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Ask Slashdot: Working With Others, As a Schizophrenic Developer?
An anonymous reader writes: "I hope there are a few open source developers on Slashdot who understand this. As a developer who works alone and remotely (while living with my own family) — and is schizophrenic — there would be times I would feel very high (a surge of uncontrollable thoughts), or low because of the kind of failures that some patients with mental illness would have, and because of the emotional difficulty of being physically alone for 8 hours a day. This led me to decide to work physically together with my co-workers. Have you been in this situation before? If you have, how well did you manage it? (Medications are a part of the therapy as well.)"
Your ability to be productive and stay on the "happy path" will come from the ability to trust your team, trust yourself, and have your team trust you. I'd start with setting and achieving goals, and asking for help early in the process if you feel things start to slip.
What with the usual tenor of Slashdot comments, wanted to say early: awesome that you're working, doing it, trying to live in the "normal" world, where the normals don't often understand. My heart and thoughts are with you.
...for any reason... Ever!
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
Thinking of my experiences on commercial development teams in the USA, I think you should be prepared 1) to deal with a lot of prejudice and 2) to find infrequent interactions that are compassionate and gratifying.
We understand, to some extent, why you are so difficult to work with. We can make some accommodation.
But if your having a bad day, take your ass home. Don't get self righteous. ADA does not make you right.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
You might try telling any new co-workers right away that you have schizophrenia. That way, there will be less confusion and misunderstanding by others. You could just mention it in a matter-of-fact sort of way, by talking about schizophrenia as just a chronic illness like so many others. That might de-mystify it for some people.
I worked with someone who had schizophrenia, and she simply told new co-workers right away. I thought it was a good way of handling it.
Best of luck.
I think this is the first time I've posted anonymously to Slashdot in fifteen years...
Yes, it's tricky. Working alone, if you have mental health issues, can lead to a number of problems. As you say, you're very isolated, and that's emotionally difficult. But more, there's no-one else there to notice when things start going wrong for you. I know from my own experience that I don't always have good insight into how poorly I'm performing. But working in a commercial setting - in an office, against deadlines - can be a considerable stress raiser, and may make your situation worse.
This isn't always so. When I got my last job, I was seriously unwell and knew that I was. I very nearly didn't apply for the job because I thought I was too ill to do it. But when I actually got into the office, I found the work much easier than I expected and the team welcoming and generally good company, which boosted my self confidence and helped me towards a fairly rapid recovery.
I'd avoid medication if you can. Apart from all their other lovely side effects, anti-psychotics and anti-depressants can make you substantially less sharp, which may make you less able to do the job. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, if you can get it, is helpful to many people (including me). Maintain a good relationship with your doctor and make sure he or she knows your situation and your anxieties. Try to have someone around you who can watch out for changes in your behaviour and let you know when you're looking shaky.
And good luck!
Basically, his affect is a bit flat because of the meds.
When he's doing bad, he knows enough to stay out of everyone's way. The sucky part is he starts to self-medicate with alcohol and pot.
What we do is give him space and sometimes, he needs a break from everyone - meaning, he stays away.
He has to ration his medical visits a bit because he's on disability now - part of that is because he did jail time and has extreme difficulty getting jobs as a result and the ones he does/did get are part-time minimum wage deals.
Anyway, he manages it by letting folks (family) that he's not doing well, consults the psychiatrist when he can, self-medicates, and stays clear of people if he's afraid of doing harm. He NEVER tells/told employers about his illness.
Schizophrenia isn't psychopathy. Not that psychopathy is a condition that would affect the quality of code.
You should educate yourself about mental illness. You clearly do not understand it.
Further, it's illegal to discriminate against the mentally ill.
First, I really understand what you're saying. This is a tough situation, but I'm certain you can make it through.
You're being really wise not to isolate yourself. Spending time with people will make a very substantial difference in both how you feel and your general recovery. Isolation, even with caring family will hurt you. Please keep on trying to interact with people.
In terms of mental health... what you're describing sounds more like bipolar and less like schizophrenia. Schizophrenia can be medicated, if you're serious about it, carefully monitored, and have a good support system. Bipolar is a bit rougher, and you'll have to recognize what's happening to you yourself, and with the help of family and friends. Be very careful when you're manic - I know it can feel awesome, but the code you produce can be pretty damn awful. Depressed code is less of an issue as you'll likely not write that much.
You'll find that folks in CS tend to be very understanding of mental health issues. Very, very understanding. We're in an industry filled with intelligent and generally caring people, and you'll find support. Just be honest with your colleagues about how you're doing, and most importantly, make sure your first priority is taking care of yourself.
/* Dang, I can't type that well. */
Limiting your exposure to others is one of them. Do you think there are more benefits than liabilities being in close proximity to peers?
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Medication definitely helps but it will also destroy a part of who you are/were. The way I've channeled my "high/lows" is by offering freelance gaming reviews. (the free games you'll get paid in are a great perk)
It's the perfect front for my mood swings and everyone just assumes you're an a**hole anyways because you trampled on their childhood feelings when a game that's perfect in their eyes doesn't meet your point of view. Hell I've had debates with myself across multiple accounts and nobody can tell. the difference.
My advice on interaction with your co-workers is take it in short bursts. Money isn't an issue so I like to take part time or seasonal jobs for 1-2 years at a time then need to retreat again into solitude for a few years to recover. Medication can prolong this but it takes all the passion out of you so don't count on any steady relationships unless you want to live your life as a zombie.
Cheers!
I'm not a schizo, at least not officially, although I've been called as such often (and a lot of other things).
But I assume you worked alone before because it had some beneficial aspects in the way your work. Maybe you wanna consider part-time on-site working arrangement, assuming you're allowed the flexibility.
You know, familiarity (and proximity) breeds contempt, as well as bonhomie. Perhaps you can modulate the accompanying stress this way.
What the hell is schizo anyway? Is that like manic-depression? Damn psychobabble quacks.
Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
do you know when the surge of thoughts are coming? if yes, there are two possibilities: (1.) your co-workers are agreeable or open-minded people... or not. if they are, you can call them for a break (no pun intended) and share your thoughts. maybe they'll have feedback, they'll be inspired or just plain amused. don't be offended if they do. humor is one of the best - and complex - responses a human being can give. if they are TOO curious, tell them to read some Jung or R.D. Laing, hehe. (2.) your co-workers are rabbits who get scared easily, are overly conscientious about their work ("don't bother me! i have to finish this!") or just haven't seen enough of the world to have enough data points in their equation... well, there is nothing you can do then, if you feel it coming, grab your voice recorder (or not lol) and head out for a walk in the parking lot, or somewhere nice. or just do what you usually do - and ask them afterwards how bothered they were on a scale 1 to 5. if they say 3 or more, next time head out to a less populated place :P
(ELSE) otherwise, it's important to understand that even if you DON'T see it coming, they may eventually get used to it. you didn't mention how frequent your "inspirations" are. if it's 2 times a day or like 5 minutes every 3 hours, it should be tolerable (and a welcome break). if it's 5 minutes every half an hour... well... ask your boss hehe.
