In my opinion, honesty is the best approach. In a few days I will be starting Seroquel and I am not sure what the hell it will do to me. As we know, sometimes the side effects of our medications can be worse than our illnesses!

I told her that I have bipolar disorder and that I am not completely stable at this time, being that I stopped taking Lithium cold turkey and I am not presently on a mood stabilizer. I told her that Seroquel will be my 18th med!

I told her that I feel completely confident that I am treating my clients in the best way possible. I also told her that I work very closely with my T and pdoc and that if they ever felt that I should need a break from being a T, they would tell me immediately.

The first words out of her mouth were, "What can I do to support you?"

She told me that I am an asset to the agency and that all she wants is for me to be sucessful there. She told me that I am doing a great job and to always let her know if there is anything I need from her... that if I need to talk, she will be there and if I am ever having trouble with the way she supervises (she is gentle, but very fast-paced and task-oriented), to tell her. I said that her method of supervising worked perfectly for me and that I have adapted to functioning in all sorts of situations, despite my illness. She said that if the medications make it difficult for me to function in the morning (because Seroquel can be quite sedating), that we could even make changes to my hours. She thanked me for my honesty and said to remember that our field is about recovery and strength-- and that goes for the the therapists as well as the clients.

It is amazing to know that there are people in my field who share the value of honesty and openness. It is even more amazing to be looked at as a competent clinician, completely separate from my illness.

[Christina86]

((((((((((((pinksoil))))))))))))))))!!!

That is AWESOME! Good for you, and glad your supervisor and she's being so supportive! That makes me really happy.

[gimmeice]

(((((((((((( pinksoil ))))))))))))))))))
That must have been very hard.

Wow. I'm happy for you. It sounds like she's supportive and that's great!!

[Fuzzybear]

((((((((((((( pink ))))))))))))))

and so.. this means...

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to those people who had an issue.

i love you to pieces
smoocheroo
caribou

[MyBestKids2]

Wow, you are so fortunate to have so many people on your side!!

(((Pink)))

Wow. What an awesome reaction from your supervisor! She was so supportive I literally got goose bumps reading her responses to you!

It's so nice to know that there are people like that in the world.

And good for you for being honest.

[Rapunzel]

Wow, it is good to know that there are good supervisors out there. My internship supervisor is a good one too. I felt like I could trust her, and I told her what issues I have, and she has been supportive. But now she doesn't have time to supervise me anymore and I wonder if I will ever find another good supervisor.

I hope the new meds work out for you. I have one client on seroquel (1200 mg!) and it doesn't slow him down a bit. It might have for a few days after starting and having dosages increased. I have another one who slept about 20 hours a day on 25 mg seroquel, even after a month, so we discontinued it. Everyone is different.

[mountainstream]

[kessa19]

I bet it feels great to get that off your chest and to know you'll be supported! If I wasn't so attached to my therapist and needed a new one I think I'd be lucky to have a T. like you!

[InsaneMax]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
pinksoil said:
In my opinion, honesty is the best approach. In a few days I will be starting Seroquel and I am not sure what the hell it will do to me. As we know, sometimes the side effects of our medications can be worse than our illnesses!

I told her that I have bipolar disorder and that I am not completely stable at this time, being that I stopped taking Lithium cold turkey and I am not presently on a mood stabilizer. I told her that Seroquel will be my 18th med!

I told her that I feel completely confident that I am treating my clients in the best way possible. I also told her that I work very closely with my T and pdoc and that if they ever felt that I should need a break from being a T, they would tell me immediately.

The first words out of her mouth were, "What can I do to support you?"

She told me that I am an asset to the agency and that all she wants is for me to be sucessful there. She told me that I am doing a great job and to always let her know if there is anything I need from her... that if I need to talk, she will be there and if I am ever having trouble with the way she supervises (she is gentle, but very fast-paced and task-oriented), to tell her. I said that her method of supervising worked perfectly for me and that I have adapted to functioning in all sorts of situations, despite my illness. She said that if the medications make it difficult for me to function in the morning (because Seroquel can be quite sedating), that we could even make changes to my hours. She thanked me for my honesty and said to remember that our field is about recovery and strength-- and that goes for the the therapists as well as the clients.

It is amazing to know that there are people in my field who share the value of honesty and openness. It is even more amazing to be looked at as a competent clinician, completely separate from my illness.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

That's awesome that your boss is so supportive, and that you feel as though you can share things with her that are completely within your right to keep quiet and no one's business.

I wouldn't recommend that people test the waters by thinking they HAVE to disclose a health condition to their boss though. It's a big chance. I applaud your supervisor for being so .. cool. But, then again you work as a therapist, for a therapist. Ideally, this field SHOULD be the most understanding of such things.

Most people are not in a similar situation however, and I have to point out that it is not being dishonest of a person to not want to disclose their medical past or present. No one should feel they are being dishonest by not disclosing a mental health disorder, or any other medical history to their employers, or anyone else.

