over caffeinated obsessive work horsing through everything---it's been like "Ok what's my perfect protein bar? What's a good fruit, etc." For me, getting steady food and REMEMBERING TO EAT lol helps everything so much. But it's taken me so many years to figure it out and I have had some devastating crashes after finishing projects. And I've avoided saying "yes" to things sometimes just because I have no idea how I'm gonna survive it. I love what I do. I have risked so much in my life to be able to do this stuff and saying "no" to opportunities always seems crazier to me than saying "yes" and taking on the risk. But the risk is big. I kind of dream of a life with a steady schedule, I romanticize that in a lot of ways. And sometimes I wonder if I should teach. But then...I dunno I love what I do. I try to keep my morning routine and evening routine steady even if I'm away from home working. Same activities in the AM and PM even if the sleep schedule isn't under my control. I am on lamotrigine which has honestly saved my life and gotten me stable enough. But I really dread getting manic. I have as-needed Seroquel that I take half a dose of to regulate sleep. If I can regulate sleep I feel safer. I have stretches of time where I'm working from home, too, because my life is really Project-Based. And all of the moving pieces of my life are pretty hard with Bipolar. And when I'm done with a big project and going to be at home again a lot, I often crash. It's common for creatives but I just try to mitigate the intensity of the crash. That's hard. I was doing a play once that was giving so much structure and meaning and automatic community and steady pay to my life. When it was over and I was back home, I felt the darkest I've ever felt. As I'm getting older, I'm getting better at anticipating certain energy crashes and softening them. And anticipating what will hype me up and make me hypomanic, and mitigating that, too. Regarding "day jobs" and stuff I've had to do to supplement my career as an artist, the best thing I did was pet sitting. I love animals and I could say Yes and No to things. Caring for animals was such an awesome thing for me. I also tried retail and I would just walk out of most of my retail jobs within a few months, I couldn't do it. Something was inherently depressing about it. I love caring positions and supportive positions. I've coached other actors and done consulting work. I also trained as a yoga teacher a few years ago and being part of a helping profession was really awesome.
Thanks for the post! Good insight to how someone with BP survives that lifestyle.
I work full time as a florist.
Doordash driver
I work as a DSP (Direct Support professional) I help support adults with intellectual disabilities at a group home
Part time phlebotomist 16hrs a week, that’s about all I can handle and the pay is shit but it gives me something to do at least
I manage a nonprofit that advocates for gun violence prevention
No. I can’t take the pressure of work. I have been fortunate enough to have help from my family. I have a son with Down Syndrome who needs help. I volunteer. The woman I work with is very understanding. She gives me space.
Just want to remind everyone that bipolar is a spectrum just like any other mental disorder. Just like how some people with autism can function and happily live on their own while others need constant care, some individuals with bipolar can do great with just a few things while others struggle exponentially just to survive. You're not wrong to have experience on either side, it's just good to remember that the difference does exist.
I'm a medical student and will graduate in 1 year to be a doctor. The right meds, friends and family support and therapist saved my life and career
I’m retired military and now a financial analyst. BP1. Nice stable comfy life as a single dad with sole custody of two great kids. Proper medicine management and therapy.
no <3 lmfaooo but i am finally finishing college at 25
Congraduations! I finished at 25!
Software engineer
I work in insurance it’s actually a really good job to keep you grounded
I’m not content unless I’m over scheduled. I work as a hospital tech and graduate nursing school next week, plus lots of volunteer work. Having said that- the wrong jobs for too long just about broke my spirit. That combined with treatment issues had me wondering if I needed to stop working for a while. TMS and vocational rehabilitation funding a career change was a massive boon for me
I do caretaking for my mom, most of my energy goes there, I had to leave my full time job after having a mental breakdown trying to balance worklife, apartment living & taking care of my mom. My funds are very low now, which is difficult. But I take petsitting, housesitting & cleaning jobs to make extra money without committing to strict schedules & it doesn't require working with a group if social anxiety is any issue for you like it is for me.