(IN ANY CASE) it's also possible (almost probable) that you will find one or more people who will genuinely like you, even if you won't last long at that workplace. you are not the only one who needs human contact and a good face-to-face conversation over a coffee or herbal tea
(PARAGRAPH) maybe your therapist can give you some more advice.
(PARAGRAPH) my advice is not professional/medical advice and should not be taken like that. also, slashdot kills my paragraphs, at least in the preview. that explains the obscure "tags". this is my 1st slashdot comment, have mercy
How ignorant. What the fuck does psychopathy have to do with schizophrenia?
I am bipolar, not schizophrenic, but for what it's worth.
When stress can trigger problems:
1) Knowing the limits of what sources of stress I can deal with is important;
2) That those who work with you know that it is a higher priority for you to avoid excessive stress than getting a task finished.
3) That if stress is approaching a red line, that you may have to disappear for a bit without explanation (possibly explaining later when you can).
Similar for other sources of difficulty.
With regards to thoughts: I practice Taiji (10 years), Meditation (4 years) and Yoga. Learning to bring your attention back to a desired focus when distracted is something that we're not naturally good at, but can become good at with practice. Practicing regularly (just like you brush your teeth each day) makes the awareness and gentle, loving yet firm self control become habitual. Being able to dominate your thoughts with a passage of text (memorised by rote) or a single word (like a matra) can be very helpful, since this can starve annoying thoughts of attention.
That said, with learning to deal with such difficulties, you should:
1) Expect to fail;
2) Expect to get up and try again, without being hard on yourself.
3) Do your best to limit the damage from breakdowns, etc, for example, by taking a break earlier rather than later and being more open about real world difficulties.
With respect to social contact, that is important: how your behaviour reflects off others who know you can tell you things you can't otherwise notice. This again takes practice to develop you awareness.
I could go on, but I have to have dinner and head out in a moment, and this is about as much as I want to put on a public forum.
Routines, coworkers and responsibilities are really useful for me (bipolar...) and i know i would not do well with working alone. So props and best of luck.
Youll probably want to inform your supervisor about your condition since theyll be either your biggest supporter or your biggest problem. As far as coworkers, tell them if you can make it seem like no big deal...
Make sure you have some flexibility with scheduling and can duck out as needed. A private space, or the ability to hide out in your car will help when thing get rough is really important. Constant contact with your therapist is also really really necessay with a big change...
You should be attending therapy and group sessions to understand the need for physical connections. Basically don't use work as a way to fulfill your needs for physical(and emotional) connections. If you rely on going to work as a way to fulfill these personal needs for connection then it you may take it very hard if don't receive it from work.
It sounds like there are more underlying issues that need to be addressed first. Talk to a trained professional and separate work life from personal. Join reddit groups or other forms of social groups to get these needs fulfilled. Expecting it to be fulfilled from people at work is not always a sure thing from my own personal experience and can lead to problems in the work place.
This is why I do not use Ubuntu.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
Wrong illness, dumbass.
As a rapid cycling bipolar, i mostly will check for early in the day symptoms of the manic or low of the condition. It mostly always stay the same for the day. When it is manic, i will always be on the look out not to let my thoughts coming too strong in the conversations, or mostly do my best to entertain while feeling very good, without sounding arrogant and egocentric. When my lows would come in, i would try to up my social contacts with people, and fight the loss of energy as much as i can, or the bad thoughts by always trying to look more enthusiastic than i am. Both exercises are however exhausting (the low one the most). Real life therapy (one hour a week) helps, and of course medication. Don't know if this apply to schizophrenia, but hope it helps ! In the UK, people seem OK about my kind of mental issues. Don't know about the US.
How alone are you really ever, if there are multiple personalities living inside a single head?
Highly functioning individuals all tend to have various quirks, idiosyncrasies, and other habits. I've worked with aspies, the depressed, and what have you and while all of them may suffer immensely in their personal worlds they are self aware enough to not let their disorder control them. They work with it and through it rather than using it as an excuse for problems.
Most people don't discuss mental health problems to other individuals unless it's going against a social fabric. "Why is John swearing randomly?" "Oh he has tourettes." Or the like.
As long as you can make most of the dead lines you will be fine. If you find yourself really getting into a hole, like a dark one, these sometimes happen then be honest with your manager in private and let him know what's going on. If you need a break than so be it. But remember, you're on a team and the success of the team falls onto you. Don't be the weakest link, your team mates will need you.
Stay strong my friend.
...most people just think i'm kinda an asshole at times.. who isn't beside the phony passive-aggressive politically careful types that hide their true feelings for strategic reasons?
maybe i should get diagnosed with some kind of disorder so I can blame that for my moments...
never bring a twinkie to a food fight.
I have a friend who has had decent luck for the past few years doing exactly this. Working with other devs makes a big difference, for most of the obvious reasons. My own issues are not schitz-related, but it is also a huge help for me to be able to work with other people nearby.
Cheers, best of luck,
AC
I am a developer working from home as self-employed (so, no co-workers) and i had/have some mental issues (not exactly schizophrenia but close - by the way, my brother is schizophrenic so i think i know!).
I understand very well the "high/low" feelings (but i am not sure that the -main, or only- reason is the mental issues - i think that it may be "normal" state of mind situations... of even normal people!), and i also understand the "emotional difficulty of being physically alone" (i.e., without a chance to interact with people in the way most do thanks to their work enviroment).
I think that working with other people may benefit you - but you should be emotionally prepared for the change of enviroment and accept that you have some issues that may make other people a bit... you know!
In any case, you should try it - (most) people are good and helpful...
Me neither. But what's that got to do with the question at hand?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
As a Bipolar type 2 suffer, I can understand. I do however find it difficult to retain work despite my ability
I've worked with a number of challenged people; the ones who were frank about their issues made it way easier; the ones who were in active denial, way harder.
While you're discussing it, recommend the TV show "Perception" - hell, hand out free AVI files. The show's character may have little in common with your particular issues; likely he is far worse, since it shows him having long conversations with hallucinated people - but the point is, the show provides an example of somebody with a very serious schizophrenic problem who is nonetheless good at his job. And a nice guy to know. Heck, he turns out to be a kind of detective on the side.
