To understand how bipolar disorder and Failure to Launch Syndrome are connected, one must first understand them separately.
Bipolar Disorder is classified as a manic-depressive illness. It causes intense mood shifts in one’s everyday life. This is different than commonly experienced highs and lows.

Bipolar Disorder moods range from mania, evidenced by extreme happiness, hyperactivity, and over-excitement to extreme irritability and explosiveness to depression, evidenced by extreme sadness and/or hopelessness and often accompanied by suicidal ideations. Symptoms of a manic episode may include feeling “high,” being overly happy and outgoing, and/or being extremely irritable. A manic episode may exhibit with behaviors such as rapid talking, distractability, being restless, taking in little sleep, jumping from one idea/activity to the next, and being impulsive. Symptoms of a depressive episode may include a longer than normal period of sadness and anhedonia, or a loss of interest in activities one used to enjoy. A depressive episode may exhibit behaviors such as feeling tired or slow, inability to concentrate, irritability, restlessness, and/or thinking of death or suicide.

Failure to Launch Syndrome is classified as the inability to transition from childhood to adulthood successfully. Members of this group are unable to manage the challenges associated with transitioning to adulthood. Symptoms might include having an unclear purpose in life, little ambition, lack of motivation, intense procrastination, not caring about money or earning it, and/or social isolation. Adults categorized as having Failure to

Launch Syndrome seemingly have ideas but fail to act on them or give up easily. They appear to be satisfied with the status quo, though might verbalize a want for change.

Case Study:
Lora, a 25 year old Middle Eastern woman, was a college graduate who came to therapy for help “figuring out [her] life.” She was a web designer by default, but had her hand in many artistic fields – making crafts, cooking, drawing. Lora lived with her parents and had never been in a romantic relationship. She quit her job as a website designer because it was “boring,” and there was no room for growth. She decided to become a chef instead and took an 8-week cooking class.

Upon completion, she was hired as a line cook and decided three weeks into the job that it wasn’t for her. She then decided she wanted to write children’s books. She took meetings with editors and attempted to come up with a story. After a few weeks, she decided it was too difficult and gave up. Lora also decided she wanted to move out of her parents’ home because it was holding her back, yet she couldn’t maintain a job that would help her pay for rent elsewhere. She had difficulty making new friends, and despite being encouraged to find groups with folks who had similar interests, Lora was content to stay home and clean or search for a new job. Lora was classified as suffering from Failure to Launch Syndrome, secondary to her bipolar diagnosis.

So, the question becomes: how are bipolar and failure to launch syndrome connected? There is an obvious overlap between the two – Depression. Depressed individuals have very little motivation, experience sadness and social isolation, and, as such, procrastinate. This can lead a young adult to great difficulty in moving on with their lives and transitioning successfully into adulthood.

When the support group, often parents, try to overcompensate by making the young adult feel comfortable in the home and try to “help,” it often backfires and encourages the young adult to not take initiative, because everything is being done for them. The young adult then falls deeper into their depressive episode and remains in the home. If and when the young adult hits a manic phase, they are so “high” and enthusiastic about everything they are able to do, that they try to meet unrealistic goals – and more than one at that!

This sets them up for failure and, inevitably, they fall back into their depression, and the support group comes to the rescue once again. This only perpetuates the disappointment and failure to move forward in a healthy manner. If their bipolar disorder is not addressed, these actions end up in a vicious cycle and the support group eventually becomes the enemy.

The good news is that with treatment, healthy coping skills, and a solid support group those suffering with bipolar disorder can live a full life while managing their symptoms. Assisting one’s young adult with achieving small successes can help with successfully moving forward into adulthood, which tackles their failure to launch syndrome as well.
By Michelle Dabach, MA MFT

There are several typical concerns that many job seekers have, such as conflict with co-workers or a supervisor and being overworked and underpaid. But for those dealing with a bipolar diagnosis, being able to cope effectively with these concerns, among others, can make the difference as to whether the young adult is able to maintain a job.
While on the job search, we ask our participants to consider a few things before deciding on where to apply. We specifically ask them to consider the work environment, schedule, and potential stress level of the position and how shifts in mood, energy, behaviors, and thinking will affect his or her ability to cope with these.

Aside from the job being a good fit with interest areas and desired career path, we want each participant to get an idea as to whether the job’s environment will likely be a fit for them as an individual. We often utilize online reviews, word of mouth, and Google searches to find out about work conditions at the companies they are considering.

We use this information to help determine whether the environment will be potentially supportive or harmful. It is important for each participant to know how they work best. Is it a busy, fast-paced environment or something more quiet and relaxed? To determine a participant’s best environment fit, we offer in-office career assessments and recommend volunteering as the step prior to obtaining a job. One-time commitments, recurring commitments, and community service all serve to test different environments and structures. The participant then has information to work with in order to make a Wise Mind decision about pursuing a particular job.

