Employment and mental illness.

So as we all know, I’m open about my mental illness. Thought I hate the term mental illness, people always assume the worst. But anyway, I suffer from a few different ones which can make finding an job hard. Different illnesses have separate triggers, figuring out what type of job you can do and how to make a job work when you feel like falling apart.

For the last year, I was a student and was paid by the government to get my education. Sadly an injury took me out just a few months until I was finished. I didn’t have to worry about a job, I was just able to focus on school. But that changed and suddenly I spent four months applying for job after job, going to interviews, getting rejected but I finally found someone who understood me to take me on.

But I realized during my training, this was going to be a rough one for me. I’m suddenly surrounded by people telling me what to do, being responsible for getting jobs done so a business can run smoothly, customers needing things, having to figure out ways to do my duties with an injury, having to knock out a giant check list on my own, and about a million other things.

One night (I work an overnight shift alone, so I had four days with another girl to learn everything) I had a complete breakdown. I was physical hurt, emotionally distressed and it was my last day with another person. I would be in charge of this shift and making sure the things were completed. If not, guess who took the blame. The only girl working. I was in tears telling the training girl I didn’t know if I could do it. But I also knew I had an eviction notice taped to my doors days before and needed money for rent, bills, and life. So I left early, I put a lot of thought into it and here’s what I came up with.

I looked at every condition (physical or mental) and what triggered such things. I got a small notebook and wrote as many notes as possible on duties I had to do, recipes of things I had to make, helpful tidbits, and anything else I had learned during training. I also started research accommodations that my doctor could recommend to my job to make it a more comforting environment.

Then I looked at what made me feel in control, what I would do to make myself feel better should something come alone that upset me or set one of my triggers off. I made a written to do list of everything that needed done in a notebook, I got my playlist of my music ready and my Bluetooth speaker and I put on a happy face as I marched into my first night alone.

And let me tell me, I rocked it. My manager and I met in the morning and she told me I did an excellent job and the store looked great. I always had my notebook handy to double check things, I wrote things down as I completed them, and I wrote any questions I had on a post it note for the morning.

Having a job while having a mental illness is tough but it is not impossible. You have to know your limitations, know what sets you off, know how to calm yourself, and most of all, know that you have your team to rely on or a friend/family/doctor/help line you can reach out to talk to someone if you need to know. Know when you need to take a breather. Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed, yes you have responsibilities, but the world won’t stop turning should a take not be finished. To top it off, sometimes challenging yourself really helps because you don’t know what you’re capable of until you do it.

So I thought I would share with you some of the things I did to make a list of 43 items in seven hours easier on me.

• If you can play your own music, have a playlist of music that is upbeat and fun, one that keeps you going (especially if you’re like me and work overnights)

• An organized and clean space makes me feel better, so little by little I’ve been arranging and cleaning the space I work in

• Try to have fun, while I’m making donuts and pizza’s for the morning shift, I’ve got my music to sing and dance too and keep me going at a steady pace

• I keep lists to know the progress I’m making and what I’ve done since amnesia is a side effect of one of my illnesses

• Don’t hold yourself to the same standards as your coworkers or boss, they’ve got anywhere from months to years on you so you will not match up

• Remember you’re new and mistakes happen, if you think you’ve made a mistake, write it down, if not, ask your boss if they find anything to please inform you

• Inform your boss the best way you personally take criticism. Perhaps you cannot take face to face, so ask them to text or email you unless it is something that requires a face to face

• If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a breather. Take a minute to stretch your arms to the sky or stand outside for some fresh air. Don’t forget the superman pose and the psychological benefits it

• I find something small that I can keep with me that’s comforting and reminds me that I’m in the present. I take it out and roll it around in my hand to center myself (mine’s a stone I found)

• Communicate with management about your illness and some problems that could arise in case of an emergency

• Have emergency numbers handy in case someone else would need to call for you

• Keeping busy helps keep my mind off triggers or what my brain is thinking, so I try to constantly be moving and doing my job along with finding things to do in the future

• Look at your to do list, put in order of importance and work on it as you go

• Try to remain positive and keep a smile on your face, even when you want to cry, sometimes “faking it” actually works

• Try to constantly remember why you’re at that job, other than the money of course, could it be the work, the communication, the relationships, the work you do

• Ask your manager for a short weekly meeting/update on your progress and feedback on your job

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, it’s nothing to hide behind, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Seeking help of a therapist or other professional can be beneficial, some meds can even help (if needed). Don’t forget to be proactive on your own, research your condition, look into treatments, things others have done to help them or reach out to your manager to see if a plan could be created to help you or perhaps a different job within the company is available that would be a better fit for you.

If you have any suggestions for anyone, please, feel free to share them with the tribe!

Vibe Higher,

Lobeless