vocational rehab

Faerie: I am sad that you have struggled like this at work. I read before about your plight in disclosing and how you are still treated like shite. I remember when I first came on to PC there was a thread about disclosing at work and you spoke on that thread.

Even my therapist says I'm not being realistic about disclosure. WHAT? This really feels like I do have to go through life hiding my illness. Why should I perpetuate ignorance in our society by hiding who I am? As long as we hide we will never be understood. As long as we hide there will always be stigma.

I am just as valid as the blind guy who has a job and gets accommodations at work. I am just as valid as the armless guy who works and doesn't hide his disability. Why should I hide my disability?

I feel the same way, Mimi. I even use blind guy as example, too! I say "You say to leave my bipolar at the door. Should a blind man leave his blindness at the door?"

Our society only see value in money, not people. If you can't make money you have no value. It's disgusting. I hate it. If you don't fit in the box, you're not worth it. The box is too small for most people, even ones without a diagnosis!

I think I mentioned before that I am essentially disclosed but only because it was the people at work that realized I was sick. I've also known my boss for 10 years so its a little different. The only accommodations I get is basically going to the doctors during work hours, and thats once every three months. While I was in CBT I took and hour every week but that's because the pdoc and T were literally in the next building so I could just slip out early on a Friday. Anyway I think it really depends on the job, but you can be open, just don't expect more accommodation than say a mom with kids gets, people only understand up to a point then its just more work for them.

Sp: I think in your situation it is very different in that your coworkers were actually part of your getting treatment and that is an amazing and wonderful thing. The fact is if you began to hallucinate and could not perform at work, there WOULD be an accomodation. You would not be scolded. You would not be "written up" and you certainly would not be fired.

If I am having a relapse in symptoms does that mean I deserve less compassion than blind, armless, epileptic guy? So people will resent me more if I am unable to work like them because of my illness? So if someone has a relapse in symptoms, or a reaction to meds and their vision is blurred, or their lithium levels are toxic and they are physically sick, or their cognitive functioning is impaired from the antipsychotics, they are not worthy? But blind armless epileptic guy is coddled and suckled and given all forms of compassion? NOT COOL

I do not feel in the same category as a mom w/ kids, either. Women choose motherhood. I do not choose mental illness.

I wouldn't necessarily be accommodated, I wasn't last time I used up my vacation while I was too sick to work and then after two weeks temporary disability insurance would have kicked it if I needed it. That way my boss is not paying me but disability is. It's not like I get to come to work and function at a lower level I'm either here or not and if I'm not its either my vacation or someone else is paying, neither one bothers my boss. We had a guy in a wheelchair due to polio and he didn't receive any accommodations either with the exception of an automatic door. Maybe its just the terminology I'm rejecting, accommodations are promoted under the ADA and I think they are very hard to come by. I think what you're looking for is compassion or understanding and not official accommodation.

Yes, you are probably right about the terminology, Sp.
I do think though, that if a person goes into a job with the employer knowing that there is a handicap, then the person is less likely to be fired or reprimanded for something that is a result of their having symptoms. That is what I was trying to say when using the term "accommodation"

I agree it's probably a more compassionate environment if they know. I think one of the things that makes a difference at my work is that half the people are MDs so they've been trained how to deal with people who are ill and show compassion rather than repulsion. But it only goes so far...if you can't do the job that's it. We had a guy with autism for three years but despite everyone tolerating the fact that he spoke to no one he just wasn't working hard enough so when we moved he wasn't rehired like everybody else. He would sit around all day and then wait for everybody to leave to do his work....he put in more hours than anybody else but most of that time was spent checking hockey scores etc. We think he may have been having social issues with working in front of people but its not like you can make up for sitting around all day by working a couple of hours later at night so we had to let him go. I always wondered if the ADA would prevent us from firing him but because we changed institutions it never came into play. But basically he was given an equal chance to succeed in whatever way he felt comfortable with and that's the most you can hope for.

I think you have to be very, very cautious in the work place. When I was trying to learn about accomidations and very stressed out over the treatment I was getting, I stumbled across multiple web sites of lawyers who make it their job to help companies not have to give accomidations to mentally ill employees. These asshole lawyers basically go along with the stigma that mental illness is something people fake to get out of working, because they are lazy.

One site in particular had a very, very detailed and accurate example of an "office manager with bipolar." That first the woman was hired and was very motivated, started many projects, and really ramped up everything. She was amazing! Then suddenly for no apparent reason, her projects fall by the wayside, she starts making muliple errors, coming in late to work, struggling just to get through the day. Then suddenly she starts seeing a therapist and taking meds and suddenly she is requesting accomidations and saying she has "bipolar" to make it illegal for her to be fired.... >.<

I mean, this was an extremely accurate description of mania crashing into depression and it was rather scary to see this guy discussing how this is a prime example of someone taking on a job they are too "lazy" to complete once they get bored.... It was scary.