Working and Having Bipolar Disorder

I met with my bipolar support group today. We take a few minutes at the beginning of each meeting to update where we're at, and if there is anything we need help with from the group. I'm still having some apprehension about going off of Depakote, but that's nothing new. There was one gentlemen who had a manic episode several years ago and hasn't worked since then. He's been applying for jobs with no luck, but finally has a possible interview. He wanted to know how he can approach the topic of his not having worked for the past several years with the employer.

Legally, you don't have to disclose that you have a mental disorder to a perspective employer, nor are they allowed to ask. But it's a tricky topic if you want to be honest about why you were out of work for so long. This man is older, so he thought that saying he had retired and now wanted to get back to work would be plausible. It wasn't far from the truth and we agreed that with this economy, some retirees find it necessary to return to the work place.

But this got me thinking about working and taking antipsychotic medicines. I'm stressing about going off of my meds, and I don't work. I am blessed to be supported financially by my husband. But what do people who have full-time jobs do when they have to switch meds or go off of their antipsychotic prescription drugs? How do they handle having withdrawal symptoms or protracted withdrawals, and still function at the office or wherever they work? It must be very challenging, and my heart goes out to anyone who has tried to change/eliminate meds and work.

I met a woman who worked at a doctor's office who was on Wellbutrin. She tried to come off and had to go back on because she became mentally unstable. I told her it probably wasn't her depressive symptoms coming back, but withdrawal symptoms. They often mimic one another, and sometimes it can be hard to tell which is which. But she had come down pretty quickly on her taper, and had no supplements to help with her symptoms. Since she had to work, she felt she had no choice but to go back on the Wellbutrin, and deal with the side effect of feeling exhausted all of the time.

Getting a job in this day and age can be arduous, but obtaining a job with bipolar disorder makes the task that much harder. I wish the man in my support group all the best, and send the same good thoughts to anyone else out there looking for work and living with a neurological illness.