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To work or not to work

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To work or not to work

Postby voracious_lemon » Thu Aug 18, 2016 9:55 pm

I just got out of inpatient from a mixed episode, and I'm trying to figure out if I want to go back to work or not. Because I'm going to a PHP during the week I'd only be able to work weekends. However, weekends are quite stressful. But then again it can be a fun stressful, and it'd be nice to have an income, ever so small only working 10-15 hours a week, and the gig ends in October so it's not like I can go back in a few months. I feel like I have to go to work; I don't really know why but it's this internal feeling. And it's a good way to be social.

Any advice? Anyone take some time off due to mental illness want to share about getting back to the old grind?
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby Audacisist » Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:51 am

I have to work. I've got bills to pay and I have no one to support me financially. Though I had to take some time off work at the beginning of this week because I was just a little too loopy from hypomania and it could have made me frighten people at work. Now the peak of the episode is over and I'm back to work using the enhanced productivity to my advantage. I slid back into my routine and now I think I can function normally again. If I have to, I take time off from work if it's absolutely necessary but otherwise I suck it up and work even when I'm having symptoms because I need the money.
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby z7z » Fri Aug 19, 2016 5:45 pm

If you have difficulty staying stable, then disability and affordable housing/food is an option. You can still work part time and have your wages supplemented. Don't be ashamed about getting help. If you are able to work full time, then obviously you can go off of it. Finding a low stress job can be difficult. Especially starting a new job and the job search and interview process can be annoying. Don't give up!
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby Imartistic » Fri Aug 19, 2016 8:07 pm

Hey Lemon
I had to quit working in January because of BP; I'd been working 24 hrs/week for 9 years or so. This time I just knew the BP was getting bad enough that I wouldn't be going back. It was work I enjoyed. The transition has been brutal - it's really hard to find purpose in doing things. I know I'll find my way through this, as you will no matter what you decide. Don't know if that helps you decide what to do about your own work. I guess I'd say work as long as you can.
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby okiedoke » Sat Aug 27, 2016 2:13 am

Jobs can be good- routine (sleep nights/work days), getting out of the house, social interaction, money, sense of accomplishment, contribution to society, having something to fill your thoughts other than worries, something to learn/mentally challenge you/get excited about, a feeling that you're working towards something to improve your life... full-time work helped me. Part-time jobs help get you into the rhythm of work and "baby steps" of the above while getting yourself healthy again-- I found part-time jobs helpful so I didn't feel like total crap when I took some "time off for myself." When I don't work, I end up staying up all night and sleeping all day and not accomplishing anything.

Could you afford to live with no income? Do you get welfare so you don't have to work at all-- and it's a matter of mental health and not money? Do you live free with friends/family/whatever and could afford to not work indefinitely? Do you think your days would be useful long-term with zero job and you could still accomplish something (mental health, hobbies, charity, whatever)?

When I haven't had a job and chose to temporarily live off the savings from all my full-time/side jobs, I wasted days for months. I had fun but accomplished very little. Eventually I just stayed up all night, slept every day, rarely left the house unless it was for some event, had nothing to show for those months and wasn't in much of a better mental place after 6 months of doing nothing/no work as I wouldn't been with "just" a month off of work.

If you get welfare, sometimes it "pays" not to work unfortunately.. If you get some sort of welfare or community clinic care or income-based benefits, see if working part-time would affect those benefits. Working 10-15 hours a week isn't enough money to live on for many people-- but it could meet some cap on welfare benefits, depending on what it pays. See if working part-time a few months would make you ineligible for any benefits you get/could get.

Normal business hour workdays kind of give a rhythm to life and a lot of people feel valued/meaning/new skills/learning from them, so I like to work as much as I can manage. Sometimes that's more than others. :D The full-time work routine helped me, and not freaking out about money was a plus too. I felt more "normal" working full-time as long as I could. Part-time is nicer-- less work, more free time, more fun, still some worthwhile accomplishments to feel good about myself for.

If money isn't an issue and your life is paid from somewhere (welfare, family, spouse, savings, whatever), you could do volunteering or hobbies to try to get some regular daytime schedule and find some purpose/meaning/learning, instead of doing it through a job. Volunteering would mean flexible hours whenever you feel like it, assuming money is no object.

I wouldn't want to never work at all for years-- I've seen that turn into days of sleeping all day, drinking, video games, drival with people I know. Endless years of accomplishing nothing in my friends cases- they let never having to work make them never do anything. My friend complained about his monthly shower cleaning duties as if it was hiking Mount Everest-- that's all he's done this month other than play video games and waste time online day after day. He's done nothing in all these years to try to get healthy (mental or physical), not volunteered, not had meaningful relationships, rarely leaves the house, no friends/family hardly, no accomplishments, no learning/hobbies/contributions to societies- his days mean sleeping, drinking, legal drugs (in his country), and pointless non-sense for years. He hasn't made productive use of a decade of not working, and he still chooses to drink/do drugs (whichever is legal in his country), and pointless non-sense-- instead of trying to get himself to a stable mental place. But some people take advantage of 24/7 free time with those same welfare benefits he gets if they don't have to ever have a job to get stable, health, hobbies, volunteering, whatever and not throw their time away.

I'd "love" (in theory) not working and getting free housing/everything for life somehow-- welfare, the lottery, whatever, but mentally I don't think that would actually help me. I would never get anything done, my days blend together fast, I'd worry about money, the same mental thoughts would go through my head without work/projects to take my time, and I wouldn't be content or happy about that. Rhythm of normalcy helped me.

You could try the weekend job-- if you can't swing it, you have the option of quitting whenever. I'd suggest that, so long as that part-time weekend job income wouldn't mean you lose some welfare benefit if you receive any. If it means that, I'd say focus on getting stable then get a job you can live off later so you don't nix benefits you can receive before you're able to support yourself.
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby voracious_lemon » Sat Aug 27, 2016 8:01 pm

I called them to ask if I can come back and apparently they fired me. I didn't know because I smashed my phone and apparently they called me and basically said "bye, but don't forget to return your uniform."
Well that makes that decision easy for me.
All I saw was the Devil's soul
And it looked a helluva lot like my own
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby Oliveira » Sun Aug 28, 2016 10:29 am

Oh dear... sorry to hear that! :( Big hugs.
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby paintingmusic » Sun Aug 28, 2016 1:56 pm

Ouch.. really sorry to hear that. :(

If it's any consolation, I managed to go by without being employed since the end of 2001. Disability income isn't a goldmine per se, but living with roommates you trust can lower your monthly bills.. not to mention we all keep an eye on each other.
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby Ennui » Sun Aug 28, 2016 6:48 pm

Really sorry to hear that news, voracious. It must have come as a bit of a shock. Hugs and hope you find something again soon, if and when you're ready to go back to work.
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Re: To work or not to work

Postby timinkc » Wed Mar 01, 2017 2:52 pm

I've been on FMLA and short term disability since the first of the year. I'm going back to work this Friday and am super anxious about it. I'm not sure what I should tell people and I'm not sure what they might ask me.I can't be on short term disability any longer so i have no choice but to go back. I just got out of the hospital and feel like i could really use another couple weeks out-patient, but unfortunately that's not an option. If I had the choice I think I wouldn't work just because I think it causes so much stress that makes my symptoms worse. Real life has a way of making choices for you though.
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