Bipolar Support Group

for years that i have been unable to keep a job. i dont know what to do. i need ins. because mine is about to run out. any suggestions?

What about Medicaid or going to the county health department for care?

Racob, I have just finished a book for clinicans treating Bipolar Disorder where the therapist help people in the same situation as yourself.

I am not too sure if you have a job or not. You say you have not been able to work for years, but yours is about to run out. Ah one day I will read things propery. Your insurance is about to run out.

Scooby always has great advice. I would take notice of you if I were you.

But as I have already typed in the following I will leave it there.

See if you can find a tdoc who will assist you to hum...well I don't really know, but help you see what the "problem" is re your work situation and assist you to "adjust" and adjust to the working scene.

Hope it all works out for you,

JennyWren

My pdoc took me out of work back in 2005. He said my "stress threshold" just couldn't take the responsibility of a job anymore. I was manic as hell at the time but since then have been swallowed by depression and severe anxiety. I actually think I'm worse now than I was then.

My pdoc says after time, the more stress you're exposed to the less able you are to handle it (even in smaller doses). Pretty soon you get to the point where just about everything stresses you out and then you're really messed up.

My vocational rehabilitation counselor and I have talked about my future employment since I'm only 2 classes away from earning my Bachelor's degree in social work. We both agreed that since I have problems with rapid cycling, auditory hallucinations, delusions and paranoia which are all exacerbated by stress, I should start off by working part-time. I really don't know how well I will be able to handle the every day stress of a job, but I'm going to give it a try. I also plan to earn a Master's in psychology and a Ph.D. in psychiatry in the hopes of opening my own practice in order to work with people who have bipolar, schizophrenia, depression and PTSD. If I were to work as a tdoc or pdoc, I'm guessing I'd have an easier time coping since for the most part there is less stress and paperwork involved compared to social work.

I agree with Deb; I have been working, with my Pdoc suggesting I stop. I was let go in January, and I can't even go for interviews. Tdoc and Pdoc support my attempt for SSDI. The stress was getting worse and worse where I had to take klonopin and Lexapro just to get to work. And I would still have Panic attacks. So I think the stress threshold gets thinner. They have a word for that, where you don't even need a trigger to have an episode. Sucks.

I worked my entire life, up until a year ago. At that point, I had suffered two major manic episodes within a year.. I was still working, but as Deb and Jr have said, stayed in a place of constant stress and inability to cope, blowing up and breaking down at every turn. I am still not used to not working. It's hard for me to accept that I cant work, but at the same time, I know that I am not ready to go back.

Scooby's advice about health care is good, I would look into what alternatives are available in your area.

I haven't been able to work for years. Interviews totally freak me out and I can barely get through them. THe interviewers can sense there's something wrong with me so I don't get hired. And everytime I begin to feel like I can work I get unstable and my meds get tweaked again. It's very frustrating. I think I'm going to apply for SSI disability.Being BP is definitely not fair.

taurus,

SSI might be helpful to you.

It sounds like you lack confidence and think you are wearing a shirt and hat that have "mentally ill" written on them. I worry how I come across, too, and I need to do some volunteer work to reassure myself that people don't see me with the same self-criticism as I do!

A couple suggestions: Some schools, junior colleges and/or employment development offices have programs to help with interviewing skills, use a video camera and good coaching. And also it may be helpful to have a friend role play the interviewer and you the interviewee and you can build confidence, feel the fears even, and get the "I can do it" message inside you.

If you do apply for SSI, do it as soon as possible because the date you first apply starts the clock running for you (date your monies begin) but NOT BEFORE before you do your homework, get medical records together, doctors' statements and all that you need to do to be successful and have your application be a slam dunk. Read a book about how to go about it. There is stuff available if you Google it, too.

Social Security folks routinely turn down the first application you make. An attorney who has experience with Social Security might be your next step. They are only allowed to charge a percentage of your lump sum payment and will require no money up front.

If you can possibly do it, working is better in the long run, and even if it's a job beneath your abilities. The more you get taurus out there around people, the better I think you'll feel about yourself.

Give it your best shot; You CAN do it.

Post edited by: scooby, at: 03/07/2009 11:30

Mouse,

When I look at my life, the best times were when I was working as a handyman or carpenter. Going to school and the pressures of being a counselor was totally wrong for my bipolar disorder wiring.

I'm disabled now, receive benefits. If I kick back and allow myself to be supported by the system for the rest of my life, I will enjoy only that level of self-esteem (me liking me) that it affords.

It is totally real to know your limitations and work within them. Working, even volunteering are what I'm looking at now and just part time to begin with. Baby steps seem to get me out of a funk more than yanking myself like in bungee jumping.

Please understand I'm just venting about me, and your situation may be a whole bunch different, usually is.

Post edited by: scooby, at: 03/07/2009 12:05