Archive for the ‘Work’ Category
Friday, April 10th, 2009
Working without the internet… not acutally working for Starbucks! 
I’ve found that going to Starbucks where there is no wireless is immensely helpful work wise- especially on the days when I’m depressed and unfocused. It’s amazing how the internet can keep a person from getting work done! I do my email and then send them from home. This helps a lot. It also keeps me from compulsively checking to see if someone has written. Nothing is so important that I have to check my email every few minutes! When I was on Facebook, it was awful. People write constantly and before you know it, you’re over there looking for friends. I won’t have a personal Facebook any time soon- and even if I did- I couldn’t check it at Starbucks!
Julie
Tags: , bipolar blog, Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, bipolarhappens.com, can I work if I have bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie a fast geezer guide to making money selling ebook, julie fast, julie fast blog, juliefast.com, manic depression work, Work, work issues bipolar, work problems bipolar disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Work | No Comments »
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
Bipolar Disorder and Tough Situations
I believe that how I deal with problems when I’m well determines how well I will deal with problems when I’m sick. I’ve had a stable mood for four days in a row now. I love it! I’m also thankful as work has been very stressful. There was a problem on amazon.com for my book Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder and I’ve had to wait a few days to get it resolved. This took patience and a lot of my coping skills. My books are my career- so it’s like having a bad day on the job when amazon.com has trouble!
I work up early in order to work early and there were the negative and worried thoughts. I stayed in bed a while and listened to them- and then I said to myself- use the tips in Get it Done When You’re Depressed. Get out of BED and get GOING. That is what I’m doing. The same worry is there, but I know how to lessen that worry.
I am going to do something to make my current work situation better so that I can be proud of myself when I go to bed.
Julie
PS: Taking action always makes you feel better. It beats worry and stress.
Tags: bipolar blog, Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, bipolarhappens.com, can I work if I have bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast, julie fast blog, juliefast.com, manic depression work, Work, work issues bipolar, work problems bipolar disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Get It Done When You're Depressed, Work | 3 Comments »
Monday, March 16th, 2009
Well, have you ever done a project that you just love and are so proud of? That is how I feel about Get it Done When You’re Depressed . This is a big thing for me as I was not able to feel much pleasure in my work for over five years. I spent a lot of time just dealing with the mood swings and complaining that I could do so much more if I didn’t have this darn illness!
Anyway, I use the tips in this book daily. On many days they are intuitive as I have used them so much- but when I’m ill, I have to remind myself to use them as everything seems so hopeless and pointless.
I used one today that really worked:
Put Yourself in a Place You Can Work
I have a constant struggle with just sitting down and writing. Today I met my friend Sherri, who is doing a lot better if you have been reading about her on this blog! and then set up a time to meet another friend a few hours later. It was a two hour window which is exactly how much time I needed to work on my new article. So I sat here. I wanted to get up about fifty times, but it made no sense as I was meeting a friend just down the street.
This also works if you have someone drop you off and pick you up at a specific time.
I always look for places that don’t have the internet as it’s way too much of a distraction. This is why I get very tired of Starbucks’ decaf coffee!
How is your work going these days? I have finally accepted that my ideal work week is 20 hours if I want to stay stable, so I have to put myself in a place I can work every day! What works for you?
Julie
Tags: , bipolar blog, Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, bipolarhappens.com, can I work if I have bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie a fast geezer guide to making money selling ebook, julie fast, julie fast blog, juliefast.com, manic depression work, Work, work issues bipolar, work problems bipolar disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Get It Done When You're Depressed, Work | 2 Comments »
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
I have friend who ask me, “What does it mean when you say you’re sick?”
Here’s an example of what I mean: I took on a great job writing an article for healthlyplace.com where I wrote the main mood disorder articles for the site around two years ago.
It is a very realistic assigment for me and is well compensated. I have all of the skills to do it and a great reference in my coauthor Dr. John Preston. I also have plenty of time to write the article. And yet, I started to get ill the day I started the project.
How do I know this is illness? Here is what happened.
1. Overwhelmed and consumed with jealousy when I saw strangers at a coffee shop who looked cooler and happier than I am.
2. I feel like my life is missing something that others have and that I want and need more to life. My brain tells me that I live a small life and spend too much time alone.
3. I wake up too early and have trouble getting back to sleep.
4. If I go out at night to someplace stimulating, I will hear conversations and music in my head all night and the next day.
I get waves of anxiety.
Bla. I could go on here!
And how do I know it’s the pressure of the article? I haven’t gone through this in a while and it started the day of the job. It’s so frustrating. But the article got done- the final draft goes in tonight. Unfair, ridiculous, awful and UNFAIR! But as my editor at BP Magazine told me, “Get over it Julie and just keep writing.”
And that is what I did. I bet the symptoms calm down tomorrow.
Nothing will ever stop me from getting my work done- The timing may change, but the project will always get done!
Julie
Tags: , bipolar disorder work, dr. john preston, healthyplace.com, Work
Posted in Work | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 9th, 2009
I flounder without a very rigid schedule. If I have too much free time, the thoughts take over and life can get pretty miserable. When I’m well, I don’t have to worry about this, but as I deal with depression pretty regularly, I realize that being scheduled is a lot better than the ‘let’s see what happens’ mentality.
