I was diagnosed as Bipolar a few years ago and every since then my life has fallen into complete shambles. I guess I've always lived life on the edge but until recently it has always served me well.

In late 2005 I was caught up in a very stressful situation. I asked a friend to finance a deal for me and instead he decided he wanted the deal for himself and embarked on a complex deception that eventually lead to me losing my 3000 sq' ft. San Francisco loft and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Almost everything. It went on for months. The stress forced me into a state of paranoid psychosis (when I was diagnosed) that required ECT to bring me back and have since had 32 treatments and currently receive a treatment every 4-6 weeks. A few years ago I was living in my dream home and making 150K+ a year. Now I'm broke, unemployed and staying with a friend. My credit is shot so even if I do manage to find a job it's unlikely anyone will rent to me so I'm going to be stuck living in SRO hotels. Unless, that is, I can once again reach and exceed the income level where I once was and buy my way out of this situation.

Over the past 2 1/2 years I have done extensive research into the mental health industry, with an emphasis on the Bipolar segment, and have come to the following conclusion. We are alone. Sure there are plenty of doctors, books, drugs, websites, therapists and such. Some of us have family, some do not, but most of us are alone. Professionally that is. When it comes to money, everything changes.

It is common knowledge to most of us that creativity and intelligence run hand in hand with the Bipolar condition. There are countless books on the subject, yet there is nothing out there to harness that creativity and intelligence. Nowhere to turn. I think a major reason for this is Stigma. Nobody wants to work with a crazy person. I recently wrote a business plan for my brother that he was able to raise $500,000 with, yet he still had reservations about me being on the executive team. That’s Stigma in action.

What if there were a place, company or group where people from all over the world who are dealing with this condition could collectively pool their talent and address this. I have recently formed a group on LinkedIn for professionals with Bipolar to do just that. I’m just tired of people telling me to file for disability or set my sights lower or settle for what I can get. Fighting Stigma is just one of many reasons for this effort. Please join and find out the others.

Group Description

Bipolar Professional Network: Bipolar, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a condition that causes unusually extreme shifts in a person’s mood, energy and cognitive ability, often leading to great accomplishment.

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/141918/5A7C2F62DC6C