I think if you send HR a note about your medical condition it's against the law for them to reveal what it says to anyone else. Make sure the letter is addressed specifically for your HR dept. I'm not sure how getting on short term disability works. I know a couple of people who have done it and they had some trouble getting it set up. If you can't work for weeks at a time you might want to talk to you therapist about going into a partial hospitalization program. If you don't know what that is its basically a program you go to four or five days out of the week for four to six hours. It's a group setting where you get therapy and psychological education and skill training. It's basically for when people are in crisis and are having trouble functioning. It's a way to get intensive help and it keeps a lot of people out of the hospital. The program I was in had a woman who specifically helped people with their insurance and setting up disability programs through their work. I think this would be good for you because it would help you explain to your manager what kind of timeframe you need to get better. Partial programs last four to six weeks. This might be good because it sounds like your manager has no idea when or if you will be coming back. By setting this up hopefully it will show her not only are you seriously ill right now but you have a plan to get better and to return to work. I just completed my third partial program, it was worth it. Let me know what you think, hope you feel a little better soon.