Have You Ever Lied About Having a Mental Illness?

Hi Jay, I know exactly how you feel. I worked as a substance abuse/MH counselor, as an intern working toward my certification, for a year and a half (I was halfway there). I loved my clients, and they loved me, and I had actually made a real difference with some, whereas other staff (with no personal experience with the issues) had basically given up on them. Then, state cuts in Medicaid happened. They basically turned on ME, with a vengeance. They didn't want to even pay me unemployment so, they tried to make me quit, by making my life a living hell. I was NOT going to let them win. I stayed (until they "had to let me go because, I just couldn't keep up with the paperwork") kept my cool, made notes and fought for my rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the right way, with my doc standing up for me & my good character) for my unemployment. And I won. I hated them, too, and had thoughts that were not the nicest as well. Luckily, I did not act on them and, life went on, although it was difficult for awhile. But I survived. I lost my home and ended up out in the boonies staying in a vacant room of someone I knew. Thank God for foodstamps! That was my last "real" job. But I finally won my disability and got a little apartment, back in civilization and I'm okay. Remember, this too shall pass. Stay strong, keep your cool and I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Good luck to you my friend.

Many of my co-workers as well as my supervisors do not know about my mental illness (major depression, ED-NOS, and borderline personality disorder). I do have FMLA to use if I am hospitalized or cannot come into work, but I use it sparingly.
I find that in my line of work, I need to keep a certain image. I am a RN on an inpatient adolescent psychiatric unit. Those who know my struggles tell me they make me a better caregiver, more understanding and empathetic. But I am still terrified to be labeled as "incompetent" if people are made aware of my mental illness.

"My career would be ruined if I had psych treatment for suicide on my medical record anyway." Ken from ~Stone of Conscience~ "I can neither suffer nor delight in the human condition for the man made conditions that obscure it." Sa from ~Conundrum~

[...] options (let me know if we have more!): Be open and have an honest dialogue with your employer or keep your mental illness to yourself. Living with a mental illness is personal, and it is not something we share with everyone, but in [...]

Hi Chris,
I have a mental illness and am trained as a social worker.
I finished uni in April, just before u wrote this post. I paraded myself as a success story, applied for a job in homelessness/MH and was completely honest about my issues. They often employ people 'in recovery' and I thought they would support me.
I relapsed. They have now put me on 'unpaid leave' indefinitely. I now can no longer pay rent and even getting a menial job is proving to be difficult.
I hate them. I experience a lot of violent thoughts (ie. wait outside till the mangers finish... show them what it feels like to be humiliated...)
I am scared, I have no money and my partner can no longer deal with me.
Can u give me some hope?

Actually, I do think I would not be too up front with any potential employer about any ongoing illness before being hired. Healthcare cost concerns (they don't want their premiums going up), potential for absenteism, etc. But that said, severe mental illness is one of the worst things that I could think of to disclose- and I work in healthcare. I have had to be very creative about certain periods of time in the past, let's leave it at that. Fortunately my current job is very supportive, and I have been there long enough that I am starting to feel like I could reveal more. But people don't have a clue that someone like me could be in 4 point restraints, and I'm not sure it is really relevant. My psychosis was due to antidepressant-induced mania, but it was bad.

No problem! Thank you for reading. Keep opening up, so long as it is to the right people. The more we talk about it, the less stigmatized it will be.

Thank you for this topic. I lie to myself and have been in therapy and meds for years. I silently think always; what if I am not bipolar; what if it is a misdiagnosis. I always ask my therapist,"Am I really bipolar?" The answer is always yes and the meds have been helpful...So there it is. I also do not tell many people due to trust issues; only tell closest of family and friends. It warmed my heart when my parents took a course from NAMI for parents of bipolar adults. They know more than me! This is a first that I am opening up. Thank you again.

I love how everyone says talk about it. Like there are always people around to talk to or the depressed person is capable of talking about it. Sometimes it is not always possible

"Remember when the AIDS epidemic began? Although there is still a lot of work to be done, the last ten years have been monumental in the reduction of AIDS related stigma. Let’s do that for mental" I find this article very surreal to me because after watching Phlidephia with Tom Hanks last night I said something similar to my husband and now I know I am not the only one thinking this. Great article and yes I have lied or mostly not told ppl I have it. Thanks for sharing this.

I have one up on this question, how bout when you lie to yourself about your mental issues.
I was diagnosed at an early age as bipolar but even then I never opened up about any of my issues. They only saw my behavior, I never told them I saw and heard things, that people were following me, that my nieghbor was video taping me, tapping my phones.
I still havnt told a doc about my most darkest secrets. I havnt told my friends or anyone besides my husband and now here I am posting it publicly.
I dealt with it by playing it off...or saying its a character flaw which I tried to fix for years, I can't fix my brain. I cannot be or act normal, the more I try the worse I feel about myself.
Has anyone else been in as much denial as I have been? To the point if a psych asks you if you hear voices and you tell them no while at the same time telling the loud booming voices to shut up in your head? Just writing this I laugh, god its just so ridiculous.
I need to tell people I need to talk to a doc and accept I may have something more than just bipolar, I can barely admit that to myself.
If you have accepted it; that's half the battle of living successfully with mental illness. Now we just have to get the world to accept it.

I liked your article a lot. Although I have never lied about my mental illness, however when I was hospitalized I thought to myself that I was better than the rest of the patients who had mental illness and that my level of functioning was higher than theirs. Soon I realized that despite my level of functioning, I had a mental illness and knew that my symptoms of mental illness were similar to theirs.

Thank you for the comment and I'm truly sorry to hear about your situation. Although I cannot advise you specifically because I don't know your situation, I would certainly advise you to talk with a counsellor/therapist/psychiatrist before making a decision about whether or not to be open.
However, keep in mind that everyone at least knows someone with a mental illness, so there is a good chance that they could be more understanding than you may originally assume.
Best of luck to you and I hope that everything works out.

Hi! I am currently an unemployed teacher who is bipolar. I am debating whether or not to tell employers/principals that I am bipolar; somehow saying it was depression seems like a safer route. My husband also has depression, and I spent some time at home with him as well. My resume shows a 7 year gap(took masters level courses and flunked out due to bipolar depression), so I'm not real sure what to do.