Ekaterina Netchitailova

Work fulfils me in many ways, and I like working. It’s an essential part of being human.

Karl Marx distinguished between labour and work. Labour is when you end up being exploited, like, for instance, in a factory where all work could finish in seven hours, but the bosses insist on an additional hour, for which you aren’t paid.

Work, however, is when you contribute to the society willingly, because it brings fulfilment. And it brings great joy when you also love your work, like I do.

I have the diagnosis of bipolar disorder (due to my vulnerability to psychoses), but I never stopped working even when I was on a sick leave, and could just fully recover without working. But I chose to continue working, even if for a little bit, because it gives me meaning in life.

It is sad to observe that many other people who are diagnosed with severe ‘mental illness’, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, are unable to work.

This is due to several reasons and I blame our mental health services for it.

First, there is great stigma around a psychiatric diagnosis. It weights heavily on the patient and diminishes his/her agency (the ability to exercise his/her will). Many people who are diagnosed, just give up on ‘normal’ life because of a wall of resentment towards bipolar and schizophrenic people.

And then there are also problems due to psychiatric drugs. The drugs that the doctors prescribe (when they strictly follow the rules, such as DSM) make one disabled. The side effects are so horrible that it prevents the individual consuming them from not just working but from enjoying life in general. It also happened to me. I was put on paliperidone injections at a high dose, and thought that this was it: I would never be able to work, ever again. I lost all interest in life, due to the injections.

Thankfully, I am in the hands of a really good psychiatrist who listened and diminished my dose of injections towards the absolute minimum. He also added another drug from third generation of antipsychotics and at this moment I am doing really great. I have zero side effects and enjoy my life to the fullest.

But in order to do it, I need to work. And I love hard work. I work as a lecturer and it brings me such joy to guide my students towards graduation.

I wish that other patients could also find fulfilment via work. I wish that all of them would receive proper, caring treatment and emerge from spells in psychiatric hospitals refreshed and recovered, instead of feeling like an invalid, because of being heavily drugged unnecessarily.

Once the mental health system becomes more compassionate and kind, then the society will become better, where we will recognise that we are all equal, but some of us (neurodivergent) need a bit of help.