I am sorry about everyone who has a mental illness but is not believed. It is hard to admit for many and hurts when you are not believed or your concerns are dismissed as exaggerated. I know there are malingerers but we should still encourage the person to seek professional treatment when they make claims of being mentally ill. There could be an issue causing them to lie. Yes people lie about a variety of things but at work, if someone is claiming this and wants special treatment to compensate for their issues to the company or their supervisor then they should be expected to go get treatment and that should be considered the "proof". Many companies say if you miss workdays because you are sick (flu, pneumonia, etc.), they need to see a doctors letter or the absences are held against you having a negative effect on your work record but with the letter from the doctor there should be no negative effects (I know there can be despite the letter but there shouldn't be).

Despite being given some diagnosis (but not told what they were--I got incomplete treatment) in 2011--I did not really think I had a problem until I made an attempt so serious that they had to do two operations to save me. When we dismiss someone's claim that they are having problems we could be missing a golden window of opportunity where someone will get the help they need. We can't really know what is going on in people's minds. Many people who have mental illness are afraid to admit it. They are afraid to admit what they are really thinking if they know the thoughts might make people reject, be afraid, dismiss, or make fun of them. If they have been bullied or abused some are ashamed to talk about it. Sometimes people can keep a traumatizing incident to themselves for decades. Then when they finally go to a psychiatrist or therapist--it is essential that they are honest about their symptoms. Hopefully the person helping is competent/caring. It can take a long time to get to the bottom of things or there just isn't an answer but they need relief. So many people are out there suffering silently.