Managing bipolar with irregular and demanding job

Hi all!

So due to my enormous passion of giving back and helping others with mental health challenges, I recently took a job as a community health worker. I work in a residential setting serving residents who are transitioning from the state mental hospital to independent living. My facility is in the middle.

I am extremely passionate and enthusiastic about my work. I absolutely LOVE the job, and I really feel I'm making a difference. I have gotten nothing but good feedback from clients, supervisors, and coworkers about the quality of my work.

As I'm sure you all know, every job is demanding and stressful in its own right. As people with bipolar, we must adjust. This particular job is stressful in that work hours are highly irregular and it demands flexibility in availability. This makes the routine that is so crucial for us very difficult to maintain. I get my solid 8 hours of sleep every day, but it's really more like squeezing it in where I can rather than having a set bedtime. I suspect this is the same for those of us who became doctors or nurses and work in a hospital setting, as well as those of us who work "on call." The healthcare/human services fields are notorious for their non-routine nature.

Quitting is not an option. I love my work. My question is, can anyone relate, and if so, how do you manage your bipolar in the face of job stress and irregular hours? How do you manage disruptions to your routine?

Thanks so much.

Do you work nights? What time do you typically go in/finish?

I typically work nights (11pm to 7am) and fill in swing (3pm to 11pm) as needed. Depending on my shift, I go to sleep anywhere from 5am to 10am. I sleep during the day, and typically get my 8-9 hours of sleep. Sleep hygiene is good, it's just irregular. I go to sleep at different times depending on when they need me.

This doesn't happen often, but occasionally I am asked to work days (7am to 3pm), sometimes a double (16 hour shift). So as you can see, though my sleep routine is fairly regular with a 5 hour bedtime window, occasionally I get thrown off that routine completely.

I set what I call "totems," things that stay constant even when everything else changes. For instance, I'll set one day of the week as being completely off limits to work. Work me the other 6 days, but this one is mine.

Another totem I have, is to make my breaks/lunches non-work affairs. If I have a book I want to read or just surf Facebook, I do it during that time.

That's how I stay sane in jobs like that. I have others depending on the job, but those are my two big ones. I'm looking to get into the criminal justice field, so I can safely say irregular hours will be my bread and butter as well.

Listening to music helps me, I bought a pair of bose bluetooth heat set and the sound is amazing. I still look business professional while I'm listening to music . I still struggle to make myself to stop and take a lunch. The only time I take lunches is when im running on 2 or 3 hrs of sleep. Then I sleep in my car for an hour which does help greatly.

I'm glad to hear you're doing what you want to do. I'm the same, I love managing a company and making our clientele happy. I'm always manic though, to some degree.

I absolutely can relate. I'm a journalist which means my hours are irregular and I often work late, and while I love my job it is also frequently stressful. You've already identified this but one thing that's crucial for me is getting enough sleep. If I don't get enough sleep for extended periods of time my mood seriously declines and sometimes gets dangerous. I also have to work really hard to make sure I'm eating enough and regularly. Basically, I try to keep a schedule that's not necessarily doing everything at the same time every day -- that's damn near impossible -- but a schedule where I am doing important things (eat, sleep, go to therapy, etc) regularly and then everything else (usually) falls into place.