<p>I would think good career paths would be those that give you more latitude with respect to reporting to work, flexible hours, deadlines, etc.</p>
<p>There have been many highly successful artists, musicians, writers with mental illness.</p>
<p>It's probably not a good idea to end up in the corporate "9 to 5" structured environment.</p>
<p>I think there is no ONE answer to the original poster's question, just as there isn't an answer to the question "which major and career is best for everyone?" There are so many variables involved, and the best major/career depends on the individual. What works or worked for one person, or the experiences of someone else, are not likely to be the same for your sister. So, my advice would be to encourage your sister to immediately meet with the disabilities support services program at her school, as well as the career services office. Good luck to her - and you are a good sister for caring.</p>
<p>Greetings.</p>
<p>There are several thoughtful posts here. But I am struck by the fact that an important issue has fallen by the wayside a bit. Yes, bipolar conditions can often be managed medically; yes, it is too early for most 18/19 year olds to totally commit to a major or a career; but what about the school that OP's sib is planning to attend in the Fall ("a large public univ")? As one poster noted early on, these places can often be overwhelming for freshmen who are NOT dealing with difficult issues.</p>
<p>If she is not interested in a community college , how about a smaller state school? Under the circumstances, the Admissions folks at a smaller school might be willing to consider her application for Fall.</p>
<p>All that said, it is really up to OP's sib. If she has her heart set on going to a large public univ, she should go. But I'd encourage her to work closely with a counselor on campus . Also, she should seriously consider taking a reduced course load her first semester.</p>
<p>My best wishes to the OP and her sib!</p>
<p>I know a college soph who is bi-polar who went a several hour drive out of town to a large public university and is doing fine. She worked closely with her therapist and family in doing this, and is monitored very carefully. However, when she went to college, she was not exhibiting the kind of behaviors that the OP's sibling is. What the OP described concerns me because someone who is mentally ill and is not doing much right now due to their illness seems likely to have a lot of difficulty as a college student particularly since she won't have the support and structure of home, family, and her therapist.</p>
<p>"Cheers and Northstarmom, based on what I know of my brother, you two don't disagree as much as you might think."</p>
<p>Yes, I agree with you. I know that there are people with bipolar illness who are too ill to be able to have any kind of careers. At the same time, there are people with bipolar illness who are very successful in demanding careers.</p>
<p>Right now is far too early for anyone to determine what the outlook is for the OP's sister.</p>
<p>In addition, due to medical advances and advances that probably will occur as more is learned about brain chemistry, it's likely that the OP's sister will have several excellent treatment options available to her that will expand her career options over what may have been possible for similarly affected people who were diagnosed years ago.</p>
<p>Regarding college in the fall, I am wondering if your sister's doctor might contact the school and arrange a single room for her, if he and she think that's the best path.</p>
<p>Although of course she will want to make friends, I think it's possible she'll be stronger if she has the sureness about her own room being her own. It could be pinned on the sleep difficulties as the reason (and she might be able to say this on the dorm hall as the only medical reason). Physically handicapped students are often given singles automatically upon request (only if they request) so they can deal with the unusual issues. She could still make plenty of friends up and down the hall, at her own pace. If one of them becomes a good friend, she can go visit in that room. But all of the usual negotiations to work out a shared living space might be difficult. By sophomore year, she'll know people and can ask for a particular roommate.</p>
<p>I would encourage talking to the doctor. His note to the school could be very candid, to ensure success getting a single; but her public explanation could be simply "my doctor said I need it for a sleep problem" and I doubt that should cause much discussion.</p>
<p>If she has a roommate who feels imposed upon by the situation, and the roommate isn't nice, that roommate could violate her privacy by telling the others about the illness.</p>
<p>If your sibling disagrees strongly however, and wants the regular ups and downs of learning to live with a roommate, then her wish should prevail. But it's worth a good talk between her and her doctor to get a grip on what to do about housing.</p>
<p>I agree it's a good idea to go light on the first semester courseload; there will be time later to add credits. Take the minimum required, or maybe just one (at most two) "credit hours" (not courses!) more than the minimum.</p>
<p>Although this might not be relevant to the OP's question, it might be relevant to mothers reading the thread.</p>