This is an entirely new level of acceptance for most people - because people talk more frankly now, we all know we're working with manic-depressives, clinical depressives, anxiety- and panic-attack victims...minor mental illnesses are pretty common. But most people's image of a "schizophrenic" is still of the Bad Guy in some crazed-killer movie. The new TV show stresses that it's just another mental challenge that can be overcome with understanding and/or medication.
You may have to stress that you can't solve any murders, should they become fans.
The OP does not say that he is a 'raving psychopath'. He says that he has schizophrenia, like two million other people in the United States. It's an unpleasant condition for the sufferer, but one that a lot of people manage to live perfectly well with.
I'm old enough to remember when discussions on Slashdot were well informed.
never again. It was the stalking - the phone-calls after he was fired in the middle of the night, and that sort of thing.
I'm severely bipolar. I do what's now called Devops. Yes, I think that's funny, too.
Be good at what you do. This goes without saying, and normal people also try to.
Build a protocol for your firm for if you have a problem. This isn't quite the same as the hit-by-a-bus plan. It is a contingency that is likely to happen. So plan it out, game it before it happens, fix bugs you find, game it again when you're feeling there. This isn't pleasant. I went off meds once doing this. Do it anyway.
Be humble. Corallary to the above.
Keep in touch with your problem. Make sure your employer knows what you need. For me it is going to support groups. I don't know what it is for you. My employer is supportive of me, for which I'm very thankful. I fucking hate the group therapy, but it does help. Be frank and honest. I need to go to these meetings, and that means some weekdays I leave at 4. I go in early those days.
Make sure your cow orkers know. This is hard. Again, be frank, pen and honest. Most people appreciate it. In my experience, the ones who don't tend to migrate.
Live a good life. The so-called work-life balance is real, but in a backhanded way. If your life sucks, your work will suffer. Do things you enjoy. Do things you don't enjoy, if they ground you with other people. Clean your home. Make it yours.
Be strong. Enough said.
My run-in whith a schizo started with a Nigerian roommate that watched soccer like Nelson Mandela just rode in on a horse and slayed the European-American white-wash over US involvement in disintegration of African governments. Something glorious must have been happening. This is besides the random screaming, the various high-pitched whoop-whooops, singing, and otherwise constant stream of overtness to be expected of...no, seriously almost nobody at all does all that.
At length, to fight off the noise, I began making my own noise, and occasionally our noises would meet as if a random soldier from another time showed up in the middle of someone else's battle. There could scarcely be time for friend-or-foe identification in the chaos and the only thing we could be thankful for is that it wasn't a battlefield and there was no finality to the confrontation. This is what it's like to learn to communicate with a person with mental illness? I'm probably being so intentionally insensitive that there has to be someone out there right now saying, "he's Nigerian, you fucking retard, it's a cultural difference down to how you shake hands and look people in the eyes."
I do develop software alone in my apartment and will see no humans for > 72hour stints. This has never bothered me as I don't really feel far from humans when they are away. I thought it would bother me having come from an office, but one day I cleared my mind that was born of habits, the kind of rhythms that you get yourself into so that you can be an employee living on autopilot, and all I could see was the glorious, infinite silence. There are no distractions. I play DnB music that is more or less driving and repetitive.
Occasionally it is rather if the train wakes up off the tracks while the engine is running and probably breaking things mechanically, but for the most part, get the coffee, the yerba mate, cigarettes and what else, take a few moments to ponder the big picture, and be filled with the kind of motivation an individual could formerly only get at monasteries in Tibet or someplace where they aren't so pretentious and think you need to monk out over their voodoo instead of your own.
Is this lifestyle detrimental in some way? It's the whole Schrodinger's cat thing all over again. As long as I keep opening the lid and finding it good without having to put good into the box, who am I to question the underlying mechanics of a system that might not even be effable.
I'd avoid medication if you can.
How's Tom Cruise these days? Have you seen the latest Kirstie Alley extravaganza?
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Wrong thread I guess..
My ex-wife is schizophrenic and I observed that social interaction at work was very important for her well being. She's not able to hold a regular job now, but does work part time as a volunteer doing filing which gives her some structured interaction. And having worked on software at home a lot alone myself, I know how bad the lack of social interaction can be for ones mental health even if you're not schizophrenic.
It might help to consciously act a part. This is actually what most people do. They go acting out some persona they've invented for themselves, but seldom realize it. Consciously scripting who you are may help manage the issues. I hope that you can keep enough focus on the human cues from your coworkers to manage well. But I also know it's tough. In any case, I think that the benefits of more social interaction offset the risks.
I would certainly caution against revealing your condition to your coworkers. My ex and I still talk frequently after 15 years, but I watched many of her "friends" abandon her when she had a relapse after 12 years of being quite normal. Be very cautious about medication changes. Her Dr changed her from Novane to Zyprexa and it took two hospitalizations before I could persuade the Dr. to put her back on Novane. She never completely recovered, but is at least able to live on her own.
The right answer is whatever works best for you.
Best of luck.
I have some experience with this as a manager. I had an employee (good, productive, employee), who was, unknown to me, bipolar. Meds kept it pretty well under control. For some reason or another, he changed doctors -- first one moved away or whatever. Anyway, the new MD decided to tinker with the meds. It didn't work out well. Severely abridged version of story: after the worst 3 days of my life as a manager ever, plus 2 HR reps, plus company nurse, plus N other impacted idividuals, we finally got him help. He was on medical leave for several weeks after that before things got put right again.
Here is the thing: he had plenty of friends in the company who would have been in the position to notice something going awry and heading off the trouble before it became a crisis. So, make a friend you can trust. One to whom you are not afraid to say: "My doctor is adjusting my medication. Watch for anything strange. If the wheels come off, here is my brother's phone number."
Many people working in professional fields suffer from mental illness. Just because someone has a mental illness doesn't mean they can only flip burgers or pick up trash. Also, based on the tone of your comment it seems likely you should seek treatment as well, since you sound more like a "raving psychopath" than the person you are replying to.
Interestingly, your post makes you look like an absolute psycopath, as per the current definition.
If the poster really is literally an autonomous collective made of nuts, then schizophrenia or not this achievement is remarkable and should be celebrated!
I normally do not deign to reply to cowardly and anonymous posters. But this your reaction begs and screams for answer. You, Sir, are so gross toward this courageous person that, if you had an account here, you would have instantaneously merited to have that account closed down. This is SO MUCH below any level of decency and respect that I find no words for it.
