Ask HN: Can you work as a developer while taking medication for mental illness?
It has been very difficult for me to hold down a job, or even finishing a big contract project. At my first startup job, I was really struggling to concentrate on my work. I think I ended up getting burned out and lost all motivation, so I had to quit (or I was probably going to get fired.)
I think I've been able to work around my mood swings by doing some freelance projects. I can usually hold it together and finish some work, and then I have a break. It has also been helpful to work 5-10 hours per week, or go full-time for a month or two.
However, I'm currently interviewing for a full-time job with a startup, so I will need to be reasonably productive for extended periods of time. I'll have a manager assigning me tickets to work on, and I'll probably have to work on a lot of really boring things, because that's just how it is when you're an employee. But it's a really awesome opportunity with a high salary, significant equity, and the whole team works remotely. I've also been really struggling to hold it together with contract work and side projects, so I need some stability for a while to build up my savings (and the startup "lottery ticket" would be nice.)
I was listening to a podcast recently where Stephen Fry talked about taking lithium. He said it worked well for him, so I think I would like to try that as well. But I've also heard that some medication can make everything fuzzy, or that it's harder to concentrate and get into the state of "flow".
Are there any developers here who have successfully managed their bipolar disorder with medication, and can still work as a developer?