2 questions, if you don't mind :)

[lehcar24]

Hi everyone xx

Happy New Year to you all xxx hope you all had a nice christmas xx

i was just wondering about two things..

1. when bein diagnosed/treated/helped with bipolar do your family have to get involved? i know the doctors/psychiartrists like to get family involved.. would it be wierd not to have anyone involved and to do it all alone?

2. when u apply for a job do u mention ur bipolar to anyone? im thinkin even tho its against the law people would still be cautious of hiring someone with bipolar??

sorry if people have asked before i have had a quick look and couldnt find anythin but knowin me there is xx

thanks
xx
R

 

[bluebell24]

Hi R,

I haven't had anyone else involved in my appointments; it hasn't been mentioned to me but I've made sure my husband understands what has been going on. I know that I can involve others in the future if I want/need to but at the moment I'm choosing not too.

Re: telling employers this has been something I've thought a lot about recently as I was made redundant in June and started a new job a few months ago.

Unfortunately I know that my treatment for depression was a contributing factor in my redundancy. Of course the official reason was commercial factors, easy enough to say in the current climate but one of the decision makers was pretty vocal with my former collegauea about it. As it was off the record/hearsay I chose not to pursue it legally, mainly because the stress of losing my job had already worsened by condition quite severely and the last thing I wanted was to add still more stress by dealing with legal proceedings. Perhaps not the right way to look at it but I just didn't want to go there.

As for my new job, I haven't told them mainly because they haven't asked any questions relating to my health and I am slowly getting better. It's not ideal as I'd prefer to be open and honest from day one but my previous experience has sadly made me rather cautious.

I'm not telling you all of this to put you off being honest, I'm just sure my experience isn't unique and sadly discrimination is a reality in the workplace still. But I think you have to judge each situation for yourself; I really do wish my current employers knew just to explain why I'm not myself some days.

Bluebell

 

[keepsafe]

Hi,

I don;t have anyone else involved in my treatment although my partner knows I am having treatment and knows that I am ill - no family members know.

I wouldn't know about work - I am currently off ill and my employers know the reason, but as for the future that is uncertain, I personally think I will lose my position and I don;t know whether I would tell any other employers about my illness, probably not.

KS

 

[bluebell24]

Sorry, forgot to say, I have bipolar too but as far as my former employers knew it was stress related depression - I was pretty certain it was bipolar then but as I was undiagnosed thought it best to limit what I told them. I actually thought something as common as depression would be easy for them to deal with and even thought they might offer some support. Crazy!! : )

 

[iffybob]

Thought

I dont know the answer to your questions but as for the employment you could call the CAB and ask them for legal advice, you could also look on the MIND web site, or even Rethink they may have some leaflets, they are general free to download the PDF, or read online.

Take care ... boB .....

 

[jax]

No one from my family has ever been involved in my treatment for Bipolar. I am home 15 years and my mum went once to the pdoc to find out what was wrong with me. That was about 10 years ago and no one has since seen my pdoc or been involved.

I have not worked for 15 years due to my illness but I suspect that if I were to go back into the work force - I would not mention being bipolar as I feel it would go against me.
Jacqui

 

[lehcar24]

Thank you all for your replies you have put my mind at ease with the family thing i jus couldnt handle that, they arent that nice anyway and arent sympathetic about mental health issues..

thank you xxxxxxx

take care everyone xxx

 

[iffybob]

Its not just your family, a lot of people have a bad or negative attitued towards mental health issuses.

You just take care, get any treament that you need and try not to worry about anyone else opinion, you know what you feel is best for you.

 

[SmileyGirl]

Hi
I just wanted to add that when I went for my last interview (last Feb) I was honest and said I had bipolar. I also added that if they wanted to ask me how it affected me, that was fine, as it is a very individual condition and everyone lives with it differently - the same as people without bipolar.
If my employers had a problem with it at interview - then I wouldn't want to work for them. I believe my bipolar is a part of me and not my whole therefore they should take me as a whole person i.e. a redhead, a woman, a shortarse!, a bipolar sufferer, a mother, a worker etc.

Big yourself up - people with bipolar have a massive amount of bottle a lot of the time. I reckon we're all great.

 

[Kat667]

My family knows, as it is practically impossible for me to disguise.
My dad knew years before and there is a family history too. Have an aunt who was a paranoid schizophrenic, in hospital for months and didn't remember any of it. She started out by feeling like I do with the nightmares, mood swings and panic attacks that went on for many years, so I'm glad I'm trying to stop it before I get as bad as she did. Bi-polar my loved ones could probably deal with but full blown paranoid schizophrenia, I don't think they could handle.
I am going to have to tell my boss because of the environment I work in. Don't care if I can't continue there, it's a crap job and i'd rather be home doing oil paintings all day every day instead of fecking cleaning!

 

[suzy]

I wouldn't tell a prospective employer as if I was in their shoes and someone I was interviewing told me they had bipolar I would be a bit ah! I'd ask them if it affected their daily life and if they said yeah then I would employ someone else! So what about the government you need to be able to do the job! If your bipolar does not affect your daily life then don't mention it in an interview. If it then does come up in your job and you become ill, yes you could be fired for not disclosing the truth! It is a difficult one. Is there any rule which says we have to tell them? I mean on the sexual form you don't have to disclose if you are heterosexual/Gay. It is personal!


If you are off work for 15 years because of bipolar maybe you should get out there and give it a try, it is harsh but how are you going to get better otherwise? You can't hide away. Voluntary work to start off with then maybe a little part time job. You can't live off benefits forever it drains the system!

I don't see bipolar as an illness just something we have to live with, so if you can cope with it, with the bad and good times then it is nice to think you could cope in a job. It is your choice whether to tell the company but be wary that some may put your form in the bin, some may be more likely to give you an interview due to gov standards or whatever, and some are probably not even bothered and don't know what bipolar is!


I feel like a rant today sorry, but I am not telling any employer that I am bipolar seeing as lots of my friends don't even know

 

[a_wolf]

I... have an annoying and somewhat embrassing tendency to disclose things at random, so yeah, my friends know and my family suggested it in the first place.

Luckily I have a filter. It's not very tight, but it keeps my boss, etc... out of my personal life. My boss is great, but I don't want to become excuse-girl (which WILL happen if I slip into a nasty depression.) if I feel down one week.

Also, I'm generally paranoid she is considering firing me and I don't want to add fuel to the fire.

 

[Kat667]

Because of the nature of where I work I may have to check to see if I have to disclose bi-polar disorder by law. Had to have CRB checks etc before I started there so it may be the case. I'm lucky enough to have a great boss and nice colleagues even if the job itself is not exactly what I would have done given the choice.