Author: Mihali Mqushulu
Ahhhhhh. The roaring 20s. You’re a young women stepping into what most might consider: your prime! The world is your playground, with endless possibilities and iridescent dreams that are coming to life right in front of you. You are in your twenties. Your future is staring you dead in the eye and tempting you to grab it. A lot of aspects play into this, and your career choice is the leading factor. But working hard and leading with a chest full of determination should be enough, right? Well not exactly. Not when you live with a highly stigmatized chronic mental illness.
A solution to pluck me out of my current circumstance and into the free world of independence: That’s what my diagnosis seemed to have cost me. As a 26-year-old who has much bigger dreams than herself, the last things that crossed my mind are inhibitions, especially those that are connected to one’s health status. I know myself, how I wake up and push against the grain, and the contributions I wish to bring forth to the world of work. These are followed by the constant need for financial independence, because as much as it is a dizzying fact, time really is ticking, and one must make a name for themselves.
With this notion, the last thing I figured would halt my progress would be a heavy rejection by people who were to help propel my career. For slight context : A life changing work opportunity was snatched away due to my bipolar disorder. Without getting into the sordid details, I was told at point blank that I would not be suitable for a position that required a large amount of work because of a condition that falls under psychosis. This then translated into my head as: you’re not and will never be mentally fit to do what most people can do with their eyes closed. Hard work and training? Out the window. In this case, it was not applicable. A sudden wave of shame run-through me because for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel I had the illness, but I WAS THE ILLNESS.
After realizing that I was heavily discriminated against and whatever future I had weaved up was ripped to shreds, I soon decided to find a way to justify why what had been done to be incredibly wrong. Dismissal for one’s lack of talent or drive is one thing, assuming that one cannot produce those qualities due to a chronic illness is another. So, I did what the next person would do, take off my blinders and inform myself about a topic I rarely thought to consider: bipolar vs employment.
“In 2024, the bipolar commission reported that there were significant employment barriers for those who have been diagnosed” Ormisson , S, August 2025, BBC NEWS (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly3pje1n3po)
It all comes down to a huge lack of education towards mental illnesses as well a neglect for the mental welfare of company employees. The downside of it is then having to either cross a hurdle that has been set up for you due to your condition or bury it. What I found is that people who are looking for employment rarely disclose their mental conditions. The reason, as stated above, is obvious. It puts your professional future in jeopardy. In our daily lives, we are constantly scrutinized and must create paths to achieve the tiniest of goals we have set up for ourselves. The last place we would need that burden of being frowned upon is the place whereby you earn a living and make a sustainable life for yourself. So, the viable solution for some is to simply not to disclose the illness, and dare I say, hope for the best. Yet this could be a double-edged sword that could destabilize and collapse your professional career as time goes by.
Alot of people, are usually driven by regret. With the illness, we regret having opened so naively about something we think we can conquer and then fall into a dark pit of condemnation. The thing with discrimination, is that you usually struggle to access something based on a self-trait that you absolutely have no control over. In the time we have spent in this world, we have fought countless battles with regards to equal opportunity for any and every one. It then becomes jarring that the way your mind works, in all its greatness, can be a threat to your livelihood. In this we must never cease to learn and be truthful about the hurtful situations that follow this lifelong condition.
We need to constantly remind ourselves of our worth and speak the truth even if our voices tremble. Hiding behind what most consider shameful quality to one’s life, might not only dent your professional growth a person, but also your emotional stability. Everything has a flow, things a patterned to suit your journey towards your ultimate destiny. So, in essence what I grabbed from this is: The jabs come in different forms. There is rarely anytime to duck to avoid the impact. Yet the getting up with clear understanding and a fighters attitude is what’s most important. That’s what counts.
