My husband is schizo-affective w/depressive disorder for 20 years. His parents do not believe he has a problem, even though he has been hospitalized several times and psychiatrists have told them so. He is on disability and his family thinks he is physically able to work, but is just lazy. That keeps him from telling anyone else about his condition.
My depression is controlled by meds, but most people know b/c I ended up hospitalized after I decided to take my life in '96. At the same time I was anorexic and looked like I was very sick.
Oddly, I found that a few doctors talked to/treated me differently when I told them I'm on anti-depressants. They'd spend so much time trying to determing if my symptoms were psychosomatic. And I rarely ever go to drs for anything. I'll put off going until I absolutely have to. Now I just don't tell them. Thankfully, my primary care doc isn't like that and knows my history.