I was so relieved to be diagnosed at 32 that I was very open about it. I had had a bad post-partum depression that ramped into mania and being diagnosed and medicated was a miracle to me -- there was something I could do about how I felt! However, I was a stay at home mom then and didn't have to worry about employment issues. I did lose people over this approach, but I kept the good ones.

If I could have not told my husband, I might still be married to him today. People 20 years ago were just coming out about mental illess (I'm 54 now) and it was difficult to be open about it, but I decided to be completely transparent about my diagnosis and I think it has served me well. I'm remarried and happy with my spouse, I raised a great daughter who has tremendous compassion about "brain illness" (which is how I explained it to her when she was little), and even though I now live in an area that is unaccepting of mental illness (Nevada) I am accepting of me.