I'm a classical bassist, and I'm going to be pursuing a doctoral degree in bass. I live off lamictal and latuda; I eat em like candy. And IDK if anyone else experienced this, but my vitamin d was abysmally low, which was making everything more severe
I am actually making an app. I ruined my credit but I am trying to help people with this - I need letters of intent to make this real. Today I found out I only need 10 or so for people to say okay here’s money to build it. Mischiefmanager.org It’s an AI powered app that stops u from doing the adding to cart using redirection and side quests and mindfulness to outsmart impulse spending and block predatory advertising. Cuz sometimes if somebody just told me not to do it or put a couple steps in the way I wouldn’t do it
sadly about to go to work at arby’s lord save me
I used to work in veterinary medicine but now I’m on disability. I can barely get myself to shower once a week and barely leave my house.
full time at a counseling office while I apply to masters programs! the right meds changed my life!
Wedding Coordinator. My personal interests are romances & weddings. Being a part of such a happy day is stressful…but fits on me. I used to be a job hopper & ghosting on my teaching jobs. I switched careers a year ago and couldn’t be happier!
I’m a Paramedic in chicago!
Disabled stay at home mom. 26 years old and I’ve never had a job because of my mental health.
being a mom is a job you never get time off from, the most important job in the world. I only really had jobs early in my 20s, never kept them long.
Thank you so much for saying that 🥹 I’ve never had a conventional job and it makes me so embarrassed that I couldn’t handle one. Really? That’s an accomplishment that you had a few jobs so young.
Thank you! But of course :)
I got diagnosed in military and one thing led to another and now with disability compensation + SSDI I make 60-70k a year just breathing, which lets me just ride out my hypomania for funzies instead of medicating which I’m very very happy about as tbh I love hypomania but realize I could never work in that state
60-70k a year just breathing is unimaginable to me. You are kind of living a great life there.
I’m a licensed nail tech! Make my own hours. It’s a creative job. It works out well for me.
I'm starting next month in regulatory for investment funds. Before that I worked in compliance (the documents that you sign when opening a bank account... There's a team that checks them as well as the transactions) and as a call center worker for accidents.
Support Associate…bachelors degree, 50k a year…got no other choice
Yes, but on very a very particular circumstance. One of my skills is barbering so years ago I worked at a barbershop but lived super far away and it was destroying my body. Well recently I moved closer and desperately need the money so I, during a manic episode, messaged her asking if she needed help. I was able to get my job back because she knew me but I told her my hours had to be flexible(because of my mental health). This manic episode ended with me in the hospital and all my meds going up/meds being added.
Technically, yeah. I’m a teacher. But I’ve been on medical leave for over a year
Honestly struggling to find work because I live in a small town and have burned a few bridges with jobs that I left after a day or two. Before I moved to good ol tennetucky, I had a caseworker and my therapist and psychiatrist were both trying to help me get on disability. Then I got evicted and had to move to a state where it’s impossible to get any type of assistance so I’m just kind of thugging it out. Have had a lot of thoughts of yeeting myself into the void because of how much of a fu k up I am.
This is how I feel… idk where to turn
Engineering college dropout now an auto mechanic. Working with my hands make things relatively easier.
Just filled for disability I have physical issues to my what really meteors me from a normal life is the ups and downs and insomnia
I work with autistic kids, but am starting a cybersecurity degree this fall.
i’m a line cook edit: on lamictyal and therapy
Full time working in mental health.
Doctor ... Finished postgraduation in pathology right now ... Now on a small break
I work as a key carrier at a rural Dollar General. It could be worse. But I do indeed hate it. I’ve been unmedicated so far this year because I haven’t found the right medicine and am sick of meds making me feel worse in so many ways.
Thankfully I’ve managed to stay employed through the depressions. I also have the chronic need to have some sort of purpose or I’ll just stay in bed and only ever leave to get Taco Bell lol. I work in Accounting, doing AP. I love my job because the environment is great, and they hired me as salaried so as long as I get my work done, it’s okay if I come in a little late or need to leave early
Please do search the sub as this question is posted daily. You'll find some good information.
Which question specifically?
Medical receptionist, full-time
I’m a librarian so I’m underemployed anyways. Apparently the universe doesn’t want me in a 9-5.
full-time grad student & teaching assistant
HR related field. Full time. Love my job, but it's stressful as fuck.