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
First managing your disease makes you a hero. Schizophrenia is not a trivial challenge. In essence you go into battle every moment of your life and a few schizophrenics do that quite well. I had a brother in law that had severe illness and to a great degree he managed it pretty well. The man came from a bad environment and would best be described as a career criminal but with medication his sanity was usually well in hand. I have known two schizophrenics who got great gains by adding Abilify to their medication regime. Ask your docs about the possibility of Abilify lifting you up a bit as it does seem to eliminate the gloomy hours quite a bit.
I have nothing but respect and high regard for you in your struggle.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I'm a schizophrenic
And so am I
I keed, I keed!!
Further, it's illegal to discriminate against the mentally ill
Not entirely. A mentally ill person must be diagnosed and be following the treatment of their doctor. We're going through this a bit where I work. We have an employee who is clearly suffering from borderline personality disorder and he's caused no end of grief for his managers and coworkers. Yet he refuses to seek professional help and the process has started to fire him for his behavior.
Also, businesses must only offer reasonable accommodations. If the illness requires an unreasonable accommodation, the employer does not have to provide it.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
from Wikipedia:
There is little point in arguing over definitions, much less so if you are trying to turn the conventional usage on it's head. Based on the context:
It is clear the person he was replying to (you?) was using the conventional meaning, not the archaic one you listed above.
First, let me say I wish you all the best. I know this isn't easy for you in more than one way. I see that someone has previously advised not going off your medication, which is good advice, certainly not without consulting your doctor. One other thing that I would offer, from a social perspective, is be cautious about accusing your coworkers, or taking offense at things, to the greatest extent that you can. I once worked with a woman who I understand was schizophrenic. (Comments from team leader.) She was very nice, if a little different, and I enjoyed talking to her. She was eventually asked to leave, from what I heard she made many complaints to HR about things that didn't have any real basis. I saw some of her distorted thinking when she had apparently misread an email sent out as a congratulation of another employee with a vaguely and partially similar name, and accused me, wrongly, of doing something against her. She eventually realized her mistake, and tried to smooth things over, but there was significant damage to our mutual trust there. I felt bad for her, but given the way many companies are these days, I felt the need to be quite cautious in dealing with her from that point on. I hope she is doing OK.
I interviewed, hired, and worked with a guy that was absolutely perfect for about 7 months. He showed up on time, was smart, competent, and at times even very talented. He seemed to enjoy the job and the people he worked with. I was relatively close with him (we would take smoke breaks together), so it was odd that one day he just stopped showing up -- no calls or anything.
We had HR reach out, and it eventually went to the police to perform a "health check". He was alive, but had apparently suffered a "mental break."
I saw him panhandling in a nearby town a few months later and had a chat with him. He never explicitly said it, but I suspect that he was struggling with similar issues as the poster. I expresses that I was really bummed about how things had played out, and that I would've appreciated a call. All he had to do was to ask for help and it would've been provided. I was later contacted as a reference for a new job he was applying for.
Anyway, I think the lesson is that if people know about, and understand your struggles, they're far more likely to be able to help you if/when things go poorly. So be honest and let people around you know. Help educate them if possible. Always try your best at being a good representation of how someone who struggles can contribute -- you may be some peoples only experience with it.
Full disclosure: I'm a depressive with ADD myself, and I've learned how to manage skewed perceptions and whatnot, so I'm sensitive to these sorts of issues.
Section 15 of the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms states "Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability". Notice that last part, "mental or physical disability". If a company discriminates against someone with a mental disability in Canada, they had best be prepared for some legal action to be taken. Also, look up the difference between a psychopath and someone with Schizophrenia.
1: You can have as many multiple personalities as you want so long as they are all the same. As soon as one turns a little different, it develops lord humungous syndrome and begins taking over.
2: God gave you the Mania to make life worth living, and the depression to give you unparalleled clarity of thought (after-all, when you're depressed, you have no emotions, and are in a pure realm of thought).
3: People will tell you that you need medication; what they are really telling you is that you are a dangerous animal and unless you are kept in a cage you should die. This is the truth; medication is a cage, if you buy into it, you will be in the cage for the rest of your life. Ask a Mechanic how a car engine works; that guy will explain EXACTLY how it works. Ask a doctor, they will give you "Well we think it's caused by". What you need are hearty doses of Four things; Exercise, Food (Studies have shown food allergies can cause psychosis), a Place in Society, and kindness+love (or at least for complete assholes to leave you the hell alone). Don't go on the Medication, that will shut the doors that might let you remain stable or cure your mental ailments; when was the last time you ever heard of someone going onto medication and making a recovery?
4: Start making your meals on Sundays for the rest of the week. It free's you up to work harder and longer, and lets you very strictly control your diet to remove that as a factor for your issues. Exercise is a must. Stop drinking caffeine and carbonated beverages; this will do your mind a WORLD of good.
5: They are in fact out to get you, so become well-armed, but realize once you're well armed, there's no fucking way they are going to fuck with you and if they are, you're going to be one hard motherfucker to take down or can go on a mission from God and fuck them up. Your opponents will use your mental derangement to say you need to be disarmed; anyone who does that is demonstrably deranged especially if they are directly threatening you or trying to take something from you (ESPECIALLY if they justify it by saying it's social convention; fuck those people, just fuck them). I've always recommended those with a history of being abused go buy a gun; it's amazing how liberating it can be to know you can snipe an asinine bully of a boss from a mile off. The key to curing paranoia is preparation.
6: If you're working for an abusive asshole, leave. Go somewhere; anywhere; else. You will be better off. When you leave, Let then know in professional, but in no uncertain terms, the reason and the person who did it and why. If they ask you to come back, Do not look back; businesses like that deserve to die.
7: If you have issues stringing thoughts together or your mind is all over the place, meditate. Lay Down comfortably, close your eyes, and watch your mind race from thought to thought. Do not participate, just watch. Like a song stuck in your head, eventually you will realize YOU are the one who's making it play, YOU are the one who's racing from thought to thought. We make decisions for 3 reasons; just because, because of another reason ending in just because, or because of another reason in a loop; reason is a TOOL. At some point, some Demon convince you that you were not in control and began whipping your thoughts around each other. Once you realize you are in control and it is not, the storms that take over your head will eventually dissipate, and you will regain enough cognitive function to begin figuring out what made you that way.
8: Once you have control realize the reason you lost it was due to your intellect. Organization is a skill, it takes time to master, keep at it.
9: The reason the world doesn't seem real is because something, usually a lot of pain, is numbing you out. Figure out what it is, spend some healing.
