Being a Bipolar Person in the Writing Industry

*This story was firstly published here.

The title sounds very grandeur and problematic, because it is indeed grandeur and problematic. As a person with Bipolar Type II, I was worried that my condition would be the biggest barrier for me to find a decent job and stable income. But before we dive deep into my experience seeking job with Bipolar stamp pressed on my face, let’s talk about the industry first.

UX Writing industry is a pretty new industry. The title sounds cool and all, but basically we are just a designer that user copy as the medium. I put the word ‘just’ to reflect how most people see us as a designer.

"Well, you're not really a designer,", "Well, you just write stuff, right?", and etc.

The industry is pretty harsh to us UX Writer that not many companies are hiring us to handle the copy. Most of companies are pushing their UI/UX Designer to handle the copy instead, not understanding how fatal it could be to hand off the job to someone that actually not meant to handle that. Even on my early year as a UX Writer, I question myself a lot on what I do as a UX Writer. Does my work matters? How do I measure my impact then? Is this really helpful to user? These million dollar questions were swimming on my head as a junior UX Writer. And do I get the answer now? Kind of.

The harsh treatment of the industry is not the end for us UX Writer. We thrive because of that. Big companies are starting to open their eyes and realizing how much copy matters to user. Some of the biggest companies like Google and Apple are hiring UX Writer to specifically handle the copy on their website and their app. And sure, smaller companies then do that too. Lots of companies then realize how much copy matters to help user finish their task on their website/app.

I always imagine my task as UX Writer is like a guidance in a grocery that has no waitress or cashier or display. We help people to buy things or get what they need by the help of small copy here and there. There’s no display, only product detail pages. There’s no cashier, only payment page. And how do we help user to actually buy something if there’s no waitress or display or cashier? By the power of copy and design combined.

Okay, enough talking about the industry. Now it’s the time to talk about my condition. In USA alone, 2,8% of adults have this condition. In Indonesia -where I live- the number is not clear because mental illness is still some kind of taboo thing to talk about.

If you kinda live in a cave, Bipolar Disorder is the kind of condition that makes it hard for you to control your emotion. Symptoms and severity may varied, but generally a person with Bipolar Disorder may have distinct manic or depressed states but may also have extended periods — sometimes years — without symptoms. A person can also experience both extremes simultaneously or in rapid sequence. To be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, a person must have experienced at least one episode of mania or hypomania. Hypomania -unlike mania- is a milder form of symptom that doesn’t include psychotic episodes. People with hypomania can often function well in social situations or at work. Some people with bipolar disorder will have episodes of mania or hypomania many times throughout their life; others may experience them only rarely.

As for me, I have Bipolar Type II for myself. Bipolar II Disorder is a subset of bipolar disorder in which people experience depressive episodes shifting back and forth with hypomanic episodes, but never a “full” manic episode. So basically, I could be sad pretty much all the time, but never be that sad that I couldn’t do anything at all. My sadness is rough, but still bearable. And now the big question, how do I manage to work with this kind of tricky condition?

The key is the transparency. It has been four companies that approached me (two hired me already) that acknowledge my condition. I made it clear up front that I have this condition and what I have done to handle that. I not only told them clearly, but I ask them to walk hand-in-hand with me on how it would look like when I am on my phase. I explained to them each of the therapy and effort that I have done to handle this condition. And guess what, they try their best to understand! Some of them also asking nicest question ever, “How can we help you with this kind of condition?” which melt my heart to the core.

As I can still be productive during the phase, I asked for the flexibility to work from home every time I hit the wall. The reason behind this is that it’s very hard for me to see people face-to-face every time I got the phase. It wasn’t an easy decision for the company to give me one, but sure a needed one to make sure that I can still handle tasks while being on the phase. Matter of fact, most startup companies already have a Work-From-Home policy, so it’s not a big fuss for them anyway.

In my current company, I work heart-to-heart (because it’s not just hand-in-hand anymore lol) with my manager to work this out. I tell him every time I got the phase, I tell him every time I go to my therapist, I tell him every time I need some time off. And he can’t be a better manager because he listen to all of that. He tries his best to be accommodating towards my condition. And I tell you what, this kind of manager is the one I will be so hard to leave on because it’s a super rare item in this world full of killer and evil manager.

Being a person with Bipolar alone is hard, but some of the biggest companies are trying hard to make it easier for us. I can tell you that these companies are no joke, they are reputable and big companies. If these companies can understand you, then it’s a motivation for you to be better, right? Don’t stop trying to make yourself better despite your condition.

I can’t guarantee you that all companies would do the same thing. There are companies that won’t hire people like us as well, thinking that it will be too much of the side-work. But one thing for sure, being honest and open from the first start wouldn’t do you harm. If the company back off, it’s just more of the reason to not to move there, right? Because you can always choose the company you work on, but you can’t choose the body you live on. So, choose wisely.

For anyone with mental illness out there, I would like to tell you that there’s hope. There’s always hope when you try to be as transparent and honest as possible. Don’t be afraid to be open up to your hiring manager because it’s also a useful filter for you to choose to work or not to work on that particular company. If I can do this, you can do this too.