One of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life is figuring out how to manage my Narcolepsy and working full time. It’s been harder than graduating college, harder than losing a parent at age 19, just plain hard. I’m sure some of you can relate. Below I’ve outlined my journey with working with narcolepsy, I provide some tips on how to improve, provide suggestions on the best types of work for PWN, and offer suggestions on how to increase your income while working from home. If you’re interested in the top jobs for narcoleptics click on the link.
Narcolepsy and working full time
In college, it never was a problem. I would head out to my 9 am class and return to my apartment around noon. Crash hard with a nap. Pound some coffee then stay afloat the rest of the day with 5-hour energies. Was this sustainable? Heck no. Did I think there was nothing wrong with this way of living at the time? Yes, a resounding yes.
My whole world got turned upside down in my first job out of college. My position was an Account Executive (Sales) working for a medical testing laboratory. The nature of the job required me to drive up to 7 hours a day at times. It just wasn’t a good fit. I couldn’t do it without endangering myself or others. Having to leave this job was a wakeup call for me. Narcolepsy slowly but surely took away all the points of certainty from my life.
After leaving the sales job I hopped from industry to industry in hopes of finding something that would work. I worked in the nonprofit industry, had several jobs in the service industry, and finally settled in tech. These few years of searching were hard on me. I seriously thought I wouldn’t be able to hold down a job with this disease.
My path with narcolepsy and working full time was anything but a straight line. I still stumble at times but I’ll never return to that scarcity mindset nor will I ever accept that I am a victim of this disease.
Nor should you.