I can so appreciate what you are saying. My strongest challenges came from my supervisor at work. An assistant manager called me into her office one morning to ask me not to talk about my depression at work because some people might perceive me to be a less able nurse than what I really am. I didn't tell her I would. I instead said that it was a sad day in healthcare when providers buy into the stigmas that society has placed on mental illness. After her response that I was a braver person than she was, I walked out of her office going "What was she thinking?" A depressed person who doesn't talk to someone about their experiences with the disease is at increased risk for harmful behavior. The management team also told me @ various times during my medical leave and after I resigned related to my depression, that I should not come up to the nursing unit and spend large amounts of time with the staff. (They just didn't seem to understand that my former coworkers were my main suppot system outside of the mental health professionals I was working with. Take that away from a person recovering from a depressive crisis could have led to suicide. This management team consisted totally of RN's most of which had at least a masters degree-quite apparently not in psychiatric nursing though. They were more worried about potential liability to the hospital than what such a tragic death of a former member of their staff could affect the staff and their care.) I usually went to spend time with my (former) coworkers @ work when my anxiety was so high I needed to be around others so I wouldn't start harmful behaviors.

I tried to get some accomodations so I could continue working @ a university medical center as an RN, not necessarily with patients, whom I could endanger. I was looked at and seriously told by a social worker with the company's Employee Assstance Program, "that they don't give accomodations for people with mental illness." I completed the application anyway, but don't think that the committee that was supposed to review it ever did.

From your example & mine, it looks like we do need to continue to educate the public, especially healthcare providers.

armatthaei, BSN, RN