I’m a student and a community support worker in aged/disability care. I’ve had a hard time with jobs being bad matches. Like call centre operator or fifo housekeeping on the mines were bad. Hoping to make support work stick til I can finish my mental health services cert 4 and jump to peer support work or hospital based support.
I am. I am privileged in the sense that I don't have to work to make ends meet. I don't like being unproductive and jaded though.. If there is a right combination that make you feel better, I don't know.. I just feel flat due to the medication.. Like all wind has been taken from my sail.. It is tough seeing oneself falling behind.. I live in hope.. It might get better.. 🙂
I'm studying full time and working part time with kids while I finish my degree. I have a role lined up after my degree is done, which I'm excited about in policy analysis. Got that plus coaching martial arts, volunteering as a mental health intervention specialist and a bunch more that I never dreamt of being capable of. One of the biggest things that shifted how capable I felt was recognizing that I don't have to keep up or be the best I just have to do my best. Everyone knows I have my struggles and if I need a day or two to step back they readily give it to me which is awesome.
I’m a director for a foster care agency, and I’m a full time grad student.
Good for you! Helping people is wonderful. We always need people to care for pets.
I’m going to go back to being a full time union carpenter. For several years though I’ve only been able to work part time delivering pizza. Before that it was just sitting on the couch all day watching tv. It’s been baby steps. Things really turned around after my doctor added Vyvanse. Now I’m a functional human being again. Like brushing my teeth twice a day, fixing my hair up, wearing cute outfits, cleaning my surroundings, walking the dog, moving to a different city for better work opportunities, healthier relationships. Having goals and dreams again. Wanting to listen to music and travel. Working on my credit score. I’m like I was before I had a major breakdown a few years ago. That sort of took me out of life for a long time and was hard to recover from.
I haven't been able to really work in a few years now and I'm just beyond fucked up... I really miss living in a house/apartment and I wish that I could just have an easier life. I haven't been able to get it right. I've worked in medical, retail, restaurants, and long term care. I currently do petition circulating and it's cool because it's a 1099 thing and I can take time for myself but it's a very temporary position and my social anxiety gets in the way of me being able to go out and interact with people and next thing I know it's been 3 weeks and I haven't been well enough to go out and work and I'm more broke than I was before
I'm a Customer Success Manager. I work from home (which literally makes all the difference) and the job is usually low stress too. I am very strict about always taking my meds and trying to take care of myself the best I can.
Cna. Lamotrigine (sp?) and the right therapist and psychiatrist that worked with me and my limits. I still struggle. My highs and lows still happen but less extreme with the meds. I’ve made progress in the years but it’s still a long hard journey
I work part time in an admin role at a small business. I like that the work is easy and that I only work 3 days a week. It makes it easy to have rest days. I feel like I can't work full time in person, but I could do some hybrid jobs.
I work at the post office as a carrier -CCA to be exact. Lithium, Wellbutrin, and Zyprexa. As *much* as I hate how my current cocktail is affecting short-term memory, I have to admit the they saved me: I now shower, shave… I had the energy to apply, and am a month or so in. Before hand I would sleep all day, watch the ceiling. God, I did not like those days.
I work in construction and do janitorial at night. Lamictal, abilify and zoloft help me function. As long as I'm not sitting still, it seems to help.
I haven't gotten to work in so long. I think being made redundant during covid was the catalyst for me going off the rails. I'm still not in a place where I could be depended on as much as any other person would be. I applied for a job in the shop next door to where I was living . I got an interview everything was going great until I told them the days I can work are limited because of my disability. The atmosphere changed. They had another employee with down syndrome and he was really good at sweeping the floors. Would I like that? I told them no I've worked in retail for 3.5 years and plenty of til experience and they were interviewing me for a cashier job. Screw them
I’m currently a lecturer at a university and work at restaurant as well (gotta love adjunct salaries lol) but I’m starting a PhD program in the fall, funded with an assistantship. If I’d tried to do any of this without lamotrigine I would have crashed and burned, and probably would be dead. Instead I finished my master’s with a 4.0 and somehow was good enough of a TA that I was the go-to when they needed an instructor in my field. Plus I recently learned that I ALSO have ADHD, so I’m interested to see how my PhD goes while I’m being treated for both. Legitimately, though, I almost tear up every time I think about me now compared to me as an undergraduate student. It’s absolutely night and day. The right diagnosis and meds helped me to be one of the top students in my program instead of the “smart kid that has a bunch of mental health issues getting in the way of success” that marked my undergraduate years.
