When your issues with emotional dysregulation make it hard to hold down a job

Let’s face it: we have to work to live. The unfortunate reality is that those who identify with symptoms of what is known as borderline personality disorder (BPD or EUPD), as well as other disorder labels like complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD), often find it hard to “hold down a job.” These individuals are often highly sensitive, reactive, creative, intuitive, and intense. The workplace can be highly triggering for anyone grappling with trauma recovery. It’s all too common to feel that we have to take/do jobs that we hate and end up sacrificing our creative passions.

In this episode, we will discuss the common issues and triggers that can arise for us in the workplace and how to best handle and move through them. We’ll also dive into how we can move towards work that we love – something that can feel impossible but doesn’t have to be. This one's for you if you feel like you jump from job to job and find yourself repeating patterns that cause chaos and discontentment in your professional life. Trust me: there is hope.

​​Questions answered and topics discussed in this episode:

■ Can someone with symptoms of BPD or cPTSD keep or maintain a job? 

■ Why do people who identify with BPD or cPTSD impulsively quit their jobs, regardless of the consequences? 

■ Signs you might be a chronic “job hopper” and what to do about it (and why it isn’t ALWAYS a bad thing)

■ Can someone with BPD have a successful career (spoiler alert: YES)

■ Can BPD symptoms make you unable to work? 

■ The most common struggles people with symptoms of BPD and cPTSD experience in the workplace (issues with authority, gossiping, ruminating, reactivity, fear of rejection, tying self-worth to work, etc.)

■ The connection between BPD identity issues and choosing a long-term career

■ Why it can feel impossible to find work we actually enjoy doing (and how to overcome this)

■ BPD and work performance (BPD and losing jobs) 

Resources mentioned:

■ Essay by Paul Graham: “How To Do What You Love”

■ Twitter thread by Billy Oppenheimer: “12 habits and principles for doing your best creative work”

■ Book by Elizabeth Gilbert: “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear”

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Disclaimer: information contained in this podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment or consultation with a licensed mental health professional.

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