10: Books on relationships and parenting, go read them. You ill learn a lot.
Yet tou are commiting a dumb crime on the internetso who is the retard...!
Every worker has or has had a "wacko" boss. Most noticeable among my "wacko" bosses have been a bi-polar, a narcissist, and a lot of dysfunctional control freaks. Some have had behavioral/environmental problems and some have had physiological problems. If they are honest and share this, the work group will accept them and everyone thrives. It like, this "wacko" is My "wacko". Those that try to hide that they are "wacko" are unacceptable bosses and nobody likes them.
I would suggest that honest is the best policy in the long run. Some people will back off but may start interacting as co-workers later. Some will never interact. Some will accept you and your limitation--these make you "their wacko". With these colleagues, the work group will grow better--better able to be honest, to accept your limitations, to function like groups of people do. The embracing of "wacko" people is quite liberating and fulfills some of our basic human desires.
To anyone who thinks the use of "wacko" is inappropriate, I really don't care. I'm not using it a professional sense as a therapist would use it but as a layman. I work and live with "wacko" people and I come from a family full of "wacko" people. Everyone has the ability to like and love "wacko". If fact you either already do or you are the "wacko" that needs (and hopefully has) community.
Sounds like managing things is going to be part of your job.
We employed a schizophrenic as an intern. He never said but it was obvious from the beginning he was dealing with the condition. But he had a unique focus and ability to soak up information. He could be pointed at tough problems and kind of just never stressed any more or less. He just punched through or worked around issues that would have left other people stuck in their tracks. He's never afraid to ask for advice. He was (and is) one of the wittiest people I've worked with.
Four weeks or so into the job he had a crash of sorts. Maybe it was the change in environment. It took him out for months. But even by that stage it was obvious he was a keeper.
So five years on he's one of our most talented developers. With no prior coding experience. Everyone in the business knows that he shits gold. And he's only just getting started.
So: Something that is a disadvantage to some can be developed as a strength, if you have the creativity and fortitude to pull it off. Take your meds religiously. Minimise situations that will make things worse for you, but not so much that you don't expose yourself to the new. If you need social contact but have to work from home sometimes, have a two-way webcam setup to the office; permanently open on the screen so you have the connection with others.
Good luck!
I, too, have schizophrenia. However, I live in England so I have the NHS to fall back on. My meds make me sleep a lot. I do know the risks of not taking my meds so I am compliant in spite of the unpleasant side effects of the meds.
I spent roughly 2 years in a psychiatric hospital. I became institutionalised. I've been out in the community for nearly 10 years now, and it has been a hard slog to get where I am now.
These days instead of working for a software house, I am a volunteer at a local Mental Health Charity (http://www.contactmorpeth.org.uk/) doing all sorts of things from making cups of tea, helping with computer problems and answering the phones. It is fairly light work so I spend most of my time studying "The C++ Programming Language 4(e)" by Bjarne Stroustrup.
My key worker ran some courses at a local University. She invited me to attend some of them so that the students could ask someone with a mental health problem directly. Also I maintain a blog - http://schizopanic.blogspot.co.uk/ - because when I started it I couldn't find any other blogs.
I wish you the best of luck - my mother has suffered from paranoid schizophrenia her entire life. With treatment she has been able to maintain a semi-normal life and job for two decades. The relationships built by having a job and co-workers have helped her blossom far more then staying home ever did.
i've been coding software for decades, now. my last 4 or so years employed in a large, promising and cutting edge software company. one thing i can tell you: everybody is nuts in this profession. so make yourself comfortable, don't think too much about it and welcome to the club!
As a neurotypical developer who works from home, I find it a bit weird to have emotional difficulty being physically alone for eight hours a day. Or does this make me neuro-atypical, perhaps?
Choosing a gradual route would work.That is, rather than making a full transformation of social environment, you can start with a part-time job. This would be more healthy.
This is a post to help those that experience the same lives that the anonymous poster has, as well as I do: Many schizophrenics and people who experience abnormal thought patterns and/or manic episodes actually have an advantage by thinking “outside of the box.” See the movie “A Beautiful Mind” about John Nash. He is a man who experienced schizophrenia and then found success after many trial and errors. Quoting your anonymous post message, “that you feel very high (a surge of uncontrollable thoughts), or low”; this really is because our minds work differently that the norm (they may be mutated in some way), but that doesn't mean you cannot control them. To myself, the “ill” component of your diagnoses may be considered as “interference.” It is possible to learn how to control it. You may choose technology, pharmaceutical chemistry, therapy, and then also prayer and meditation. I prefer to use them all. Your life is a project, you can program yourself to correct your errors. Life, in a way, is about managing yourself. Motivate yourself to never give up, and then to apply yourself in every way to reward yourself (and others.) By blessing others, you may find that you learn about ways to improve yourself as well. If someone gives you bad vibes, analyze that they are the ones that may be experiencing low-self esteem and are the bad critics. Don't acknowledge pessimistic critics; only accept those who give constructive-criticism. Never give up on yourself or those who give you a positive influence. Do not label yourself as an underdog, even though at times it may seem to be this way. If you accept to be a failure by your (so called) “disease”, you will be one. Don't accept that “pill.” You must be an over-comer of your “illness” and play your “hand of cards” the best that you can. From the deck of cards that our Creator serves us, you must do the best to play your game with success. You must use your (possibly enhanced) creativity, and thought patterns for good by learning to channel them to your outcome in success. No person is perfect because “to err is human”, but you may still live Life to the fullest of your ability. You must understand that success is not the same goal for everyone. I have had many failures in my thirty-one years of Life, but “failure is a stepping stone to success.” There may even be “a thorn in you side” that you must live with rest of your Life, but you may learn to live with it and learn from it. By working with people (such as co-workers, friends or family), you may learn from their lives (just as anyone else may.) I am now in my thirties, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was young. Most people who have illnesses such as schizophrenia or are manic-depressive/bipolar (maybe of different types) are considered “dreamers.” To an extent this may be true, but that doesn't mean they are less useful than people who are not diagnosed with a “condition.” They may suffer from detachment from the common life; but wouldn't the world be boring if we were all the same? I really do deeply understand your aggravation with you working with your “illness.” I have gone through many bouts and struggles with this through out my life, and many times people look down on you for something that is not your fault. I believe the key is to find an occupation that you are good at (by finding work that is fun and enjoyable to you. Find what you are good at, and do it! This may be computers and technology, or maybe graphic design. It may be something that has nothing to do with technology at all! That is for you to figure out. Setup your Life management project and do “First things First, One Thing at a Time.” You may multitask your Life, but schedule yourself in order. Many veterans would understand this because they are taught the acronym “K.I.S.S”, which means “Keep It Simple Soldier.” You may do
Granted, the language was inflammatory and trollish, but you're overreacting. So much so, that I question your mental competence.
