Bipolar Spouses Online Support Group

Well, ladies and gentlemen.. as I am currently a statistic myself.. drawing unemployment.. my bipolar husband lost his job today.

He is sort of down, but not in a deep depression. He did not go off the deep end or get angry or anything. He did MUCH better than I did when I lost my job. I cried so much!!

I am worried about him, though. I will just have to pray that the meds do their job. I am going to watch him carefully this weekend for any signs of thinking about suicide. Before meds he told me if he ever lost his job he'd kill himself. Yeah........

So, now we will both be unemployed. I'm going to keep him busy tomoro running errands with me, doing the yard work (mowing) and signing him up for unemployment.

And yet again, life throws us another curve ball.

I'm so sorry to hear that angel!

What a shock.

I hope he does okay with it, what a blow.

Yeah keep us posted.

Damsel

That's terrible. So sorry for you, Angel.

Thanks Damsel and Married. He's asleep now. It's going on 10pm here so I shouldn't have to worry about him for the rest of the night. Still gonna keep a close watch on him, though.

I'm going to keep him busy tomoro. I'm thinking Monday will be a hard day for him because he won't have to go to work and won't know what to do with himself. That's how I felt when I lost mine and I'm not bp. So, a little worried about that.

So far he's just been a little down and I've been throwing positive thoughts at him. Told him if he's worried about money we'll cash in his 401k and put it in the bank as a safety net. Also, told him he should be able to draw unemployment so that's some steady money coming in.

I know what sort of an impact a job loss can give to your self esteem and pride. I felt horrible when I lost my job. So, I'm going to treat him with kid gloves.

I sat down on the sofa and started rubbing his feet. He said what is making you do that? I said I was trying to get him in the sack. lol He laughed. So, gonna try and keep it light. I think that will help a lot.

The only negative thing he said is "I'm a loser". I asked him if I am one. He said no. I said then you're not one either. But, I know how you feel because I felt the same way when I lost my job. I told him about all the positives like he wasn't making good money for what he does and I'll bet he ends up finding a better job with better pay. If he goes Union.. omg.. the money they make compared to what he did!!! It's a HUGE difference.

It's so hard to loss a job, especially for men. It's such an ego blow. I was listening to a old podcast with Julie Fast today. She was talking about reducing stress by planning a day like a child in school. As in, keep it simple. Knowing what to do and what to expect from each waking hour, especially for his first day not working, might help reduce his stress. Good luck. I know it doesn't help but there are so many people in that position right now, you guys aren't alone. Good luck.

Hey, thanks Mary. That's a very good idea. I have been thinking about doing some spring cleaning around here and the spare room needs cleaning out. I could use Monday as a day for him to help me get all that going. That should keep him busy and will make us both happy. We love the house clean, but it never is with two kids! LOL

One interesting note is that a good friend of mine (since age 5) lost her job about a year and a half ago. Her husband lost his in December. Neither one of them have found a job. So, I told her tonite that we must be twins and I'm trying to do everything she does. lol It does help to know that you're not alone. That's a big reason I get on this website. I don't feel alone anymore.

Gosh I am so sorry... the economy is just so tough right now. I hope one of you is able to find something soon.

Same here, Angel. I hate to see people struggling, especially when things are starting to look up for me.

{{{hugs}}}

Good on you both for handling this so well!

Stolen: glad to see you back!

Angel: sorry to cross-post on this. It sounds like he is holding up okay so far? (Judging by something you said on another thread.) An "almost" meltdown doesn't count, right? We who have been through the actual meltdown know real from virtual.... But good news he is holding on. Hope you are okay, too, my friend.

Hey, thanks! He has had an "almost" meltdown, but pulled out of it. He's been doing fairly well except seeming a little down. I'm a little worried about him today. I slept a lil late (went back to bed after I got my son on the bus) and it's 11:45am here and my husband that's used to getting up at 4am is still asleep. I'm just going to let him sleep, though. Perhaps he had a hard time sleeping last night. I don't know. But, I am worried about him getting deeply depressed.

He did accomplish a couple of things yesterday with me edging him along. We've got him signed up for unemployment and we've got his 401k handled and he applied for one job... or well, I did it for him. It's a rainy, dreary day here, so I think I'll just let him snooze for a bit.