For scheduling, we want participants to secure positions that will have set, structured schedules as opposed to those that have call-in shifts. Schedules that do not change weekly and that do not require staff to stay after hours without advance notice are recommended. This will help with decreasing stress that can trigger a manic episode and negatively impact job performance.

Ideal jobs often include tutoring, office work, after school programs, and certain retail stores and restaurants that hire for specific days and times. We also encourage participants to find work that won’t interfere with sleep routines. Regular sleep routines increase the likelihood of mood stability. For example, working at a movie theater that has late showings and overnight jobs would not be conducive to balanced sleep.

We generally want our participants to lead balanced lives, and stress on the job can negatively impact this balance. We research jobs that have stressors like last minute deadlines, unclear job descriptions, and no consistency. Commission-based jobs in retail or telemarketing or fast paced jobs like busy coffee shops are not typically the best match. We also recommend a part-time job when participants are adjusting to medications and that the young adult has open communication with his or her therapist and psychiatrist about changes in mood. We do weekly check-ins with the option to increase or decrease hours worked to ensure that each participant is getting the needed support.

Once participants have a list of locations to apply to, we talk about the applications and the interview. We recommend that participants not disclose too much personal information about medical history on the application or in the interview to ensure they being hired based on their experiences without judgment. We also encourage participants to read employee handbooks front to back to ensure they know about time-off policies in the event they need to take some self-care days.

We have had success with participants with bipolar and the job search process, even when a young adult has experienced difficulties or failures with the process in the past. Our approach to finding the appropriate fit for the unique needs of the young adult, rather than the first job that comes up, continues to be the key to success.

Living with Bipolar Disorder can often feel like a roller coaster ride with the highs of mania and the lows of depression. In addition, there are also the twists and turns on that ride based on a person’s environment, including stressors, coping skills, support system, and lifestyle. While some people go to amusement parks, ride roller coasters and go home, others are left to ride this intense, often emotionally dysregulating mental health roller coaster throughout their entire lives. The good news is, there interventions that allow young adults with bipolar disorder to experience relief, more balance, and the potential for a more stable and productive life. Let’s begin by looking at the two main types of Bipolar Disorder.
BIPOLAR 1 vs. BIPOLAR 2
For some, the lows feel as though the floor beneath them is falling out, like they are free-falling from 1000ft in the air. Meanwhile, the highs provide a thrill of a lifetime (manic episode) that they never want to end. This is referred to as Bipolar 1.
For others, the ride is relatively smooth with just a couple of peaks and valleys, and this experience is often referred to as Bipolar 2.

REGULATING THE ROLLER COASTER

In my experience working at OPI’s residential treatment program with young adults dealing with Bipolar Disorder, medication provides a huge benefit in helping stabilize mood and creating a smoother ride throughout life.
There are a few difficulties that we see when it comes to medication compliance and this particular disorder, meaning that young adults aren’t always gung-ho about taking a daily medication in order to feel “normal” and regulated. Further, many of them report feeling like “guinea pigs,” having tried numerous medications over the years only to find that the side-effects outweighed the benefits, if any. At OPI, we overcome this issue by offering GeneSight, a painless cotton swab to the inside of the cheek that allows us to perform genetic testing. GeneSight helps take the guesswork out of which medications will likely have the most benefits and least side effects for the young adult in a very individualized way, based on his or her unique DNA.
Another common resistance to taking medication for Bipolar Disorder is that most people are used to taking a medication to treat a symptom or illness and then stop once the condition has resolved. For many people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, accepting not only the fact that they have this diagnosis but also the fact that they may need to be on medication for the rest of their life is a very difficult pill to swallow (no pun intended). In addition, as I was saying before, many people with Bipolar experience the highs of mania to be a thrill. They feel carefree, invincible, and experience a sense of euphoria. Now, who would want to take a pill that takes that incredible feeling away? The unfortunate part is that along with those feelings there also tends to be reckless behavior, poor impulse control, and poor judgment which can have long-term negative effects on someone’s life including one’s job, relationships, and finances.
And what goes up must come down, which means depression is inevitable for people suffering from Bipolar Disorder. Unfortunately, without medication, those lows get lower. Depression is often associated with a decrease in mood, energy level, and interest. It can also make concentration and decision making difficult. Depression impacts not only mood, but also sleep, appetite, and self-esteem and sometimes even leads to suicidal ideations or attempts. Medication helps lessen the severity of depression and creates more stability in a person’s mood.
At OPI’s residential treatment program, we believe in the benefits of medication in treating Bipolar Disorder, but not in medication alone. Our psychiatrists work collaboratively with our participants to help them understand the benefits of medication and the importance of medication compliance. In addition to psychiatry, we provide therapy to assist young adults with learning and understanding their diagnosis so that they can begin to accept it while building healthy coping skills to manage the highs and lows associated with the disorder. We also have a variety of departments to assist them with finding a life path that will fit with their lifestyle and provide them with a sense of joy and stability. While people with Bipolar Disorder cannot completely get off the roller coaster ride of life, they can definitely find a way to slow it down and create a smoother ride.