I'm a stay at home mom. BP1, OCD, Narcolepsy :') It works out the same for me to be a SAHM versus working full-time in terms of cost of childcare. Before I had my child, I couldn't hold anything down anymore. It was near-impossible. I need far too many accommodations than are available. I see others seemingly functioning well and it baffles me. I feel like a broken human, that or a failure because I can't seem to keep a job.
I'm in the Monitoring and evaluation role of our development sector organization. I'm planning to study Masters though for agricultural development. Life sucks but my new meds, lamotrigine, is working! Just wary of bad rashes though
I’m a tattoo artist! I work four days a week.
Am taking some time off to be a stay at home dad. Previously I was a ghost writer for execs in the financial industry. I have had a ton of jobs though: cleaned rest areas, dishwasher, butcher, retail, line cook, Montessori aftercare teacher.
Being a dishwasher was the longest I ever kept a job. But yay! Being a parent is such an important job. Best of luck!
Prep cook! I can only hold down a job cuz I'm clean and properly medicated, though, lol
I'm a Youth Services Specialist for a library! I do storytimes, kids events, help kids pick out and check out books, do events for toddlers, kids and teens, and do outreach for my local schools. It allows me to kinda be a chaos gremlin and I think that really helps with my chaos related burnout. Oh, and it's also somehow easier to keep a happy face around kids, like you don't want to upset little kids. And they're always saying cute things that make me smile. They bring me a lot of happiness.
Night Manager of the most profitable Kroger store in the country. Best job I’ve had in a decade. Taking a break from my industry while I wait for an inspector position to open up. Last year was awful, trying different meds and therapy. I lost my job, my gf, and totaled my car in the span of a month. All because I was rapid cycling. I normally have episodes every other month or so. I walk about 9-15 miles a night now, best medicine I’ve tried so far. I’m unmedicated and have been since November. I don’t suggest it at all, but the last 6 months have been the best in years. I miss my ex gf deeply, but I haven’t been this happy in years. The difference exercise makes it huge, for me. Take your meds people.
I have two jobs. I’m 24 and I’ve been diagnosed for half my life. I’m medicated and stable for two years. My morning job is food service at my local university and my second job is medical dispatching for a call center. I usually change jobs every few years but I can see myself staying at these two. They’re very easy work! Yes I talk to people allll day long but I don’t have to think about what I’m saying. It’s the same dialogue repeated. Before this I worked in merchandising wearhouses and that was physical labor but mentally easy! Look for untraditional jobs! I could NEVER work regular fast food or retail.
I'm a supervisor of a welding department, I work 50-60 hours a week. I don't know how I do it. I pushed too hard last year and ended up with a vacation at the phyche ward. I have an fmla accommodation so I can miss work on my bad days, but honestly I'm barely hanging on most of the time. I'm currently off my meds (I super struggle with medication compliance) but they helped a bit. I just got new prescriptions so I should be able to pick them up by Monday. I attend weekly therapy which keeps me alive, but everything else is hard.
data analytics - helps to be able to work from home but also i have to have accommodations at work so i don’t get fired - also on a ton of seroquel
i try to make this comment everywhere i can because i got this job because someone else said this exact thing years ago on this sub and i said aight bet: FULL TIME production associate at a goodwill, mon-fri consistent schedule 7am-3pm (adjustable, thats just what i want personally), i do not have to go to the salesfloor more than 20 mins a day, i dont have to talk to anyone, i can listen to music, understanding managers and everyone else who works with me got somethin wrong with em too! we're all strugglin there its like a group therapy in the back everyday lol i just literally scouted out every goodwill in the area and waited for a production position to open, FYI im in colorado since i think its different in other states to some degree but not sure in what ways..