I think you'll probably have an excellent experience where you work though. I wish I worked for a similar employer, you lucky gal.

[Kiya]

Very cool, Pink!!! I am glad you work in a supportive environment!!! What a great compliment to get - an asset to the clinic. =)

[kim_johnson]

do you have bipolar disorder?

if i had a penny...

[lauren_helene]

Wow that is great, I'm glad she handled it that way.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
kim_johnson said:
do you have bipolar disorder?

if i had a penny...

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

....for every borderline who says that she has bipolar disorder... I know.

It is also possible to have both/parts of both/traits of another/etc....

But, yes, I do. I spent nearly four days, about a month ago, unable to focus on what anyone was saying because all I could do was pick up on certain words and then my mind would either rhyme them with other words or take off on a flight of ideas that ended up not being connected to the original word in any real logical sense. Not so much of a personality disorder symptom.

[splitimage]

Wow pink,

I'm really glad that you felt you could be honest. I'm still not completely out at work yet - I've only been on the job a couple of months and so far they've not given me any grief over taking time off for my pdoc appointments and Mon. pm therapy - I'm just nervous about the stigma attached. I'm really happy for you that you got such an awesome response. My last job was really supportive of me too, so there are good supervisors / places to work out there.

--splitimage

[kim_johnson]

Once upon a time it was thought that a number of people with borderline personality had co-morbid psychotic disorders. How come? Because they had occasional psychotic episodes. After much (much much) controversy the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder was changed such that one of the symptoms of the condition was that there was 'brief psychotic episodes', however.

How come? Because it was found that the majority of people with borderline personality disorder exhibited 'brief psychotic episodes' during times of intense distress. As such, the presence of those episodes seemed to be part of the syndrome of borderline personality rather than being correctly regarded as a co-morbid condition.

It is hard because there is overlap in the diagnostic criteria for different disorders. Borderline personality seems similar to psychotic disorders in the sense that when a person with borderline personality is under great stress then the presentation can be the same. Borderline personality seems similar to bi-polar in the sense that there can be a cycling of moods - from elation / hypomania / irritability / anger to deep despair / hopelessness / sadness.

But... What might appear similar in a 'snapshot view' appears as a different general pattern if you take a step back and place the symptoms in a greater context.

Some differences:

- Bi-polar tends to involve intense mania - to be followed by deep despair. Bi-polar tends to be well controlled by medication. The medication seems to prevent the mania, and the absence of mania tends to result in the absence of deep despair. The baseline mood of people with borderline personality tends to be generally dysthymic and people with borderline personality are more inclined to engage in 'help seeking' behaviour (e.g., going to therapists)

The emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder tends to be not as well controlled by medications (there continue to be episodes of despair and elation despite medication)

- Bi-polar tends to have mood disruption that is longer lasting.

The emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder tends to be more rapid - changes in mood where those moods last between a few hours to a few days.

- Bi-polar tends to not be terribly understandable with respect to being an intense response to environmental circumstances.

The emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder tends to be understandable in light of environmental events and / or self talk. The emotion dysregulation seems to partly result from the person not seeing how their emotional responses are indeed understandable responses to environmental circumstances.

I don't know... I guess it just strikes me that:
- When you are feeling intense distress that distress seems pretty understandable with respect to the context in which you are placed. For example, feeling distressed when a job ends and / or when a new job is about to start (that is highly stressful for anyone). Feeling distressed when you have a really very busy schedule (that is highly stressful for anyone). Feeling distressed when you are having a hard time on message boards (feeling misunderstood / invalidated by others would be highly stressful for anyone).
- The medications haven't really had much affect on your mood. Sometimes... Response to medication legitimates / validates a dx. Not always... But it does contribute...
- Your mood changes can be fairly rapid...
- You don't seem to see your emotional responses as being understandable in light of environmental circumstances (instead thinking that medications to change your body chemistry are what is needed).

And that last thing in particular... Is what gives me hope that if you do learn to see your responses as understandable in light of environmental circumstances... Then you might well be able to better manage your moods.

Kind of like how... I can feel intense despair and think about killing myself etc etc etc... Then when I notice that I'm premenstrual then I don't feel 100% fine all of a sudden - but I do stop hating myself and feeling desperate. Instead... That knowledge morphs the feeling into a feeling of vulnerability. I take steps to soothe and care for myself (bubblebaths and stuff) and I manage to get through the time okay... I can seek support for others and they can comiserate because they get premenstrual too etc etc etc.

One can of course take pain killers and anti-anxiety meds to help one through that time... Or... One can learn to soothe oneself... It is unclear that the meds are what is needed.... It is unclear that meds are the answer... If the meds fail: The good news is: There are other options and other sources of hope. And of course... It is completely understandable that one doesn't know how to manage ones moods when ones parents didn't show us how... Perfectly understandable...