Dealing with bipolar workers in the work place

[OrbitalDawn]

Its on an off a lot. And a constant changing of meds.

Theyve just had their 5th!!!!! child, and I know the wife has been off the meds during the pregnancy. Now that she is on maternity leave the dramas are more frequent. His wife works for the government and she took 9 months leave in the last year to deal with mental issues and pregnancies. Irony is, she is even going to still take her normal leave :/

Im not sure if we can let them go for creating a hostile environment. Could they not hold it against it that we are persecuting them because of their disability?

I'm sure you'll have a case for letting them go if they refuse to get help. It's not in any way reasonable that you should keep trying to accommodate them if they're making it very difficult for the business to function properly. Just make sure you treat them according to legal requirements.

 

[Humberto]

It may be that your coworker does not have bipolar disorder but one of the cluster B personality disorders. The cluster B personality disorders are:

1. borderline personality disorder;
2. narcissistic personality disorder;
3. histrionic personality disorder;
4. antisocial personality disorder (being a psychopath, rather than being shy or withdrawn).

These four personality disorders overlap; patients who clinically suffer from any of these usually exhibit some of the symptoms of each of these.

When I hear of "drama" I usually think of cluster B personality disorders rather than bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder cycle between episodes of depression and elation, with depressive episodes usually lasting for weeks to months.

People with cluster B personality disorders are often told by their psychiatrists that they have bipolar disorder, because such patients tend to get upset when told they have a cluster B personality disorder and then stop going to their psychiatrist, and because cluster B personality disorders can be symptomatically treated in a similar way to bipolar disorder.

 

[chrisc]

I had a secretary at Safmarine in the 1970's when bipolar wasn't a word in the dictionary. She would have wild mood swings, go on spending sprees, sometimes just lie on the floor and cry.

After a particularly bad episode when we had to take her home (she was living with her parents in Vredehoek) we got a doctor off a passenger ship to have a look at her. His diagnosis was just that she was disturbed (we knew that already) and gave her some tranquilisers to take, some to get her going and one a week for a few months. This helped somewhat but she would still come to work looking as if she had not slept. She eventually got a boyfriend and found Jesus, which in her case, seemed to help

 

[Spliffcat]

a quick slap up and downside the head and a good kick in the butt sorts out most of the problems.











Only kidding, Do not take my advice seriously.

 

[DerpiesFreud]

a quick slap up and downside the head and a good kick in the butt sorts out most of the problems.

Only kidding, Do not take my advice seriously.

Something of this sort

I have a Cluster A personality disorder, you don't see me moping around with it.
I've been depressed. I've been 'maniac'. I've been suicidal. I've had visions. but I never made it other people's problems.

they're using bipolar as an excuse...
"Oh noes I have a disorder, I need special treatment! I need time off!"
which can be very much the case with mentally ill people.
but not at the expense of others. and only up to a certain degree,

If you need time off to recover, Quit.
You can't have your cake and eat it.

A mental illness/disorder does not define who you are.
It is merely an explanation for your behavior.

An analogy/example:
Psychopathy does not make you kill people...
Psychopathy may make you predisposed to murder...However
in the end you still chose to kill people.