From now on it stays hidden. Particly at work. Many don’t even acknowledge Bipolar is a thing
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I know what you mean. For some, it is ignorance and for others, denial. A lot of people don’t know or don’t care about MI. At least we have a community here for support. Hope you have a good day, @anon80629714.
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Hi @anon80629714, I can tell you how I struggle in my job particularly with sz, but I fluent in hindi if you understand.
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Hard for me to get away from disclosure these days. Dad was a Vietnam vet the majority of the first generation children are being diagnosed with Schizophenia, Bipolar and depression. All this crap is pretty much in the media here and on the net.
Proud of dad for severing. I don’t believe in war but still proud. You know my dad represented my country around the world sort of thing. So hard not to mention.
I came across this if it helps.
How to let people know that you are mentally ill:
At some point you’ve been diagnosed as having some variation of a mental illness You know that it affects your life considerably, but those around you may not. They may not understand your actions when the disorder is actively present in your life. Thankfully, you can tell them about what you have, so that they may be more understanding.
Be selective. Only tell those who would truly benefit from knowing of your condition, such as your boss, fellow students and co-workers that you do a lot of work with, family members, etc. Other people simply don’t need to know. There are many misconceptions about mental illnesses, so you have to be careful with disclosing the diagnosis.
Make any explanations short and sweet. Don’t start using medical jargon in explaining what you have. This will only confuse the other person. Instead, break down any good descriptions you may find into plain English by replacing
higher vocabulary terms with lower ones that will make sense to whomever you tell.
If you aren’t good at explaining things, don’t feel obliged to do so. Ask your counselor, psychiatrist or whoever helps you manage illness. for an easy-to-access and simple resource that you could refer your friends and family to. They will still get the message, but you won’t be the one explaining anything
Don’t victimize yourself. Simply because you have a long-term emotional condition doesn’t mean you can’t have a successful life. Always remember that whatever affects you in life isn’t going to make or break you- it’s your reaction to it that counts.
Don’t make a big deal out of it. You might be mentally ill, but it doesn’t have to be the defining aspect of your life- if you don’t want it to be. People with this condition eat, sleep, and breath the same air like everyone else. You still have to manage it, but avoid ruminating over the diagnosis. It’s going to affect your life, but not necessarily in a negative way.
Don’t tell those who have a limited understanding of the world. Those types of people will be more likely to be judgmental, rather than empathetic, and may not be ones to count on to keep what you have shared confidential. Some people might treat you differently after they learn about your condition. They might be victims of popular misconceptions, or they may not understand what the diagnosis means.
Usually, good friends and family won’t treat you any differently. But your acquaintances and those whom you don’t know well are the ones most likely to do so.
Try not to take it personal if they do treat you differently. Most of the time, they simply don’t understand what mental illness is and the struggles of those who have it.
I hope it helps.
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i have to hide symptoms from my in laws, their family and my family. my in laws can’t know when i’m having bad days since they think i’m just using the sza as a crutch or trying to milk it. my in law’s family can’t know because they already know i have problems and that i’m on ssi but they don’t know the whole story.
my family especially my dad’s can’t know because i worry they will blame my parents for it. my dad has sza and my mom is bipolar. they know if my brother’s problems and they know my dad has copd but they don’t know about the mental health issues. i have a cousin who knows and she is convinced its tied to the sexual abuse by my dad’s friend same one that hurt her.
The truth sets no one free-- but DNA does.
The best thing sometimes is to not tell people everything…because it does more harm than good for all.
Many even say the ‘voices’ problem is nothing to worry about but takes a while to get back to functioning if the voices stay for long period…
The discrimination situation here is so bad, there is NO WAY I would ever discuss any diagnosis at work - only accommodations or fact I’m on disability check. I have tough insomnia and ambien sometimes doesn’t handle it even so I do ask for flexible schedule or same shift all the time, I know better than to deal with variable start times anymore as I’m just not up to it…Do online work on my own schedule works the best & I just hint when hired that I have insomnia too much so I need some flexibility. I find out how quickly the boss wants contact attempts/messages returned and deadlines on the work. (I’ve just found it better NOT to work out in public here any longer as I’ve been TRASHED FULL-TIME without unemployment which happens too frequently here to females sadly due to sex harassments/hostile workplaces…Discrimination is just too bad by some mentally unstable customers who turn out to be a terrible mistake to deal with in life/death situation where I am responsible and could end up being sued…This responsible party busted her butt to work online doing desktop publishing, blogging and social media to get away from jobs that will get me sued.)
I dont tell anyone but a very small circle. My wife knows obviously, my son is too young to understand, but I will personally tell him when the time is right. My inlaws know I take meds but they dont know any details. People do not know how to handle this kind of information. I dont want to set myself up for their reactions like avoidance, fear, distrust, discrimination etc. In the past I have made a few mistakes of telling cerrtain people and I was disapointed at their reactions. In my work nobody must know about it and nobody does. I passed all the health screenings without problems but I did not volunteer to tell them anything. They do some testing but they dont know what to look for. Haahahah. Its kind of funny to live with a secret all your life. Sometimes at my jobs when I did something sucessfully, and a customer or my boss was satisfied with me, I would like to say: btw, you have just been helped by a schizophrenic! Of course I dont, but it would be cool to say it.
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I’ve given up telling people about it. When you mention the word “schizophrenia”, people get nervous. I’d rather they just think I’m weird and spacey.
I’ve learned to be reticent about my dx, except among other schizophrenics.
I try to hide mine but I’m failing. It’s hard to act normal. There’s always something about me being awkwaRd wheater at work or in public. Sorta becomes who you are after being the way you are for soo long.
I act the best I’m able to when in public, but after a few hours, the seams start to unravel like a fat ladies britches.
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