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Soupe du jour · May 28, 2023, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brentus

1) How comfortable are you expressing to others about your mental illness? Do you only do it as necessary? When do you deem it necessary? For example, when it's a significant other or a close friend?

Not particularly. I've grown to be a rather private person, though I used to be a bit the opposite, especially when hypomanic and manic. I guess I don't feel like facing judgement, and there is a lot. Truth is, I do judge myself a bit, though not excessively. Not for having an illness, but for the limitations it's brought me.

I think it crucial to tell those very close to me, but many still have no interest or comfort discussing it. Others need not know, unless my illness is displayed in front of them and an explanation serves me better than none.

2) Do you have a solid support system in place? (includes anything such as psychiatrist, therapist, close friends, family members, perhaps religious figures etc.)

Right now, not at all. I recently moved from one city to another and have yet to get a therapist. My current psychiatrist speaks only a little English, my husband's family is not around much. In my last city, I had both and their English was excellent.

My Czech has progressed very slowly. I have a mental barrier at play, which is bad. In the US, I had a pdoc I adored (too much) and a reasonably good tdoc. My biological family members, these years, were never supportive. My husband has been, luckily. As for friends, they faded away, mostly because of my bipolar disorder.

3) In terms of work accommodations, have you ever had to request them? If so, how honest, or upfront, where you about it ? Did you share everything they may need to know or just the pertinent details for that moment? If you have never had to ask for an accommodation or at least divulge some aspect to maintain/improve your work -- would you?

Yes, when I still had my last job. I didn't need to be that "up front" because most work colleagues knew I had a serious mental illness. The word got out that I had multiple hospitalizations. They also witnessed a number of episodes. One was very very bad!

The handful of times I worked between hospitalizations and subsequent IOPs, I went back to my normally full time job, part-time. Once I managed full time again for a bit, but that went south. My boss allowed me a space with a large window and reasonably private. My work projects shifted a bit. Then as I worsened, he allowed me to work from home two or three of the five days. This was in the early days of working from home. Maybe 2010? Soon after, my hospitalizations increased in frequency. I then went on SSDI. They only terminated me at that time. Looking back, they were extremely tolerant and held my job for me far longer than most would.

My responses above in italics