self-disclosure

at my school's office of disability services, students can self-disclose disabilities (physical, learning, and psychological/mental) so professors are aware if anything comes up in the semester (and theoretically they'd be more understanding?)

has anyone self-disclosed their mental illness to a teacher/professor? how'd it go and why did you do it? i'm kind of afraid that if i disclose (which i probably won't be able to do until next semester since this one is more than half over) i'll 1) lose the respect of my professors and 2) be seen as using my illness as an excuse. thoughts?

I would try to stay on your side of the fence. What, tangible, do you hope to gain from self-disclosure? Work on that rather than worrying about what others will think of you. You probably should ask for more time or what it is you want before you start on an assignment, rather than not complete an assignment and then say it was because of your illness. Be clear you are asking for tools (time), not an excuse as to why not being able to do the work is not your fault/responsibility and you should be given another chance, etc. If you have trouble doing the work because of your illness, perhaps you should concentrate on getting better before you try to do that particular work.

I'm not in college, but I go to a private high school where you also disclose disabilities in the same way. I chose to do that, and so the learning specialist at my school has communicated with my teachers exactly my diagnosises, how they affect my learning, and what accommodations I get. Whether or not I use those accommodations is up to me. But the teachers are aware of my situation.

I think that self disclosure is a good thing. If you have a history of using accommodations, it will be much less likely to be looked at as an excuse if it turns out that you do end up needing that extra help. Just because you tell your professor about your issues doesn't mean that you expect special treatment, and your professor knows that. I think if anything, he/she will be glad to know because then they will be better able to help you if you need it.

I have. They are very understanding to me, and don't view it as an excuse. Although, they heard about it through a councilor that helped a lot. I go out of my way to try to not use the accommodations, but sometimes there is nothing else I can do but break down and admit that I'm struggling. As long as they see you working hard they will respect you and agree to help you. They want you to succeed.

Also, most people look at it like an amazing thing that you have come so far

Best,

Lillyleaf