A lot depends on the workplace culture and the kind of boss one has when it comes to disclosing a bipolar diagnosis on the job. I'm very fortunate in that I work for arguably the most decent human being on the entire planet; however, not everyone else at work is as educated or as knowledgeable as he is, and I recently learned that some of the staff are nervous around me. They don't know if/when I'm going to "snap"; they don't understand how I can be the consummate professional some days, and on others I suck at everything. It never occurs to them that once in a while, a bad mood is just that---a bad mood---and bipolar people have 'em just like everyone else.

I'm the same person they knew before I was diagnosed. Why doesn't anybody get that?