When reading through other people’s blogs, I came across:
Awake and Dreaming – The Ramblings of a Social Worker (with a little help from her Sophie Cat)
I’m interested in her June 2009 post on disclosure in which she thinks about telling her co-workers, other social workers, that she has anxiety so that they can be more accommodating.
Some of the responses relate to my question on stigma within the mental health profession. Comments from two social workers advised against disclosing.
antiSWer said…
“Something that was drilled into us during school was the idea that you can’t take a client further than you’ve gone yourself.”
I’ve never bought that. I think it’s more about being willing to face your problems. We’re all flawed in some way or another and if we’re expected to have all of our problems dealt with before we help someone, no one would ever be able to help. I know a lot of messed up people that have done a lot of really good work.
As for the question, I think it really has to be done on a case by case basis. I don’t think a blanket policy should be in effect.
Our society is not at a place where it’s nothing to disclose a mental illness. I’ve heard of a lot of discrimination based on mental illness and developmental disabilities when it really wasn’t necessary (they were MORE than capable of doing the work well). Keeping it quiet is sometimes the only way a person can prove make it thought the door and prove his/her worth in the job.
June 21, 2009 10:17 PM
socialworkemergency said…
I say don’t do it. I think self disclosure at work is like a sugar rush. You feel so good at first; your honesty and openness brings relief and you feel lighter, energized by the support of your peers and supervisor and the renewed empathy you have for your patients. In the end though, it leaves you weary…you tire of having to keep quiet when you have something to say because you may be dismissed as “having a bad day” or you sense that your performance is being measured with your “issues” in mind. I have seen friends of mine in several settings suffer because peers used the disclosure to advance their own careers; they were targeted when things went wrong, and they were robbed of any confidentiality. I hate to be so negative; I think it should be just as acceptable to disclose anxiety or depression as it is to disclose a seizure disorder or a hearing impairment. But it really isn’t. Even in social work.
June 26, 2009 2:03 AM
My response to her post was:
“I’m looking to become a social worker so I can’t speak from direct experience. From reading the writings of others, whether or not people will be supportive is uncertain.
I’ve heard and read comments from people with mental illnesses working in fields related to mental health describing stigmatizing comments and experiences from co-workers who ought to be more understanding. At the same time, they were often taking about mood disorders and schizophrenia, which face a lot more stigma than anxiety.
Perhaps your safest bet would be to talk around your anxious feelings rather than directly say you have been diagnosed with anxiety. For example, tell your supervisor that you need a break to collect your thoughts, that you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, something like that. What do your co-workers say when they’re feeling stressed?”
