There are multiple challenges involved in seeking employment as someone with a diagnosis of mental illness. If you are someone with that diagnosis you are not unaware of this fact. Having supported folks looking for employment, I think there are some challenges that have to be called out. Too often we internalize the messages the outer world is giving us and hold them in our heart and mind as who we are. So, let’s talk about it. Every person is unique as is each journey through life. What I am about to say doesn’t apply to everyone but certainly in my experience applies to enough people that it needs to be talked about.
The first challenge. It is not unusual for people to enter the mental health system and get diagnosed as they pass through the tumultuous years of high school and higher education. These are critical developmental years where we figure out who we are and what we want to do. It’s a sorting process. A process of try-ons and discards until the magic of finding that right fit of personality and career occurs. It takes time and energy and resources. Often with the onset of mental illness those critical factors are in short supply. Time and energy may be eaten up by doctor’s visits, hospitalizations or symptoms that just get in the way.
Likewise, resources, like money for school, can be redirected to efforts to cope with symptoms and the aftermath of hospitalizations. More concretely, f