Bipolar + ESL + Teaching abroad

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LiamsTambourine
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Bipolar + ESL + Teaching abroad

Post by LiamsTambourine »

I've done the whole long term backpacking circuit I traveled 7 months throughout Europe earlier in this decade. I was about to go to Australia, I had the working class Visa and everything, but Then... I had a really bad manic episode. Sadly realized that I was bipolar. Life hit me in the face and I thought I'd never be able to travel again.

For the rest of my life I'm going to have to be medicated and even with stable medications, my daily life can be a roller coaster ride of emotion. It makes me wonder if I'll ever be able achieve my goal of teaching abroad. I mean I could get medication care packages dropped off every several months via UPS, DHL, FedEx etc. I would be able to see my shrink and therapist via Skype. I might be able to get help from embassies. The only drawback would be that I couldn't get new meds if they needed to be adjusted or tweaked.

My query is this, how do I manage being bipolar while living and working (ESL/TEFL) abroad. I want to go to Thailand or Japan and teach English. I know for TEFL in South Korea for example, if you have any mental illness, it's hard to get hired. What are some countries where they view mental illness as a sickness rather than a disease?

The struggle I real lol. But if anybody who is bipolar or know someone who is that has been able to manage living or traveling abroad successfully let me know, I'd greatly appreciate it.
~One Love, Liam!
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Joe
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Re: Bipolar + ESL + Teaching abroad

Post by Joe »

Hi Liam

Thanks for your post and I hope you'll get some good answers here. But I'd also suggest you post your question on our teacher forums since your question concerns teaching.

There's one on EnglishClub at:
https://www.englishclub.com/tefl/

And one on our site for teachers at:
https://www.tefl.net/forums/

Best wishes
Joe
"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood :-| " — Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood

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