Bipolar girl at work stresses me out
There's this girl at work who I work with, and she has bipolar. She is very hard work to deal with, plus she's loud and chatty to everyone so she's always the center of attention. But she's either hyper or angry, no happy-medium. Because she's the center of attention, her moods affect the whole place. Don't get me wrong, she isn't a nasty person, and she can't help having bipolar, so I try not to let her affect me too much.
But behaviours and moods affect me a lot, and lately her energy has been emotionally wearing me out. Yesterday she was all laughing and chatting, then literally half an hour later she started to cry and said she's feeling agitated. You just don't know what she's going to do next; laugh or cry.
For the 7 months I have known her I've got on with her, as I'm a quiet and passive sort of person who just gets along with everybody. But the other day she got angry with me over something rather trivial, and she said in a calm but angry voice "I'm wound up now", meaning I have pissed her off. I didn't quite know how to deal with her, so I stayed calm but felt very awkward. I tried to put things right but I was worried she might start yelling, so I walked away and got on with my work.
But if people don't obey her wishes, she tends to rant to people about it, and because she's loud and outspoken, people listen to her and sometimes takes her side. Loud people like her seem to know how to get people to listen to them. You've got no other choice really. That's how intense she is.
She often has outbursts at work, and she hates being told off about anything. If she is standing around talking, and the boss politely tells her to get on with her work, she gets into a rage and starts storming about, ranting to everyone else that the boss is 'getting on to her'.
I'm not saying I dislike her, but she is very exhausting to be with. I'm finding that out more and more. In fact, being around her makes ME look neurotypical! (even though I had a panic attack at work the other day, that's nothing compared to her hot and cold behaviour).
I don't know if she takes meds or whatever, that's not my business. The workplace is such a laid-back place, that when she's not there it's all calm.
Have you ever had to deal with a bipolar person? I feel bad for saying this, but sometimes I wish she would get so psychotic that she will claim benefits and leave or do less hours. Just to have some peace and sanity at work.
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Female
