Managing Your Bi-polar at Work

Being bi-polar and holding down a job can be a daunting prospect.  Trying to keep focused while handling mood swings can be very disruptive while trying to concentrate.  With the stress at work and the very unpredictability of your job, managing bi-polar disease is not an easy thing to do.   However, here are some solutions and ideas that may help make it a little smoother going for you.

First of all, know your symptoms of depression and mania and how it cycles.  If you can recognize them, then you can manage them better.  Remember to always take your medications as prescribed and on schedule.  If you don’t take your medications and you go into a mania phase, you’re likely to make mistakes and become irritable which would make you a liability at work.  When you’re in a mania phase, you can have very grandiose ideas that sound perfectly plausible to you but are really not a good idea at all.  By setting a timer or putting a reminder on your computer, it can help you remember to take your prescriptions on schedule.  Try to keep regular hours and a more scheduled work routine.  Being structured provides predictability which reduces stimulation and promotes stability.

Be sure to manage your stress levels.  When you feel your stress levels rise or even right before they do, take a break.  If possible, go for a walk to have a change of scenery.  Practice deep breathing or listen to some relaxing music.  Make sure you exercise daily and eat right.  Getting enough sleep is a must too. If you didn’t know, most bi-polar people need between 8-12 hours of sleep a night to function properly.  You can help maintain concentration by reducing distractions in your work area. You could also put a full spectrum light in your work area to help reduce the occurrence of depression outbreaks.  It also helps to stay organized.  Divide large assignments into smaller more manageable sections so you’re not overwhelmed.  Make daily to-do lists and check them off as you do them.  If problems crop up, deal with them then instead of letting them pile up.  How you deal with problems and conflicts can make a big difference on how it affects you and your work performance.

Give some thought to how you work best.  Do you work better alone or with a group?  Do you need to have constant supervision or can you work on your own with minimal supervision?  What part of the day do you work best and are the most functional?  Maybe your supervisor can work with you on flexible hours, working part time from home or even a part-time work schedule?

Even with all this, you may still have an episode of depression or mania.  If you feel it coming on, act quickly, don’t ignore the symptoms.  If you have a bad episode, take time off to recover and ease yourself back into work when you come back.  If you think you’re being treated unfairly at work due to your bi-polar disorder, know that there is help.  The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) protects people from discrimination whether the disability is physical or mental.  Also The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will allow you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during the course of a year.  You can visit the U.S. Department of Labor website.

Each bi-polar person is different and has their own mood cycle pattern that will combine manic episodes with depression.  The disorder can be managed with medication and awareness of your cycles and what to do when they occur. By learning how to manage your disorder, you can find a balance that will work for you.

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