I am posting to solicit feedback for my MH advocacy page on FB. This post is duplicated on the Relationships & Communications and on the Other Mental Health Discussion forums.

The link https://www.facebook.com/pages/Livin...70022196607489

The text is pasted below. It is FB, so I am trying to be as succinct as possible. Does this post address the issue on a high level, without getting into details? Thanks.

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A very common question on mental health forums is when and how to tell about your mental illness in the context of dating.

There is absolutely no rule of thumb here, but please remember that your mental illness is not something that you HAVE TO disclose - rather, it is your confidential, private medical information, and therefore, it should be handled in the same way confidential info is supposed to be handled, i.e. access to it should be given on a need-to-know basis. YOU would be the one determining if there is a need to know. If you are about to move in with the partner, it is one thing, but if you have only gone to see the movies together once, it is a different story.

Some people prefer to lay it all out right away. As long as it is done out of a PREFERENCE for being upfront and open, and not out of a misconceived notion of having an OBLIGATION to tell, that is a valid approach.

Please treat the fact of your mental illness as private health data and not as a dirty secret. The words "confess", "confession," "fess up" should not apply to mental illness as your diagnoses are not crimes or transgressions.