Those on disability or those who can’t work much still need set schedules in order to stay happy and stable. My dear friend Sherri and I talk about this all of the time. Since her manic episode in 2007, she has not been able to work like she used to- and yet she still needs to work intellectually! It’s a rotten situation to be in. So we talk a lot about her schedule and what she can do on the days she doesn’t work. You can only meet so many friends and go to so many coffee shops. She already has a masters’ degree and unless she takes PhD courses, university classes are often not challenging enough.
Her current dose of Zyprexa also causes cognitive problems and physical slowness- when you’re super smart as Sherri is- it’s frustrating because you can see what the illness does to you- She will go down on the Zyprexa in a few weeks- it was raised when she tried a night job. She now knows she can’t work late at night. Last week, we sat down and created a list of what she can do on the three days she doesn’t work. It was a good list and she can now create a schedule around the list! This is how I have to do it as I work on my own.
Wow, those of us with bipolar disorder are amazing people considering what we have to go through. Sherri is my hero. I know I say that a lot. She has Bipolar I which is hard to deal with.
Julie
PS: Sherri is going to answer questions on this blog- so feel free to write and ask her some good ones!
Tags: bipolar blog, Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, bipolarhappens.com, can I work if I have bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast, julie fast blog, juliefast.com, manic depression work, Work, work issues bipolar, work problems bipolar disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Work | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Too Many Mood Swings to Count in Just 24 Hours!
I turned in a large, important and wonderful project on Sunday night. It’s now Tuesday. The project is a proposal for my new book. This is a big undertaking, so I know I have to be extra careful about my health.
I was careful! Early to bed early to rise! No late nights- decided to put a hold on a daily phone call I often have with a very stressed and negative friend, etc. I am really working hard to stay stable.
This certainly helped me finish the proposal. I was so elated to have it done! Real pleasure.
Then I went up.. .and down.. and up.. then WAY down and finally back up. That was just on Sunday!
The same thing happened all day yesterday. Finally, but 11 that night, I was worn out, but up again. I took an Ativan and then another half. That is about my limit unless I want to be really tired the next day. But at 2AM, I realized I was not going to sleep at all, so I took another half. My body doesn’t like that. I got to sleep, but am very tired today- even after a nap! It’s a drug thing!
Sometimes the facts of bipolar are much stronger than my wish for what will happen. Getting the proposal in was such an accomplishment- but my brain only saw it with stress and say congratulations with rapid cycling?
Have you ever had more than five mood swings a day! What do you do?
Julie
Tags: Bipolar, bipolar affective disorder, bipolar depression, Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Help, bipolar illness, bipolar mania, bipolar questoins, Bipolar Treatment Tips, bipolar triggers, bipolarhappens.com, bp magazine, DBSA, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast, juliefast.com, loving someone with bipolar disorder, manic depression, manic episode, NAMI/DBSA, Rapid Cycling, rapid cycling depression, rapid cycling mania, rapid cycling manic depressaion, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, what is rapid cycling? rapid cycling bipolar, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Rapid Cycling, Work | 2 Comments »
Reader Comment: Work, bipolar and struggling
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009This is a great comment about work, so I have to put it here. It’s inspirational to see that we all go through similar things- that’s because it’s an illness!
Hi Julie,
I can relate about work. I am a writer in a high-pressure full-time journalism job. I live with bpII with features of ADD and OCD. (Meds are Depakote and Strattera, with the possibility to soon add an anti-depressant, probably Prozac.) What I struggle with most along intellectual/spiritual lines is the fact that I seem to present myself many times as a person with dual and opposing facets. I am an intense, driven and proven successful person in my field with the penchant to pore over projects, revise, and not let go of them until deadline time is upon me, in a quest for full accuracy and near-perfection. Some would see me as “having it all together.” However, I’m also the person who has a hard time finishing those projects and who procrastinates to the Nth degree, even on exciting, desired projects. Some would see me as one who “can’t get it together.” It depends on when they are observing or interacting with me.
I really struggle with the duality of this illness. Spiritually, I struggle with the (false, in my faith walk) belief that I am “too broken” for God. I often feel my well self is “good” while my ill self is “bad.” This stems, I think, from me judging myself not on who I am or Whose I am (God’s), but instead on what I _do_ at any given moment. I don’t believe in my head that I am “too broken,” but my heart struggles with it every day.
Hi,
Thanks for this wonderful comment. Yes, we can struggle every day- that is for sure. But what matters is that we keep doing all we can to lessen the struggle until it’s only a few days a week, then a few weeks a month and possibly even just a few months a year! I am on the few days a week phase, but I always hope !:)
My book Get it Done When You’re Depressed helps a lot with work related procrastination and ADHD.
I’m very glad you can work! julie
Tags: bipolar blog, Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, bipolarhappens.com, can I work if I have bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast, julie fast blog, juliefast.com, manic depression work, Work, work issues bipolar, work problems bipolar disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Work, reader comments | No Comments »