What kind of job do you have?

[u/Common-Series8622]

Anyone have bipolar 1, had hospitalisaions for mania, and still have a job or career? Or been able to get through university? Wondering what jobs work well with the needs we have

[u/srdawg_]

i have not been hospitalized, but there have definitely been times i shouldve been… i agree with most of the other people. the blind leading the blind is the way the mental health field goes. if youre interested im helping people to any extent find some sort of mental health job. to make a good livable wage id recommend at least getting your bachelors. you can do other mental health iobs in that meantime and eventually make more once youre done with school.

i went straight to college out of high school at 17 yrs old. and i just graduated college this past may at 21. i wasnt seriously helping myself until my junior year (which is also when i started my mental health job), and then my senior year i finally got my diagnosis and started medication. school really sucked those first two years when i wasn’t medicated and wasnt helping myself. i didnt get good grades at all and i had no motivation. the summer before my junior year i hit a point of “fuck i graduate in two years and dont have any of my shit together” because i was working on my bachelor’s in psych i figured why not get a psych job. i work at a nearby mental hospital in the adolescent unit. unless you are stable, medicated or not, i do not recommend a job like this because there are definitely lots of events that could be majorly triggering. but once you feel stable and know coping skills and maybe are even regulated on meds i promise you can do any work or education or anything else your heart desires. it takes time and it takes holding yourself accountable and others holding you accountable. you need to be honest with yourself and others if you notice youre in an episode and get the help you need during it. on the other end sometimes you dont even notice youre in an episode so its helpful to have people who you can trust that can tell you if it appears youre in one. be careful who you trust with this as some people can be rude about it or accusatory anytime you do something even slightly out of character. ultimately there are so many people who have accomplished amazing things while dealing with such a difficult disorder. and you can be one of those people too!!!