Hey that is what the Family Leave act is for =)

It is not healthy for me to work but I am stuck needing the money. I have a super high stress job that involves dealing with prisoners everyday. It is very dangerous. Causes anxiety and stress to go up, exactly what is bad for a bi-polar!
I can't handle going to work but somehow do it anyway. For how long, I dunno? I do not qualify for ssdi because I pay into a private pension fund and not soc. sec. so I am really stuck.
Stuck and sick of it!

They will understand. I myself have had to do it a few times.

Absolutely not! You aren't wrong! You have every right to do what you have to, to take care of yourself. If you think you need a break, take it! I learned the hard way by not taking a break and suffered bigtime from it. Check into the Family Medical Leave Act, it protects your job while you take time off. Good luck with everything, hope you feel better soon.

yea i know im heading down the dark road. its pumping in my veins and i fear if i let it wander around the red rivers , it will put me back into the hospital and ive worked way to hard to let that happen. if i have learned anything from therapy , its putting a face to these feelings and knowing where they are heading. im going to stop them before they stop me.

I took a great amount of leave in this situation - I had to. I was in a high pressure career and was highly successful but ended up sitting at my computer in a daze, practically dribbling out the side of my mouth like Homer Simpson on a bad day. Your instinct is telling you you need a break. It's best yoiu take a break rahther than wigging out at work and then events will take on a life of their own. So it is a proactive step, not a retrograde step.

The other thing you can do during the time off is to review your life, your work and see whether the job is going to be viable in the longer term. Be brutally honest with yourself. You will have more headspace to explore these things if you are on a break. Don't get me wrong, I know how stressful this scenario is. I ended up losing my job when I had a house mortgage on my own, so I have been through the whole scenario and more.

thanks for the input wendy , i did look at this job as a career and decided that I was going to go back to school for my art at the advice of an art therapist during my last hospital stay so im 2 semesters in , and this week is spring break so my brain can hopefully relax , i will see the doctor and try to get back on a schedule and i WILL NOT need to go to the hospital. for once in my life , I feel determined.

You didn't mention that you were in school as well as working til the last reply. I was with everyone else til I saw that you were juggling both work and school. I think you have to choose one or the other for now and you must need money to live so maybe you need to take a break from school for a little while. Sorry but I really think that maybe taking on both a new job and school at the same time was too much,I think it would be too much for anyone even people without bipolar disorder. You also mention that this was a job you considered to be a permanent career and in that the job takes priority. Careful family leave act or not,your employer can find a way around it if they want to so figure this decision to be a permanent move before you make it

no , i paid for my education so i am sticking to it. this job can suck it. i fuckin hate it. and if i could id shoot every fucker that walked in the door. and throw every telephone in the toilet.

I guess you really didn't want or need any advice,if you hate your job then quit but don't blame it on the bipolar because this is exactly what causes stigma for other folks with bipolar disorder that are trying to find employment.

I agree with nobody. I had to use the Family Medical Leave Act many times before. I've also recently gotten a letter from my pdoc for a leave from school. Take care!!!

I dont think you are wrong.....I admire you for trying to evaluate your stress and how best to handle it before it gets too out of hand. If you can take a break to get some relief, then I think it would be a good idea given your attitude about your job right now. Maybe evaluate whether or not going back is the best move for you. If the job causes you this much stress, a break wont solve the problems.

Can you re-evaluate your job responsibilities or change your hours? If you cannot find a way to reduce the stress, it will continue to trigger you. xo

Agreed. You see you need a break and you should go with that. It's best to step back to calm down rather than wait until it is too late.

One thing I would suggest if you do decide to take a break. They don't need to know the specific reason that you are taking such a break. If you need a doctor's excuse, get the doc to write a letter saying that you are unable to work for 12 weeks or whatever. They also don't need to specify why.

I also agree with Sufferjet: your feelings may not have anything to do with BP . . . or they could have everything. Regardless I would protect my career by not divulging the fact that you are bipolar. It's none of their business and disclosure can only have negative consequences.

Oh, and you can choose a better avatar than that. LOL

you have more strength than i do. in the past i've been really impulsive and usually just quit out of the stress. or they'll knock my hours down until i quit.

i hate telling any employer that i am bipolar or this or that..i just want to work like everyone else. so i'd rather quit than ask for time off. at least nobody would ask me why i left when i came back. certain places gossip so much like that.