Don't feel alone. I feel unacomplished as well and i'm older with 4 children at home trying to raise them on a low paying job. I feel like a complete failure. I'm going to go back to school one way or another. The more education u get the better u will feel and the more opportunities u will have. Hang in there! It can always be worse!!!

I understand how you feel. I've had depression since 12 but was managed well with medication. At age 25 bipolar set in. Lost my job and have been trying to manage and find the right treatment for my disorder for 4 years. I'm 29 and on disability. This is supposed to be the best years of my life. I want to try and go back to work but still have symptoms and am in the phase of adjusting my medications once again. Do I go back to work? Do I wait? Can I work? The only way to tell is to try..... However that risks me loosing my SSDI. Ugh

Welcome aboard.
Other than my Dr's,acct., Atty., Broker,& a dear support friend. I won't be bother w what other may or may not think of/about my life/me. I like myself. I enjoy the company of others but I also like my own company.
I miss working. the struture that it provides. But I like the life/life style that I created, for myself. With the eco being as it is. How many 1.000's of people r unmployed. As long as I can py my bills & have a little spendable money left over. I wouldn't be concerned about that either. I live in a tourest town. in season, waitress make no less than $100. per dy. I assume that thier are alot of college grads that would love to have job flipping burgers.any job.

LOL. look at it this way, when we're manic/cycleing, we can fit in w bar people w/o drinking.
At coffee cafe's. we fit in w collage grad's ect who r looking for work - any job. & those who employment benifits have ran out.


Please don't take this personally. I will not socalize w people w have mental illness. not in my circle of friends. I am still nice to all people.
I think that anyone who would want to date a person w mental illness is nuts & can take advantage of ill person who under a Dr care.
I will not date/be w anyone that has mental illness. I do not use my family friends, neighbours ect to assit me. I have services that take care of my daily needs & I also have service w in home care service.

Having said that. I will say that I have the greatest man for me.
He seen me @ my worst, & care for me when I had mental slip. He was the one who hired in home care service on my behalf.For 20ty yrs we had seen ea other in passing but never meet ea other. we became friends w/o benifit for 10 yrs. before we started dateing. He use to work in the medical field. I retired as CRCF Adm. & skipper. he doesn't have a mental illness/nor physical illness. I feel head over heels in love w him the 1st time he said hello to me in passing. I could tell that he too was/is a true christan. I am so blessed to have him in my life.
My home had an attached apt. so when I get depressed to point that I retreat to sofa for a wk. or when I have a nutty spell. I go to apt..
oh aprox 12 yrs after we bacame friends. we moved into gether. he has his rm & bth & I have mine. we share common areas.
I guess the point of that is, every body has a spiecial mate. it just that we 1/2 to go thur a few frogs before we find the right one for us.Ya we will come across a frog or frogs that we might think that they are the 1 & only for us. hold out for the real deal.
Please remember 2 halves does not make a whole person. never alter who u are for another. Be & enjoy who you are.

Marjque. Thoughtout my life,I was conditioned to be w a very rich man. I so perfer a rich man. I always choise to socialize w rich. I have a nicer car than my man- who is nice & careing too.
We're not rich, we live comfortable & w/in our means. & we're able to buy what we want. mainly because our propertys are paid for. no loans.
And my medical insurance in ables me to have hired services. w the exception of lawn service.

Please don't be concern w what others may or may not think of you/ your life. Please don't beat yourself up. the un edu ( of illness ) public does that al ready. they do so to feel better about them self.
They either don't reconize that they have issues or haven't delt w thier issues, basically they just haven't been diog,by P- Dr or P- Nurse,yet.

Lot's of X's

Just know you are valuable as you are simply because you are. You don't have to prove yourself or get anyone's approval. I am so over that. I just got over it this year at age 45. I still get a surge of it though here and there - remorse that I am not feeling fully realized up to my potential moreso than I should have done this or that by now. Plenty of people have accomplishments and they are not happy - or good people at heart. Love yourself as you are. It will make things a lot easier.

I feel the same as you do and I am almost 30. I have a boyfriend but I feel I am dragging him down with me right now. My problem is I have no desire to do anything but roll over and die. I want to go back to school but I can barely function as is right now. I am on disability and worried I will be on it for life because I can't control my moods.

I can relate to how u feel. I am newly diagnoised with bipolar and I am 27' I have a degree but no job and live at home. I am slowly moving forward. Hang in there and it will happen for you.

I understand your frustrations Derek I am there with you.Regardless of how hard I try i just feel like im spinning my wheels. I feel im not getting any where. the people around you change the way that it all effects you. I have weeded my friends down to a few old friends and close family members so i can trust they understand my issues and can help me back to my feet when i fall down. Hang in there you will find your place in the work area. I have found regardless how much i make as long as i can support myself and the job makes me happy i have found the right place for me at least at that moment in time. you will find the person who accepts you for all of you regardless good luck

I understand this feeling also, Derek. I can't tell you how spot on we all know how much this feels. To be that guy/gal from school that were probably the smartest people in the whole group, yet, when the going got tough, we didn't have the strength nor the support to keep touching it out. It didn't change our intelligence, mind you, it was just merely the rich kids whose parents paid for their kids to become successful. In the end, it makes me wonder how many of the kids in my hs graduating classes, would actually be where they are today had their parents not have forced them to do it. Whereas we just needed that extra nudge and having never gotten it, some of us are nowhere in life.
I understand man, I understand!

I feel like such a failure to. I cant hold a job when I do work and everyone looks down on me because of that and dont understand why and my illness they dont understand what it means to go through bipolar and depression unless they have gone through it and walked in your shoes. I just feel like I am going nowhere fast it seems. I am 39 and my life is passing me by. I have nothing and nobody in my life and sometimes I feel like it will always be like that. So I know the feeling and being lonely to. It sucks..........

I am sorry you feel this way. You seem like a sweet guy. And sometimes we just have to play the cards we are dealt. I have had my fair share of that.
You may not have all that you wanted by this age but think of all the things you do have instead.

For example, myself turned down a 4 year scholarship to get married 12 years ago. I wonder about it sometimes sure but when I look into my childrens eyes it is all worth it.

Life is what we make it. Having a great personality is a start. Hang in there, you will find where you are suppose to be in life.