A person with bipolar recently commented on my post about bipolar in the workplace seeking help.

Many people with mental illnesses hesitate to disclose to an employer, afraid of stigma and discrimination. Unfortunately, anxiety about hiding health problems can aggravate mood disorders. When an employee is in need of support and accommodation, feeling unable to ask for help and pressure to be perfect may increase sensations of isolation, shame, fear, and hopelessness. This affects functioning, affecting job performance, and can lead to the dismissal feared.

Employer education helps, like the award-winning eLearning program Working It Out: A Manager’s Guide to Mental Health and Accommodation in the Workplace (Canadian but the concepts apply worldwide). With understanding, employees can negotiate accommodations that may range from flex-time to emails to a quieter workspace, depending on the individual, and both parties benefit. Mental Health Works (great site on mental health in the workplace) features one success story, a journalist with bipolar disorder who now works from home.

But there’s a paucity of similar inspiring stories about accommodations, as the commenter pointed out, it seems most people online with bipolar can’t work (not true), or tell personal anecdotes about having to forego sleep and drinking too much coffee (both of which trigger mania).

How do people cope in healthy ways? We’d like to find more success stories, and invite you to share yours. Is your workplace working for you (and vice versa)? What’s effective in practice, both for job performance and your health?

• What do you need to successfully cope at work? What adaptations have you made?
• Has your employer provided all your needs? How did you negotiate?
• What advice would you give about disclosing to an employer and asking for accommodation, based on your personal experiences?

Leave a comment, or reply in this Psych Central Forum thread about people with bipolar disorders at work.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 31 May 2009
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.