The Bipolar Work Struggle | Shaley & Dr. Andrea Vassilev

In this episode, Shaley Hoogendoorn and Dr. Andrea Vassilev discuss the impact of bipolar disorder on work life, sharing personal experiences, statistics, and practical strategies for managing employment challenges. They aim to provide support and insights for those living with bipolar and navigating the workplace.

Chapters

(00:08:16) Managing Symptoms and Work Challenges

(00:12:18) Symptoms That Can Affect Work Performance

(00:15:18) Reliability, Predictability, and Bipolar

(00:23:20) How Hypomania and Depression Affect Work

(00:27:36) Managing Work During Mood Episodes

(00:30:16) Should You Disclose Bipolar at Work?

(00:38:17) Workplace Accommodations and Strategies

(00:54:09) The Strengths and Gifts of Living With Bipolar

About Shaley Hoogendoorn

Shaley Hoogendoorn is the host and creator of This Is Bipolar, a podcast about navigating life with bipolar disorder. Shaley is a mental health advocate, speaker, content creator, mother, writer, and teacher who lives with bipolar II disorder.

Through This Is Bipolar, Shaley shares her own experiences and creates space for honest conversations about bipolar disorder, mental health, stigma, relationships, parenting, work, and recovery.

Her mission is to challenge stigma, reduce shame and self-stigma, create connection, and remind people living with bipolar disorder that they are not alone.

🎙️ Visit This Is Bipolar: https://www.thisisbipolar.com/

📱 Follow Shaley on Instagram: @this.is.bipolar https://www.instagram.com/this.is.bipolar/

Join the This Is Bipolar Community 💛

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Become an Instagram subscriber to This Is Bipolar and join our private peer-support community. Subscribers can take part in a monthly Zoom gathering and connect through a private community chat with others who understand what it's like to live with bipolar disorder.

It's a space to share experiences, ask questions, offer support, and build connection in a welcoming community.

📱 Join us on Instagram: @this.is.bipolar https://www.instagram.com/this.is.bipolar/

Tap Subscribe on Instagram to become part of the community.

About Dr. Andrea Vassilev

Dr. Andrea Vassilev, PsyD, is a clinician, academic, writer, speaker, and mental health advocate who has lived with bipolar disorder for nearly 30 years. She specializes in treating bipolar disorder and is passionate about reducing stigma and helping people living with bipolar build meaningful, authentic lives.

Andrea is the creator of Overcoming Self-Stigma in Bipolar Disorder (OSSiBD), an original program designed specifically to address self-stigma in bipolar disorder. Her work brings together clinical knowledge and lived experience, and her advocacy focuses on integrating lived experience into bipolar research, treatment, and education.

Her workbook, Beyond the Bipolar Label: A Workbook to Overcome Self-Stigma, Break Free from Shame, and Live Authentically, provides practical tools to help people challenge shame and negative beliefs, build self-compassion, reclaim their identity, and move beyond the limitations of the bipolar label.

🌐 Andrea's Website: https://www.andreavassilev.com/

📱 Follow Andrea on Instagram: @best.life.bipolar https://www.instagram.com/best.life.bipolar/

📖 Beyond the Bipolar Label: https://www.newharbinger.com/9781648486685/beyond-the-bipolar-label/