<p>Doubleplay recommends unstructured professions. I wouldn't want to disagree because I'm sure she knows cases in which this is true. However, I'd like to offer a different perspective. My husband had a secure job when I met him. It was well beneath his capabilities, but he'd held it for 10+ years and he had full benefits and a pension. I didn't suspect any mental health issues beyond under-achieving. When his job was phased out he was given a full year's salary and chose to start his own business, one he knew well because it had been his father's business. He opened a photography studio that did moderately well because he is an extremely gifted photographer. However, the pressure of making sales combined with the difficulties of managing staff and finances triggers both manic and depressive symptoms. The manic are more dangerous, and I found we were massively in debt, which I knew nothing about. So, I wish he had a 9 - 5 job with a paycheck. Owning a business is not a good option for someone with a bi-polar disorder,</p>
<p>So much time has been invested that I don't think he'll do anything else now.</p>
<p>paying3tuitions: Lots of us had dreams of writing the great American novel. Half my colleagues teacing in college English Departments believe this.</p>
<p>I know several people who have mental illnesses plus family members. My own Dad was able to function until his early 30's while in the military. Once discharged he could not make it in the outside world. He was considered 100% disabled and spent the rest of his life in and out of mental hospitals. When he wasn't hospitalized he preferred to be alone. I have a sister who is probably bipolar who functions at an extremely high level professionally but has little personal life. She has power but also structure in her work. She did go through two periods of unemployment and like mythmom tried to have her own business but could not handle all the logistics. She tended to not bill all her clients. She functions well in a corporate enviroment. No one who see's her working would know she is bipolar.
My D worked with a young man who had undergrad degree from Harvard and grad degree from Yale. He worked as a hotel desk clerk and lived with his parents at 35 yrs old. He was brilliant but had difficulty handling the stress of even this job.
I have another friend who suffers from mental illness who does wonderful in school. I lost count of how many different degrees she has. She recently completed her PhD. She however has not found a job that she finds she can work over 20 hours a week.</p>
<p>As a child and then a teen, I could not have imagined my younger sister graduating from HS, much less developing a career. She has a variety of mental health disorders and learning problems that were and still are mind boggling. I have not been privy to the labels, though can make educated guesses. Depression, either uni or bipolar is one of several. But through perserverance, quite a bit of vocational rehab through her state, AFDC when it supported single parents in college, and my mothers long term emotional support, she has a career as a social worker, is self supporting, and justifiably quite proud of herself. Much of it is about the meds, as it has kept her emotional life in check. On occasion she has needed inpatient psych hospitalization, and life with her is not always easy. But her adventures with her own problems have brought perspective to dealings with her clients, and vice versa. Over time, her ability to deal with the world has improved, and is humbling to see what she has dealt with in getting to where she is right now.</p>
<p>In reference to some of the posts above, I think that finding a way to participate in society effectively is the key to the sort of self esteem that helps create a sucessful life. As with all of us, she needs to find her own inspiration and go for what she cares about, rather than perhaps being slotted into something 'good for the bipolar' Hopefully she is working with the sort of therapy that will help her find that.</p>
<p>Great Lakes Mom mentioned that her own mother's "long term emotional support"
of the sister was an important factor. I agree so much. My brother says he'd be dead by now, were it not for our Mother, who understood this disease because she's good hearted and because she struggled with a milder form of it in her youth, and before there were any meds for it. Lithium only came in around l970. Before that...the dark ages. She spent 6 months in a mental hospital for what could now be addressed with a bloodtest and some appropriate medications. It's a chemical imbalance. The problem is that it makes it so hard to live that the personality development is held hostage to how hard it is to live. I consider my brother both fragile and overbearing at times, but I admire him and call him a "survivor" as he calls himself that.</p>
<p>I know this response is many years later, but I can relate to every thing in your advise.
I was diagnose as Bi-polar about 15 years ago. This is an amazing condition. For the past 30 to 35 I have experienced many episodes of ‘HIGHS’ and “lows”. I was able to graduate with honors from a prep-school and made it through an Ivy-league College (One semester I actually took about 25 credits and aced most of the classes…in retrospect I was on a “MANIA”!) By-the-way I also drove a cab in NYC like your brother for many years.
From 2007 to 2009 I experienced my worse bout of MANIA. As a result I lost every thing, including my job as the Vice President of a company and almost my family.
From 2010 to recent months I was in a crippling dispair(a deep blue depression!!!).
I am finally stablizing; trying to walk the ‘tightrope’ of this disease.
Writing to you makes me feel better. Thank you!
How is your brother doing? And does anyone know how iddus02 sister fared in the university?</p>
<p>locking thread as it is 6 years old</p>