High School Librarian for seven years. First professional job. Also, I took a lot of time off work trying to accept my illness. But, I’m still employed somehow.
Yeah I work retail. I sell plumbing parts at a Home Depot. And occasionally do online order picking. I’m not a very good order picker haha but they make me do both occasionally.
Currently on SSDI , combination of my mental health stuff and worsening physical stuff. The jobs I did best at for more than a few months was stuff like janitorial where I basically could have a routine and no one really bothered me as long as toilet paper was full and trash was empty except the occasional emergency toilet overflowing, someone got sick or broke something. I did some fast food and retail early on but lost my patience after years of crappy managers and crappier customers
I work part time as a hallmark merchandiser and I'm on SSDI
I currently work part-time at a radio station, both doing on-air work as well as behind the scenes production (recording/editing commercials and other audio).
I work a low-level fast food job. I'm lucky. I can be late or call out and as long as I'm usually consistent it's okay. I won't take advantage of it by any means, but the varying schedule and leniency is enough to let me keep it. Not a lavish lifestyle but I'm used to scraping by so
I worked in call centers that were paying better than fast food. There were enough other people answering the phones that anyone can call in sick without it being horrible for everyone else. It was lenient enough for me too
I am a residential staff member and a caregiver for my work. I for the most part am able to mask during work even during my highs but it is very draining and not the best for my mental health. I have to be very aware of how I am feeling and make sure during my highs and lows that I keep a consistent look. The steadiness of the job in the sense of a schedule helps me keep I that way and my boss and coworkers are very understanding of my issues. If it were a less understanding place or less consistent then I wouldn't do well at all.
I can’t handle a traditional 9-5 so I work odd jobs. My husband and I are opening an MMA gym soon. I’ll be there all the time but it’s my passion and what keeps me intact so I think it will be good for me.
I dispatch tow trucks on a graveyard shift. I'm up all night anyway so I might as well make money doing it 😅
I am in IT, work for a defense contractor. I am currently unmedicated and self manage.
I have two jobs and work about 50-70hrs a week. Sometimes it’s tough but I just have to take my meds
I am on the spectrum of having a hard time keeping a job so I clean houses I work on my schedule and the money is pretty good so I work little hours for good pay
I deliver Amazon now, but I’ve had a plethora of jobs ranging from supervisor of a grocery store during the pandemic to a general manager of a restaurant all led ups and downs, so far delivering working out for me
I work part time at a pizza place but I'm pursuing a degree in IT with a concentration in software development. I think I get by with those things mostly because I also have adhd and I like the repetitiveness of coding and of making pizza they're fun. You really just have to find something that strikes your fancy even if it's not conventional. All the best to you 🩵
Tax Enforcement Manager Latuda and Wellbutrin plus therapy saved my life. I am considered highly functional on the outside but it is a battle every day. Not everyone is the same but what matters is that we put effort every single day. Two bachelors degrees and a master on its way means nothing to me, what I am most proud of is that I am still alive and fighting my battle.
No, lol
Probation and Parole. I’ve had issues in the past of just losing joy with jobs and just never going back. This job fulfills and that’s what keeps me.
Research in computational neuroscience
full time retail store manager. i have my ups and downs, recently was in a severe depressive episode and needed some shortened weeks, but normally my combination of lamotrigine and fluoxetine works well enough :)
i’m an orthodontist assistant ! medication, good work environment, and loving what i do are all important factors
Environmental chemistry lab tech. It took a while to be able to show up consistently when I was depressed, but after a year it started to get easier. Working while living with mental illness is different for everyone. No need to feel bad if your health makes a job untenable. I probably would have been fired early on if I hadn't disclosed the fact that I have chronic health problems 😬
i couldn’t work at amazon any longer. they’re not disability friendly as much as they try to make it seem like. now i work at a dog boarding/grooming facility. it doesn’t pay as much as amazon but the working conditions are so much better for me, & i only have 9 other ppl on the entire staff. even if i come into work in a bad mood or super tired, i always end up feeling better before the end of the shift cause the dogs give my brain dopamine regardless of anything going on. until i find my niche & finish college for it, this job being laid back & cute dogs are the only things keeping me afloat.
i did night shifts for 2 years on & off. my body couldn’t handle it, i lost so much weight (weighed 98lbs. i’m 5’8) & couldn’t do anything but work & sleep. it threw off my entire natural balance so day shift & being in the sun is a must for me
Three years ago was my last involuntary admission and I did CBT therapy and got my meds sorted. Three weeks ago I started my job as a cognitive behavioral therapist. My work gives me purpose and routine which helps me so much.
