We need to stop pretending that mental health issues make people incapable or unfit.

Let’s Stop Pretending.

We seem to have this idea, as a society, that people with mental health conditions are incapable of holding certain positions, or unfit to perform certain duties simply because they have any given mental health condition. This is largely a blanket assumption and not based on anyone’s individual state. 

We might not have rules or laws outlining these things but there are examples everywhere of people hiding their conditions because they will likely lose their jobs or at best the respect they have earned in that industry were anyone to find out. 

This isn’t to say that in specific instances select mental states of certain mental health conditions couldn’t make someone unable temporarily to perform their duties, or that those with a mental health condition will never experience symptoms that require time off or even a permanent change of occupation. These situations do happen, and they are the exception not the rule. 

As someone with a bipolar diagnosis, I personally know that some conditions get worse reputations than others. I have known doctors, lawyers and airline pilots who have actively hidden their bipolar diagnosis from their coworkers and employer, going so far as to pay for all their care out of pocket so make sure there was no insurance record that could out them. I myself have hidden my diagnosis and explicitly been silent about things related to mental health because of my fear that it would be another strike against me or my business in often male dominated industries where I am already having to prove myself as a woman and as a latina woman at that. The last thing I needed was to have to overcome whatever weird ideas people have about bipolar disorder and those who suffer from it. 

The most insane thing about the current system being upheld by employers is that if someone is experiencing a mental health crisis and needs help they aren’t able to get the support they need from other members of the team meaning if they drop the ball the company suffers. Employers would be much better off letting employees know that they can take mental health days and that if they experience a crisis they don’t have to also worry about managing their work. They can simply let their supervisor know they need someone else to take over.

I have heard more absurd things than I can count about what people think bipolar disorder is or what it means about someone. Things like, bipolar people are dangerous, they’re a liability, they are out of control or impulsive, they don’t know the difference between reality and fantasy, they are all suffering paranoid delusions basically all the time. We’ve been described as flakey, inconsistent, poor work ethic, dramatic, and a million other insulting and untrue things. The crazy thing is most of these people have no idea what bipolar actually is nor have they worked with someone who identified themselves openly as bipolar. Meaning all these things they “know” about bipolar is derived from things like hallmark movies or someone’s hyperbolic use of the term bipolar. I’ve had full conversations with coworkers or clients who are positive they could identify a bipolar person by their behavior or work ethic and they are absolutely shocked when I tell them I have a bipolar diagnosis. They usually respond with something along the lines of “oh, well yours is cured right?” again demonstrating their complete lack of knowledge on the subject. They insist that since I am capable of performing my job without them knowing I have a diagnosis I must be cured. Their head nearly explodes when I tell them that I have refractory bipolar disorder, in other words medication resistant. 

They are shocked because I happen to be a highly capable and driven individual with a great work ethic. Over our time working together they have come to know me as reliable, and meticulous. They know I possess excellent risk assessment skills and make most decisions based on data and logic. They know I am very much in touch with reality and although I have a big personality and some pretty legendary story-telling skills I’m neither dramatic nor impulsive.

The truth is that people’s skill sets and personality traits are not the same as mental health symptoms. It is possible for those with some mental health disorders to experience episodes where these symptoms impact them and maybe they even act erratically - none of which is their fault. This doesn't mean those rare episodes ARE who they are. More directly, we are not our disorders, illnesses or diagnoses. No one is. 

We all need to stop being scared of these things, we all need to stop being scared of people who have these diagnoses. We need to stop acting like someone having one of them automatically defines who they are and what they’re capable of. These people also aren’t any more risky than anyone else. There is no guarantee that any other person won’t suffer a health complication that makes them drop the ball or suddenly become unable to work temporarily. 

Let's just get over the idea that certain professions or positions are free from people with mental health conditions. That's obviously a load of shit, since 1 in 5 adults suffers from a mental health condition in their lifetime and 1 in 25 has a serious chronic condition. It’s not serving any of us to pretend like these diagnoses are on the fringe of society or in acting like if we don’t discuss them they don’t exist. 

I promise you know someone with a mental health condition - you probably just don’t know it because they have to hide it. So for everyone struggling with their mental health - let’s talk about it as much as we are able to safely. For those who don’t have a mental health condition don’t be a jackass - go educate yourself about what’s real and don’t believe what the movies told you. Don’t be judgmental or dismissive of what others share with you about their mental health. Most importantly remember that a mental health condition doesn’t make someone less capable.