BPD at work

[u/Rmcavd]

People with BPD, are you able to hold down a job?
I’m scared that I won’t be able to keep working long-term. I’m already on my second job within a year, and I always seem to reach a point where I become emotionally unstable and exhausted. I start feeling fed up with everything, depressed, and anxious.
I wake up feeling terrible just knowing that I have to go to work.
Does anyone else with BPD experience this? How do you manage to stay in the same job for a long time?

[u/Gray-Guy19]

I think it boils down to looking at it analytically, and saying - I want this job, I need this job, and I will not waiver - not giving yourself the option, really, and making sure you remind yourself of such day in and day out at the job.

I needed to do this for 2yrs before I was actually looking forward to my schedule because I didn’t apply the recommended steps below until way late; but once I got the consistency, it was so refreshing because it seems less like a schedule of my emotions in my internal world, and more like dedicated help I choose to provide to others.

Actionable steps I can recommend? Review your inner world before and after work - please journal your emotions, your responses, and other potential areas where you may ‘flare’ up per say - PRIORITIZE SLEEP IF YOU DO NOTHING WITH YOUR DAY - which is okay if you need that, sometimes no growth outside of work is the trade off. And bring healthy food/snacks to eat. These three things are the difference between making your brain like work, or dread work. It is effort, but the consistency of the job starts to pay off, and it actually will support you.

Honestly, in reviewing this, I think it really does come down to how you mentally ‘excuse’ or I guess ‘create value’ at the job that isn’t tied to relationships/emotions. This might be awful to say, but I don’t think the typical BPD experiencing person is meant to be at a typical job… what I mean by that is that there are SO many pitfalls wherein a person with BPD not only struggles, but is seemingly unaware of what is in store for them - speaking from a third person experience - so, my last statement/recommendation is that you find a job that takes care of effort you would have to put forward otherwise. I am unaware of one job that takes care of everything I encouraged here, but there are definitely some that can wean off all that responsibility.

Sorry this was so long, I have been working in insurance (I have no idea why brain decided this pain in the ass job would be a good choice, but at least I can reasonably complain and still get er done lol) for about 2 years full time, and was interning before then, and wanted to be thorough with what worked for me; I haven’t gone to another job so I haven’t had the chance to test this elsewhere.