Employment with Bipolar and Asperger’s
The world is a very difficult place to navigate with Bipolar Disorder and Asperger’s: I feel like I am at the right address but on the wrong planet. Earth is a labyrinth of sensory overload, and emotional confusion. Most humans live with developed invisible guides and rules, that are like many foreign languages spoken at once to someone with mental illness. It is extremely difficult for us outsiders to engage with others. The structure of education was easier to adapt to, even with the relentless bullying from adults, teachers, peers and other bullied students. I graduated high school two years late, but then I also obtained a BA from University of Maryland Baltimore County, and MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art.
During my time at MICA, I was hospitalized three times for my psychiatric problems. My last hospitalization was during my thesis review and defense. Praise God, I graduated on time and for the first time I walked across the commencement stage for my MFA diploma. (I did not walk for high school or undergrad). A few years after grad school, I still struggle and end up in and out of the hospital. These hospitalizations crippled my ability to begin a career in the creative field. Instead, I lived with family and worked part time jobs. I applied for many jobs in the art field, but with no career history I never made it past the application process. Many of my grad school peers found employment in the higher education field. But God had different plans for me.
I found a part-time job with a small print shop and worked when they needed me, mainly in the summer for two weeks per year. These days were a struggle, because I didn’t understand how to relate to my co-workers and bosses. Luckily, the hours were flexible, and I opted to come in to work the hours before many of the other employees. I didn’t know the lexicon of office communication. I didn’t know how to navigate small talk in the office. Sensory overload and emotional deregulation were very strenuous to manage. Those few weeks seemed like a complicated year. But God had different plans for me.
In 2010, I went on a mission trip to Ukraine. It was my first international mission trip. I have been to central Europe many times, but eastern Europe was a culture shock. Surprisingly, I discovered that mission work blended well with my Bipolar Disorder and Asperger’s. God revealed why my hospitalizations were important. The rooms in the psychiatric wards that we found in Ukraine were a lot like the rooms at the orphanages. Since that first time, God called me to live on mission in Ukraine.
God led me to MBC in 2018 and I quickly became a member. My planet was turned upside down in 2019, because I moved out on my own with the encouragement of my church family of McLean Bible Church. John, the elder that invited me for membership, invited me to the Discovering the Word Community Group. I knew this was a divine appointment. I went and I loved the fellowship, learning, and family. This was the first time I ever lived on my own and started working for a realtor and an architect. In 2020, I got my first big contract doing photography. Fortunately, God had different plans and in January He called me to full time ministry. I don’t believe He made me for the corporate world, but He made me wonderfully in His image to live on mission equipping churches to serve the mentally ill.