Will no-one think of the poor customers, who want to buy a quality product?
Just start all your code with //NOTE: Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live
1st of all, this is a topic you should be discussing with your therapist, NOT slashdot. 2nd, I'm gonna give you the truth instead of the thumbs up I suspect you were hoping for.
If you want to interact with the public: do so with service sector employees who won't fire you if you freak out. They're paid to be nice to you which makes them good confidence builders.
If you want to get out of Mom & Dad's basement, find a roommate and keep telecommuting.
I can not think of a less healthy and antagonizing environment/den of vipers for a paranoid person suffering from mental illness. The workplace is very lovey-dovey and self congratulatory when times are good. When times are bad: it becomes a rat race where people crawl over the bodies of their comrades to just to keep their heads above water. Even when times are good, some people will fuck with you just because they know you're an easy target/victim and they think it's entertaining to bully others. The passive-aggressive back scratching is always done with a smile and a handshake. Never without the most rationale & well-reasoned justification to explain away the transgression if you call them on their bullshit.
Your mental illness will instantly ruin your credibility during any dispute( and other people know it) so they'll abuse you and dump their homework on your desk because they know you can't fight back. Your harassment will always be verbal and you'll never have any evidence other than hearsay.
If they're real sadists they will engage in "gaslighting" and make your life a living hell. By the time you quit, you will be on a performance improvement plan and HR will have enough ammunition against you from projects you fumbled(where you were set up to fail) that you will be denied unemployment benefits because your termination was "for cause".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting
If you decide to proceed with your(misguided IMHO) plan please print off a copy of this post and stick it in an envelope. Then read it when you leave your job. Don't say no one warned you. Certainly not a fellow sufferer of mental illness who doesn't have the luxury of getting paid to work instead of mucking bullshit from coworkers for 75% of his day. You're in for a treat!
So sad. I hope you recieve the help that you need.
The fact that you say "socialist" is rather humerous. Perhaps you should learn the definition of that word. A rather pathetic response concidering where you're posting it.
Just an asshole, let it be. As I should.
I don't work in tech, but I do work with people who have mental illness. Being consistent with your medication and other treatment is something that is so important, but is easy to slip please up on. I would encourage you to speak to your treatment provider about developing a relapse prevention program. This would ideally include a fair amount of stress management. I would also encourage you to have an honest discussion with your family and treatment providers about how to handle the situation if you do have a relapse of symptoms, and write it all down in a mental health advance directive (this ensures your wishes are carried out if you are temporarily unable to make good decisions for yourself). If remembering pills is a problem for you, a long acting injectable might be an option. There are some good products that only require a monthly injection. They are pretty expensive, but there is help getting co-pays covered. It's also a chance to check I regularly with your treatment provider to discuss any problems you have. All of that said, it sounds like you know yourself pretty well and know what you need. I have confidence you can handle whatever situation comes up!
Than, please go suck dick, and don't take time to post here. It takes time from sucking dick. Don't neglect your customers.
My first large scale job out of college was WFH - 70% and Travel - 30% ... It was absolutely awful.
I was young and working at a large company with little to no support. Near the end of my first year I had a break down and discontinued work there. I learned a lot from that situation. The biggest of which was how much I thrived of the energy of other people. Bouncing ideas around, or just having someone to look at as they walk by.
I'm not a programmer, but a Unix Admin. Just being around people is key to easing my struggle in this life. Weather I like the people or not, just having those minds and that energy around is essential to my survival.
I finished my last contract job up from home, and it was nice taking a break from the office. To work from another perspective. After 2 months of WFH I craved the office again.
For me I don't think I'd mind Office - 90% and WFH - 10%. Any less than 90% in the office and I feel separate from people. I get distant and spacey.
We all get down from time to time, "US" more than others. But the key is to get back on that horse when you can. Keep putting the good work out there when possible.
Take Care,
Grifter
I just thought that I'd point out that it's not discrimination if the person's condition interferes with work. I guess I could be wrong, but I think what laws like this mean is that the employer can't sight the mental illness (in this case) as the cause dismissal, etc. If the illness negatively affects job performance, it would still be valid to dismiss the person responsible. Also it may be of interest that the public sector is rather notorious for being more discriminatory than the private since the latter cannot afford to limit their labor pool as much as the former.
And you should learn to spell "humorous".
It's called normal affective. A delusional state where you believe you are not crazy, and that others are. It is the worst illness of them all.
It is manifested as intolerance of others who one judges as not like oneself and so "crazy" This causes isolation and rigid thought patterns of "right" and "wrong". Finally, one dies, and so it ends. This leads to another illness called existentialism ; )
Like using IT IS when you wanted ITS?
Work carefully with your doctors to dial in the meds (and the diagnosis). My girlfriend (now wife) was eventually diagnosed with bipolar, but was initially treated medically for depression. We discovered that she was bipolar after the meds screwed her up. She got her meds dialed in and that got her to a point where she could take charge of maintaining her health. The meds will only stabilize the situation. At that point you can start making lifestyle changes to mitigate the condition.
She got on a good routine and started eating properly - meats and vegetables and good fats, knock off the sugar, starches and potatoes, nothing out of a box. Taking a multi-vitamin and fish oil supplements. Eating boxed crap is terrible for your physical and mental health. Look into the paleo diet (basically, don't eat crap that comes in a box). Also, look into a ketogenic diet - this diet is a high fat, moderate protein, low carb diet that has been shown to help epileptics, schizophrenics, depressive and bipolar sufferers. Some have improved to the point where they could discontinue their medications. Talk this over with your doctor, but there have been controlled studies regarding these diets and their effects.
She then got into cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Everybody should know about this, as it really helps you cope with anything. You mentioned the negative self-talk you had when you consider the potential negative outcomes of treatment. You need to learn to replace those thoughts on the fly, to spin-doctor the bad to consider the good. Folks DO have positive treatment outcomes. You have to learn not to judge all events as bad.
She also really got into physical fitness - marathons and ultramarathons. Fresh air and sunshine is really important.
With all these pieces, and patience, and support (from a dope of a husband that had to learn from scratch what mental illness was all about), she is now physically and mentally healthy and happy, and has been discharged from her medications by her doctor for over a year.
It takes work to maintain your physical and mental health, but that is true for everyone, whether they have a diagnosis or not.
