A thread appeared on 5channel’s Newsspeed VIP board started by a poster working as a part-timer while living with bipolar disorder, sharing an update on their situation. After revealing they hadn’t managed to go pick up their paycheck and had been rejected from one part-time job after another, other posters who also live with mental illness or hold a disability certificate gathered to discuss how hard it is to hold down a job. Differences emerged among posters over things like whether they had an official diagnosis document or how severe their symptoms were, making for a thread that mixed humor with an undercurrent of just how tough daily life can be.
What's that supposed to mean? The average monthly pay here is about 130,000 yen. When I'm in a manic phase I make way more than that.
Wait, so you're a woman?
(￣b￣)Shh!
Mental illness in women is basically no different from being healthy, right? I'm a guy with bipolar disorder, so obviously I don't have a partner.
My parents tell every boyfriend I bring home, 'Dating this kid is gonna be rough, you know~' I'm also borderline developmental disorder (an undiagnosed "gray zone" case). But hey, even guys with mental illness can land a girlfriend — I guarantee it, since a few of my exes were exactly that.
I'll be your boyfriend.
And it's not even about landing a full-time job — I can't even get hired for a part-time one.
Oh really? Yeah, I've been rejected from a few part-time jobs myself. Even the job I have now felt like I only got in because the interview vibe happened to click.
Every single part-time job near me turned me down.
It happens. Add it all up and I've been rejected about 10 times.
Funny enough, a friend said that to me back in college — 'Wow, people actually get rejected from Sushiro?' So I ended up working at Hama-zushi instead. (Sushiro and Hama-zushi are rival conveyor-belt sushi chains.)
If you can land a job as a dental assistant you must be gorgeous. Get outta here.
I'm not gorgeous. It feels more like they hired me because they're short-staffed — even now they're hiring literally everyone who shows up for an interview. I actually applied to a dentist's office known for hiring on looks, and got flat-out rejected.
But you've had several exes though. A real "busu" (plain/unattractive girl) is someone like me.
Get lost. This thread's mine now.
Re: #55
Applying to a convenience store at 27 is probably the problem. Unless it's a night shift, that's a job for high schoolers and college students.
For what it's worth, I'm apparently a killer with inexperienced guys.
So can you handle a guy like me too? I've got hair growing all over my body.
Can't right now since I've got a boyfriend, but if I were single I bet I could handle it.
For a guy, having hair all over your body is basically par for the course, right?
This is my thread. Trying to hijack other people's threads like that is probably exactly why you can't get back into society or land a girlfriend. Maybe cushion your heart a little and actually look at people.
I'm the one who can't get back into society or land a girlfriend. At least check the poster IDs properly.
I've been applying to supermarkets too, you know.
Which one's the 27-year-old with no work experience?
That's me.
Re: #72
Supermarkets are part-time jobs too. If anything, supermarkets are tougher given their operating hours.
So it was you who tried to hijack the thread.
Though you do seem like you've got some baggage.
Wait, you're also 27 and inexperienced? This is way too confusing.
I get a pension too, but it's not enough income.
I can't work any more than this — honestly, I'm done for.
Just holding it together like that is impressive.
When money's tight, it's your depressed self that really suffers.
I think you're doing your best.
I don't have one.
It's unclear if I was even formally diagnosed — I never even got a diagnosis document.
You're not even taking meds?
I am taking them!
But if you don't even have a diagnosis document, don't go using a title like that….
Turns out we're not really in the same boat after all.
I've even got a disability certificate, and here you are basically healthy….
I grew up at a regular public school, self-described as bottom-tier. Did piano for 3 years, sax for 2, French horn for 10, and rhythmic gymnastics for 9 years. If anything, we were a poor family.
Nine years of rhythmic gymnastics is a big point in your favor.
There's no way you were actually poor.
I only did it because I wanted to do the ribbon routine — kept it up from preschool all the way through 6th grade.
If all those lessons only cost 20,000 yen, that's incredibly cheap.
I wish you'd kept it up longer and stayed in a leotard the whole time.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness marked by alternating manic episodes, where mood swings upward, and depressive episodes, where it crashes down, and because the symptom swings can be so extreme, it’s said to make holding down steady work difficult. In the thread, discussion turned to how the support and pension benefits available can differ depending on whether someone holds a disability certificate or a formal diagnosis document, and it became clear that even among posters sharing the same mental illness, there was a wide range in symptom severity and how far along they were in getting back into working life. Several posters also described being rejected from part-time jobs over and over despite the constant talk of a “labor shortage,” suggesting employers may be cautious about hiring due to concerns over shift stability and the risk of absences. Bipolar disorder tends to get lumped in with the image of plain “depression,” but it’s worth noting that it also involves manic episodes, which sets it apart from — and makes it easy to confuse with — straightforward depression.
*This article is composed of excerpts and a summary from the 5channel (Newsspeed VIP) thread “I’m a Bottom-Tier Bipolar Part-Timer.”
