Welcome! I have found this group very supportive. I’m here frequently if you need to talk. I can listen fairly well. Best of luck as you return to work. Move slowly with the transition. Take your time off to regain perspective and make a plan for dealing with issues that may arise.

Great! Thanks for the quick reply

I'm not sure what you mean by "thought vortex" it may be similar to what I refer to as my brain on the Hamster Wheel, spinning at a 100 mph and never stopping...

I'm old school, I don't do BPI and BPII...I'm BiPolar have been for 29 years. Reading oneself into mania is a bit of an oxymoron for me, but so be it. We tend to be a pretty supportive normal BiPolar group. What do you do for work and how long where you off from work?

I've always had a Professional career since I graduated from University, so know about work, I don't do "not working" if my brain has downtime, that's a bad thing and well, part of a good treatment plan is marginalizing the bad things. I'm semi-retired and only work part-time and use the rest of my time Volunteering and gardening, so I stay busy.

Take care and hope you have a good weekend.

Kat

I have BP2 and always worked until my retirement. If you were diagnosed in January it takes a while to sort out the meds and also for you to come psychologically and philosphically into equilibrium with your diagnosis.

I'm newly diagnosed as bipolar 1, and rather new around here myself. I think it's pretty great. Welcome!

Welcome to the board..... I think a lot of us have had the same initial diagnosis that you had including me

DS is a great place to hang out..... I'm glad that you've found us..... Big hug.....xo

Thanks to all of you. Thought vortex is just another way of saying obsessive thinking. I have some OCD as well - thinking/ruminations and dermatillomania.

As BP1 and BP2 are concerned, it seems to be a spectrum and it's hard to pinpoint exactly I am. I'm pretty positive I was mixed state and/or rapid cycling for at least one full year, possibly longer. But hypomania can be traced back many years and seems to be where my normal cycle hangs out.

It's hard to stay busy when I'm not at work but it's getting better. Unstructured downtime has proven to be problematic for me as well. I have a lot of hobbies so I try to fill my time with those and misc tasks neglected in the least two years while sick. I have been out on short-term disability since the beginning of the year. My career is in International Relations so once I get back to work, it's going to be a major adjustment to learn how to balance recovery with a very demanding (and nonemotional) field.

Welcome to the board fishgold!! I'm newly diagnosed bipolar and relatively new to the board as well. I've gotten tons of support in recent situations from this place, so I can imagine it will do the same for you. It's a great place to get and give support! And I have also found that in giving support, I sometimes felt better too.

Take advantage of what the board has to offer, and make yourself at home here! I'm glad you are here. :) Sending lots of love and positive energy your way! <3

Jess

Fishgold - yeah you're jumping back into a busy field. Is there the possibility that you can go in part time and work up to full time, so you can adjust a little over a couple of weeks and learn how to handle the daily stress and what you need to do to work through it.

Learning coping skills and which ones work for you is one of the most important things you can do if you have a career and a busy stressful one. Because as "wrong" as some might think it sounds, it's not the employers job to bend and work around our BiPolar Disorder, its our job to learn how to manage the BiPolar Disorder so we can work our career. OCD is not unusual for us, it actually helps me with my 2nd career, I'm currently an Accountant and Manager of an International Antique and Vintage Goods wholesale company. Order and organization allows me to keep my employees in check, when I've got some in the office, some traipsing around Europe on buying trips and some at Tradeshows all over the East Coast, keep the office running and keep my Books and office running. It is very well known in my Company that nobody comes in my office and touches anything, it can get you fired. lol But its not always so serious, when my son comes over he loves to walk through my house moving my books and candles and things on shelves slightly, an 1" here and there. Its a little game we play, because as soon as I walk through a room I know something is off and we try to see who wins, can I find everything he moved.....or does he win. lol He never wins!

Meds and Therapy are important. But for those of us that work and have to work coping skills are a necessity, different types of Therapy can be helpful, CBT, DBT, Redirection and Relaxation Exercises. There are many things you can learn to help yourself so work doesn't get way to stressful.

Kat

HI, nice to meet you. This Group is Very Supportive I find. I have BP 2 as well. So if you need any advice, don't hesitate to call on me too.

Wow. This is awesome. I already feel more supported than ever. Cried a little. Thank you ALL. I may reach out to some of you for advice.

OlderCPer ( or Kat? ) - We are very similar. Group and art therapy at the hospital helped me to recognize the positive aspects of OCD - organization, routines, attention-to-detail, design clarity. I managed the private office of an elderly foreign policy VIP alone, but within a think tank. Brought it from the stone age to the digital age. Meticulously and with pleasure. Organization is veryyy satisfying. Feels like a brain massage.
I hoping to ask my therapist for advice about the part time idea. I agree, part-time seems like a smart idea in the beginning. We are only just figuring out the details and I should have more info next week. However, I want to know what accomodations I should ask for upfront. Part-time was one idea I had. The other is, a few work from home days (my company does not normally allow this)? Is that something reasonable to request if the doctor says it?

I may start a separate post for returning to work advice.

I'll message you.