To tell or not to tell

I have not told anyone at work that I have bipolar. To me, it really is none of their business. But the problem I come up with is that if I do come out to my employer, I can get special accomodations at work as well as get FMLA. I'm wondering how everyone feels about whether to tell or not to tell.

it is no one's business. I did not tell anyone at work. Just say you are going out for "medical reasons". I have told all of my close friends and relatives.

No No No .... Seems like everyone thats discloses winds up being let go for some stupid reason.. You can use your fmla when you need it . They dont need to know the reason you just hand them a note from your doctor.

Just think long and hard before you make a decision.

Good luck

I told my supervisor at work. i work on a mental health team so my supervisor is a psychiatrist, and we practice from a recovery based model, so it would be pretty hypocritical for me to lose my job over it. I told him because i thought he had figured it out. Turns out he had no idea, but he was cool about it and has not brought it up since. This way if i need time off in the future i also won't have to explain. Telling was generally positive for me, but probably not necessary. It would depend on what your work place is like and how much they know about mental illness. There is a lot of stigma, so telling might cause problems for you. I'm lucky that where i work it's safe enough to talk about.

What kind of accommodations are you looking for...sometimes those can be achieved without admitting a disability. My work knows I was psychotic but I don't get accommodations of any kind....I think that some things wouldn't bother them like if I wanted to put full spectrum light bulbs in or something they wouldn't really care but if it was anything that would cut my work load down or require too much effort on their part they would probably freak out. But that's just it if it's minor enough they won't care .....they won't care with or without the paperwork....there is pretty much no advantage to disclosure in that regard. An awful lot of this will depend on how big your company is and how it's structured and who becomes your boss in the future vs now....ie once everyone knows then they just do there is no going back. Given the choice I would have never disclosed but given that my boss-coworkers are the ones that setup my first pdoc appointment there wasn't a lot of ability to hide it.

No. I just tell them I have to see a doctor.

I told my immediate supervisor...I thought she should know because I have a lot of appts with my docs right now as I am newly diagnosed and so she understands better when I get worked sometimes, about something.

When I get hypo, I can get a little excitable about things I am working on....and sometimes get a little upset...never do anything over the top....but I do sometimes act out of character...and I wanted her to know why...

She was totally accepting and understanding...it's nice that I worked there almost 3 years before I told her....so I proved my ability to do the job before telling her. It also probably helps that she's exactly my age and she's very into health and such.

Totally agree with Christina. Too many people get let go, for whatever reason.

Don't do it.

I'm in the don't-ask-don't-tell camp. I have had NOTHING but bad luck with disclosing my illness to a supervisor and I don't recommend it to anyone. The only reason I disclosed at all was because I was severely manic and couldn't hide it anymore.....and I've been on a downhill course ever since as far as jobs are concerned.

I have had the same experience as BipolaRNurse. Don't disclose and if for some reason you need time off because of the illness, then you just go on "sick" leave, nothing more.

I wouldn't say anything. People are judgemental.

I've mentioned that I have anxiety and a few of my coworkers know about depression. None of my coworkers or bosses know about my atypical bipolar. I just don't feel the need to tell them.

My bosses know because I needed to tell them why I can only work three days a week. I.had to bring in a note from my pdoc to prove it. My experience was very positive...but before I disclosed it I had worked there for three years so I had already proved my self and my punctuality to my supervisors. They also know I'm on ssd.therefore I can only work so many hours or I'd lose my benefits. Even with my experience u would proceed with caution. It all depends on yr work environment and what kind of company you work for. I was able to do it cause my job is strictly pt. All employees are pt so it's not a ft job. Good luck

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I would not tell my supervisor. I believe you should be able to request accommodations without staying your condition. I was able to do so with just a note from my dr.

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I'd say you have to know your supervisor first. One of my jobs it's been okay having them know. They've been REALLY great and accommodating for me. The other one, I actually ended up losing as a result of disclosing to the wrong people on Facebook. I think you need to be careful and make sure you know who to trust first.

OH my gosh we visit this question frequently don't we... In one way or another.
Plain and simple... No!!!!!!
Do Not Tell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aaaaaaaaigh!
Thousands of horror stories on here of regret for telling people, family, boss. Don't do it !

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