As a supervisor, I had an employee in a similar situation (posting anonymously for obvious reasons) - the employee was behaving extremely erratically, and we all knew there was something seriously wrong, but all we could do was keep gathering evidence until we finally had enough evidence to get the person fired. All the time we were wondering whether the employee would show up with a gun one day, or something like that. (Security was useless - they wouldn't do anything until there was a crystal clear threat, presumably something we'd hear immediately before bullets starting flying.) The saddest part was that we really meant the employee no ill will... we wanted the person to get help. Unfortunately, last I heard, based on the person's Facebook postings, the situation hadn't improved. Sad.
I wish this country would improve the recognition and treatment of mental issues. I think it would solve several of the other problems we have.
Make sure that you have a doctor that does not see medication as the only form of treatment. Medications are certainly appropriate for certain times and conditions, but there is much more to recovery and maintenance of a condition than pills.
Your doctor should also be thinking about lifestyle habits that you should be considering - eating, exercise, CBT/meditation, ALONG with appropriate meds. If you live in a cave and eat Pop-Tarts 7 meals a day, all the pills in the world are not going to fix (or even stabilize) what ails you.
Having said that, eating all your veggies, getting rest and sunlight, etc.. may not completely fix what ails you. But those sorts of lifestyle changes will make your medication regimen much more effective and keep you stable with less effort.
America has the same law, it's called the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Once they're hired into a position the employee can document their illness (they don't have to tell the employer ahead of time) with the employer, then the employer is required to make reasonable concessions. There is an exemption in the case of undue hardship (this is the employer's responsibility to prove to the court) and the employee must still be able to perform his essential duties.
Firing someone because their mental illness is interfering with their ability to perform their essential duties isn't protected under the ADA because it isn't discrimination. If any one employee doesn't do their job, then they would also be fired: the person isn't being terminated because they have a mental illness, but because they can't do their job.
For instance, a stock boy with social anxiety may request reasonable concessions to not perform cashier or clerking duties on the front end. He is still perfectly able to stock the shelves.
which is like having manic depression aka bi-polar disorder with schizophrenia and less than one half a percent of the US population suffers from it.
The big problems that I have is I am almost always misunderstood. People think that just because I am mentally ill I must be crazy, insane, stupid, incompetent, etc.
I can still do my work for jobs, but no employer wants to hire me. If I do get hired as soon as they discover I am mentally ill coworkers start to harass me and pick on me and bully me to force me to leave, or make up stuff to get me fired. They do this out of ignorance rather than a conspiracy. When they see your moods change and swing from one to another, they notice that you are mentally ill. It is not that they do this out of hate, but they misunderstand what being mentally ill really is, and confuse you for being selfish, or crazy, or insane, or whatever the news media tells them. Most of these public shooters are mentally ill so they compare you to them and get scared of you. Most people are scared of what they don't understand and get nervous and sometimes that fear turns into hate which leads to harassment, mocking, insults, bullying, and other things. When management notices most of your coworkers are picking on you, they have a choice, either fire your coworkers who aren't mentally ill, or fire the mentally ill person the coworkers are picking on.
I've been out of work since 2002 due to this. I am non-violent and I can work with anyone as long as they agree to treat me like a human being.
http://blastar.in/
http://www.blastar.org/
I am working on some startups, trying to get people involved at the above websites. I am thinking of maybe making some video games or small apps or something. I have written ebooks and done some blogging. I am open to suggestions. I have done tech support for family and friends to get by. Mostly cleaning viruses off their Windows PCs and in some cases converting people to GNU/Linux like Ubuntu or Lubuntu/Xubuntu.
I have tried kickstarter and indiegogo but it went nowhere as nobody wants to support a mentally ill person.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
How can you be schizophrenic and alone? Just talk to your alternate personalities!
Anyone posting negative comments regarding mental illness are, themselves, mentally ill. No stable, centered, and happy person derives satisfaction from the emotional sabotage of others.
Ought be humourous, to yon Canadian.
Yup, and the idea of 'reasonable accommodation' usually means that it only applies to companies with more than 50 employees, since it would be unreasonable to expect much from a smaller company. So if you have a disability of any kind that requires some level of support, then get a job at a large company.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Uhuh, similarly people with agoraphobia or anxiety can be used at night when it is quieter and the law assumes that a larger company can do more to accommodate someone than a small company can.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Back in the days of yore, a schizophrenic would be a prophet or an oracle, since some gods and daemons or dead souls are talking to him. These days, thanks to stabilizing medicine, they have more opportunities to excel.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
working wasn't easy. I've been canned many times before because teh meds sucked. My philosophy is just take the little pills and and swallow them.. don't give it any thought. Currently meds are better than the ones I had before (3rd brand).
Life right now is stable and i'm making savings, but for about 8 years I was on welfare for the last 11 years. I believe it's due to not being enough distribution of wealth in society, so I do open source while I'm not working. That's just one way to give back for doing nothing. lol.
$22 million for each mental health recovery
November 21, 2010 at 6:24pm
On October 27, 2000, King County in Washington State, by a vote of 11 to 1, passed a very unusual ordinance. This directed psychiatrists working in the state mental health system to make their patients well and to report annually on how successful they had been in achieving this goal. The ordinance defined exactly what was to be considered a mental health recovery. Such a former patient had to be able to meet four criteria. They must have become well enough to engage in volunteer work, or be employed full or part-time, or be engaged in culturally appropriate activities, or be pursuing educational or vocational opportunities. Secondly, a recovered mental patient had to be living independently or in supported housing. Thirdly, they must have been discharged from the county’s publicly funded mental health system or, at most, be receiving only infrequent maintenance services. Lastly, when tested they must be able to score 81 or more on the Global Assessment of Function Scale. This scale measures such things as aggression, ability to communicate, and level of personal hygiene.
It is now some 3 years since this ordinance was passed and the required initial report on the efficacy of the system has been issued, covering the period January 1 through December 31, 2001. King County, Washington is not a rural backwater. It is one of the most progressive counties in the US, the location of Seattle. So what did the residents of King County get for themore than $90 million they spent on mental health in 2001? According to the first mandated report, 7,831 mental patients, mainly schizophrenics and patients with major depression,were treated during the year. Of these, 6,949 (88.7%) showed no change, 597 (8%) displayed some improvement, 285 (4%)regressed, and four (0.05%) recovered. Put another way, ifyou suffered from schizophrenia, major depression, or othermental illness in King County during 2001, your chance of a full recovery was less that one in one thousand.
That is, the residents of the Seattle area are paying over $22 million for each mental health recovery.
