3 things that I have learned after close to 3 years holding a full-time job, living with bipolar disorder

First thing, if you are someone with a mental health diagnosis and reading this, know that I am 100% certain you are capable of holding a job. It’s more possible than you think, EVEN if you have history of not being able to hold a job before. Why do I know this? Because I absolutely did not believe in myself when I got the job that I have now. I believed I would last a week at the job that I have held for almost 3 years. I believed I would fail. I believed because I had bipolar disorder that it was enough reason for me to fail over and over again. I hadn’t heard of anyone who had successfully held a job with a mental illness so why would I right?

Now, almost 3 years later, I can’t believe I am writing this article to tell people that it is possible to hold a job if you have bipolar disorder or any other mental illness. Of course there were days where I wanted to give up and go back to my comfort zone which was hanging out in my bedroom and write all day, but that doesn’t make money (lol).

There were days where anxiety, depression, and mania all wanted me to pack up my bags and quit, but I pulled through. Why? Because I knew anything worth it was not going to be easy and that I didn’t have anything left to lose. It was at my first yearly review that I realized, WAIT you’re doing the right thing huh? I couldn’t believe that I got a good review and that I was told to keep doing me.

Here are 3 things (out of many) that I’ve learned about holding a full-time job with a mental illness:

1. Be your own best friend. If you need a break, take one and if you feel like you want to give up, be that friend that kindly tells you to suck it up and go for your dreams!
2. Accept things might be harder for you emotionally some days, and also know there are things you can do on tough days to make those tough days a bit easier. Have plan B, C, and D in place if you need some respite during a hard mood day!
3. Challenge your self-talk on a regular basis! Know our negative thoughts should never get the best of us, and they are rarely true.

My position that I have at the moment is also a leadership position. I landed a leadership position as my first job and that still blows my mind. It is possible to do it though! Being your authentic self, knowing what you deserve, and controlling your inner self dialogue so it is your cheerleader instead of a debbie downer is crucial.

You may not believe it, but having a mental illness prepares you for being a leader. How? It allows you to see things differently, you become more empathetic, you are able to listen to both sides of a story, and know what you want from people. People with mental illness are powerful self-reflective individuals and that is essential for being a leader. A lot of people think of people with mental illness and depression as being “loners” but that isn’t true. You want to look at the brains, the hearts, and the actions that people with mental illness have it’s so impressive. These creative hearts and minds can take the world by storm, if we just let them.

I’ve been able to hold a job because of medication, therapy, family/friends, and the inner work that I’ve done independently from my support system. I’ve had to include certain things in my daily schedule to manage my mood before and after work. I’m not going to say it is easy to hold a job, but it is more than possible to do so with bipolar disorder.

When you have something like mental health that you are passionate about, like me, you always have part of your brain saying, “go for it”. That’s what I experienced and I knew I had to go for the job and whatever challenges it presented to me. It has been a dream to work in the mental health field.

If you ask yourself, what is your dream, know there are action steps you can take to achieve that dream even if things in the past have told yourself it isn’t possible. If you’ve needed a job, or want a job, I say, go for it!

One thing that psychiatrists and therapists never talk about is getting back into life after recovery and doing those “simple” things like getting back into the workforce. Holding a job for 3 years came with challenges, like dealing with health insurance (something I never had done before), developing a schedule around my work schedule, and dealing with stress/depression as I worked full-time. There are days where you don’t want to show up at work, but know you need to.

I’ve learned a lot during these 3 years, and I know it’s just the beginning of being in a career.