I’m really stuck in a rut for a lot of reasons but I’m especially trapped by the idea of my career goals conflicting with my bipolar disorder. I’m trying to get my career started now that I graduated from a university and just can’t find anything that feels possible or right to me that’ll bring me closer to my goals or even beginning my career. I feel like a doomer right now and it’s only making things worse, it’s a vicious cycle for me.

Is being successful in a career possible with bipolar so intense that it can be disabling? I can work really hard, push myself, learn, improve, and get so much done in my manic episodes but then the crash is so intense I’m nonfunctional and everything goes out the window, I can’t even bring myself to do the most basic of tasks like getting out of bed or basic hygiene. How is it possible to make it work? Communicating with an employer about disability that isn’t “always” disabling, and getting proper accommodation?