Being bipolar is my strength

[Music]

[Music]

february 2009

melbourne australia my first internship

abroad as a law student at a women’s

rights organization

at least that’s what i thought

because after a week of my arrival i was

missing for 48

hours and i was arrested for breaking

into

the neighbor’s place a few days later

i woke up tied on a bed at the

psychiatric ward of royal melbourne

hospital

turned out i had a manic episode and i

was a danger to myself

and to society i can’t remember a lot

because of the high doses of medication

they gave me the first days

but i was having voices in my head

telling me to kill myself

and i was hallucinating according my

medical file i even thought i was

president obama

well nowadays i know better i am nadia

van der slaus

and i’m bipolar and having a manic

episode

is something familiar to have when

you’re bipolar type one

like i am and a bipolar condition is a

manic depressive disorder

and having a bipolar condition

is something terrible

but at least i can say that next to

being bipolar

i’m also a legal officer at the

immigration and naturalization service

of the dutch ministry of justice but let

me tell you that being bipolar and

having a job

is not something that comes naturally it

can create stigma

and discrimination and this applies to

all kinds of mental disorders

like for example post-traumatic stress

disorder

or schizophrenia living with a mental

disorder or an illness

is a disability but an invisible one

and if you look at the job market of

people with disabilities

it’s still terrible despite the

disability convention of the united

nation

which is signed by many countries like

the netherlands in 2015

and well i’m a legal officer so i love

the law

and i would share with you article 27 of

this convention

which says that states parties

recognizes

the right of persons with disabilities

to work

on an equal basis like others this

includes to have the opportunity to gain

living

by work which is freely chosen or

accepted

in a labor market or work environment

that is open

accessible and inclusive for persons

with a disability

but now let me take it to reality

because if you look for example

to the report of 2018 of the dutch

institute of human rights

says that the job market is still

terrible

and even the same like in 2012

so before the convention and i think

this is really a big problem and there

needs to be a change

because i want to address to you this

because tomorrow it’s the third of

december and that’s the international

day

of persons with a disability and

i can throw with numbers now about how

many people without a disability do not

have a job

but i already speak with about my

experience

because i was unemployed for more than a

year

with a master’s degree because of my

bipolar condition

and i was ashamed of my bipolar

condition for eight years

which makes it hard to go to an

interview

or search for a job and i think these

are the two causes of the problem

one organizations and companies do not

know

how to hire someone with a disability

and to the self-stigma of a person with

a disability

i’m happy i learned to be open on my

work and

because of my colleagues and my boss my

manager who understands me

and i remember a colleague clashaela

she was giving me a smile and she

connected with me

and had the courage to connect with me

just by simply giving me a smile

and that gave me a feeling to be open

about my bipolar condition and to tell

her about my struggle

and to be myself so i think the start of

a solution of this big

problem is just to simply be open with

each other by giving a smile to each

other

and start a conversation just by smiling

and have the courage to connect that way

and i dare you as an audience

to do the same and give that smile to

another to connect

and graciela this one is for you