Everyone has bad days at work — a customer is rude, you need to rush to finish a project, you have to skip lunch or some other annoying thing. If this is now and then, only 10 percent of the time, I’d say that is probably OK. Nothing is perfect. However, if you face daily major stresses, you constantly feel devalued and begin and end your day dreading your job, you may be in a toxic situation.

Many people with bipolar disorder experience mixed episodes — a mood episode characterized by the presence of manic and depressive symptoms. They can bring someone from their highest peak of happiness to their lowest points of depression — all in the course of one day.

Parenting can be stressful under the best of circumstances, but moms and dads of children with developmental and mental health challenges often have to deal with strain of a different magnitude. Caring for a child with special needs can become a full-time job — and an overwhelming one at that, if you don’t have adequate support.