In Medieval times, victims of the bubonic plague had a far better chance of recovery than this. Treated with hot onion, fig, and treacle poultices or partially plucked pigeons to draw off poisons from their swollen lymphnodes, they were much more likely to completely recover than schizophrenics receiving the best treatments that modern psychiatry has to offer. If you believe that this is acceptable,throw this book away. If not, seriously consider the alternative treatments that stem from an acceptance of the adrenochrome hypotheses.
H.D. Foster, "What really causes schizophrenia" P 208-209
http://hdfoster.com/sites/hdfoster.com/files/users/user6/Foster_Schizophrenia.pdf
See also: http://rs79.vrx.net/works/books/Bionutrition/refs/madness/
Also google scholar: "prousky anxiety niacin families"
Need Mercedes parts ?
There is a genius Go programmer (as in Weiqi, Baduk, GO game) that IIRC has come out as schizophrenic some years ago.
His name is Frank A. de Groot, author of MoyoGo Studio - a controversial but good go-studying platform. Some time ago, he used to offer his program for a fee, got into trouble with major Go schools in Korea I think (they claimed he used their pro game logs data without authorization). The guy always has an axe to grind with somebody, whether on good ole groups, irc, email or forums. After some time, he started offering MoyoGoStudio for free...
And then, he deleted it. Forever.
Just like that, with all backup copies of it.
Or at least that`s what he claimed to have done, in a bad episode. Next thing i hear, when in a lighter mood, he dug up some god-forsaken source copy and apologized for not taking his pills.
I think the guy IS a genius programmer, but completely fills in the proverb about not every gift being a blessing...
Maybe he can offer some personal, non-anonymous advice on the subject?
Now, Make Your WISE Move...
They are both psychiatric abnormalities and they make it harder to communicate with some people. I like working alone projects wise but as you say, the company of others, if you like them, is healthy, even if you are autistic or schizophrenic. What I do and think helps is: 0. Tell people about it because it makes them more understanding usually and I found they are also interested in hearing details about it, guess for them it is like watching a documentary :)
1. Laugh about it with them. When people laugh they feel happy and knowing that you made them laugh makes them like you.
It also makes them feel less nervous and uncomfortable and for me, at least, it also makes me feel better when I make jokes.
My psychiatrist also thinks I am correct about this.
Also, might be a good thing to prepare yourself for the option this may not work out well and try not be disappointed by it.
Luck,
I have learned from observance and being around people with various mental issues that those who regularly take their meds do a lot better than those who do not. One of the problems with mental illnesses is that the illness will convince the person who has it that they don't need to take their meds. If you are prone to this kind of thing where you don't take your meds when you feel good, you are going to have problems in a work place. I guarantee it. The most unpleasant work experience of my life was working with a guy my manager forced us to hire because we had left the job open for a long time and he told us that we had to hire someone or the job would be closed forever. So we hired the least objectionable of a very uninspiring group of candidates we interviewed for the job. On his first day at work, he told us all that he was bi-polar and he saw no need to take any medicine for this. The next 6 months or whatever it was that he worked with us were just very bad as we saw him both unrealistically happy and in the deepest depths of depression and neither state was very good for us as co-workers. He finally left us for another job and became somebody else's problem. I don't want to go into details as for all I know maybe he reads Slashdot and he could recognize himself, but he found an interesting way as he left the company to create problems for us for months to come and I wouldn't wish what he did to us on anybody.
Right now I have a co-worker who battles depression and a few other issues and while it sometimes makes him difficult to deal with, he does regularly take his meds and we've learned to just accept his occasional bad moods as they don't last and he is a valuable contributor. But if you are going to go through periods where you don't take your meds, you'll do nobody any favors by working in an office.
My experience wacko people are the most fun to be around at work and in general, it's the "normies" that you have to avoid.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
Hi, I suffer from schizophrenia and work as a developer. At first I was very scared to get a job with workmates and all, so the first job I got was in a small startup, there were no more than 3 developers, and it really helped me to build up on confindence. As long as you take your meds, you'll see you'll do just fine. I know we are quite an odd bunch, but eventually people get used to us, and we can be as productive and cooperative as any other person. Afterwards I moved to a larger company, I am still struggling because there is just a lot of people, but I know I have to keep trying until things feel right.
My advice to you, don't isolate yourself because you suffer from mental illness, I know it's not easy but it eventually has its rewards to meet people who have your same craft and can also become your friends..
Who in their right mind even hires a schitzo.....
..with my multiple personality disorder
Pathetic.
Oh no! It looks like my entire argument has been rendered moot by the single grammatical error you found!
Your problem is that you are alone for too long. You probably think many others can handle this sort of thing. No it's impossible because we are social beings holding on to what keeps us sane and alive. Compared to the majority of negative comments here are made by small shallow borderline human beings you are doing better then normal. If you feel to lonely doing code go out hiking discover the wild outdoors. If that doesn't help maybe you like social jobs, a career change maybe in store for you. and for your schizophrenic disorder learn about energies and chakras. My sense is that intelligent people are so strong minded that they cannot let themselves hear the other chakras. This causes an imbalance between your mind and the rest of your body. The mind cannot make sense because the repressed chakras begin to act up or the absence of their energy can create a gap the mind tries to make up for. Either or the mind becomes under stress. People without conscience nor intellect ignore this and conform to other disorders that help them cope like lashing out at others. Yes, we are animals still. Our systems of comfort sometimes rejects what is necessary for us because we are afraid to accept the truth. The man that says you can survive in a chair coding 8hrs alone is a man who kills himself 8hrs alone. so what if you want to work with others I think that's cool if you find the right people Man is not a machine he is an artist.. and if you can't hear him its time to rediscover yourself... I wish the best to you.
The Author of Bipolar Advantage. I've seen him talk 2X and he's one of the few that really is onto something useful.
Tom's bipolar himself and has learned to manage it and continue as an author. He's invented a whole new approach to this stuff. I had to attend 2 of his free lectures, to really "get it". He's not selling a seminar, but truly trying to change the delivery of care.
Basically, the current mental healthcare system to strive for the unrealistic goal that they admit doesn't work! Just medicate people into some kind of "even keel" state and hope they're going to stay that way.
If you can watch a few minutes of this presentation . or read a bit of his books, I never finished one, but got a lot out of a l ittle exposure to this guy. (I've been diagnosed bipolar, btw)
Here's a recent talk by Tom Wooten, a youtube link shortened
http://bit.ly/19p8u6k
here's his website
http://www.bipolaradvantage.com/
I would highly recommend reading Roger Gentis's work, especially maybe "Les murs de l'asile".
It's quite old indeed, but still very interesting.