Posted by mandra on August 28, 2008, at 18:48:31
I was speaking with my doctor the other day and the topic of "When to disclose" came up.
I work at a job where we do shift work. One of the shifts is a night shift working 6pm-6am. I am Bipolar II with ADD/ADHD. I am very sensitive to sunlight, time changes, etc. I did a six months stint of nights last year and fell into a major depression. I wanted to find out a way to get out of doing another night shift because I didn't want to have a relapse again. However, I have not told anyone I work with (bosses or coworkers) that I am Bipolar. There is still that stigma out there with regards to mental health, and I have noticed its prevalence in my industry. I am Bipolar, Bipolar is not me. I was wondering what anyone thought about when a good time would be, if ever, to disclose to someone in a company that you have an emotional disorder?
Similarly, the same question of disclosure occurs in relationships. I am a firm believer that whomever I am with needs to know that I am Bipolar as it will eventually affect them in the relationship. But when do you tell your significant other this information? The first date, the fifth, after you've been together a year or two? I didn't have an answer, and I don't believe there is only one answer either. It's a hard question and I wanted to put it out there and get some feed back.
poster:mandra
thread:848842
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080822/msgs/848842.html