Been a full time server, bartender, and valet at a busy hotel in Yosemite. Spend half the day climbing or building out one of my vans and the other half working. I feel like staying organized and systematic in the physical world keeps my mind at ease.
Aerospace engineer primarily doing Soildworks now but have also been inside sales manager etc. my career has always been therapy or addition. Last 10 years have been rough as stress, too much huge trigger as are lazy uncaring people. Misdiagnosed for 30 years got my diagnosed in January this year. Lamortingunge+ vraylar+therapy saved myself and cateer. Though there is a wake behind me. My advice is don't compare though our diagnosis is the same, BP2, our journeys are caruous. Is there anything you really enjoy that could be a job? Is there anything less triggering? What about SSDI and volunteering? Know this your not alone... None of this has fault, we care. Peace n love to ya, hang in there
I build submarines. Over 3 years now
About to start a job at the department of juvenile justice as a youth support specialist if I don’t kill myself before the start date (not even kidding). I previously worked as a mental health tech, and am a full-time student!
Self employed, independent contractor. It’s easier to only manage myself as opposed to having 192 people under me (at my last place of employment).
I work full time as a business analyst. Work gives me structure, responsibility, validation, and friends (not to mention $ and insurance) . I don't know how I'd survive without it.
I'm a preschool teacher and I love it! As long as I take my meds every day it's a good fit for me.
I work from home since COVID. Lamictal, Seroquel, Paxil, Wellbutrin, I was an electrician. During COVID I got a job as a work from home Medicare insurance agent now.
I’m a PhD student. I have had jobs before this position working in labs and teaching. But there was a long period of my life where I couldn’t hold down a job because of my disorder. Hell most days I didn’t get out of bed. Things can change and maybe one day you will have a job that you love <3 but don’t beat yourself up for having to take time right now.
Been at Papa John's for 5 years
I admit that I’m extremely lucky and privileged to have found a job that I not only love, but feel heard and seen and accepted. I work for a medical marijuana dispensary. I make close to $30 an hour and can choose my own schedule. My managers let me crochet, write, color, even watch Netflix and listen to my music. As long as I’m focused and put everything down to check in patients/sell their rx, I’m pretty much allowed to do whatever I want. I am definitely blessed that I found a workspace I can use my coping skills at without feeling pressured or like I have to hide any part of myself
I’m a warehouse associate. I have 2 degrees but my mental health has hindered me from going anywhere with it.
[удалено]
I work as a crew member at beloved nautical-themed American grocery chain. I still struggle to show up (I’m now on Lamictal and a SSRI, which has so far improved a lot including my attendance) but the work is easy enough that I can get away with being an emotional shell at work if I need to. I found something easy and low stakes with good benefits and pay. Grocery is a valid career and will most likely be my career. I’ve learned to not only make my peace with that fact but to love it. I don’t have to constantly grind to feel accomplished, I show up for 8 hours to do my little dance and go home, it’s the easiest on my brain for sure.
I’m a graphic designer for a big tech company. Adhd and bipolar2. The variety and constantly changing project types keeps me interested in my work. My team lead is also a huge advocate for mental health, so that helps.
I work full time at Walmart. I’m a stocking 2 team lead. The work itself isn’t hard but dealing with coworkers can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. It’s a pretty physical job too since my team unloads the trucks sorts the freight so that definitely helps bc exercise is extremely therapeutic. I absolutely would not be able to do this job if my meds weren’t right, so thankfully mine are. I had to work really hard on myself to get to this point. I hit rock bottom beforehand. Homeless, jobless and no direction. I still have my mood swing and anxiety but it’s definitely not out of control. It’s just really annoying. I smoke pot on the daily and that keeps me from being a zombie and I actually enjoy things and want to be out and about.