Bipolar in the Workplace

[msshoothingstar]

I recently lost a job due to what I thought was a complication with one of my meds. They caused me to be cloudy during the intro sessions which made it difficult to learn everything necessary for the position. My pdoc asked if I'd mentioned my medications to my workplace before I got fired, my answer was no. This has had me wondering, though. Should I be claiming disability/that I am bipolar II from the beginning to possibly avoid this kind of problem in the future?

[lindahand]

You can wait until the need arises and then mention it. They do not need warning to make accomodations. I would not mention it in the workplace unless you have to. I did and got ousted. All of a sudden the writing I had been doing for months was no longer any good, and that is the 'reason' they gave for ousting me. My co-workers were great, it was just the bosses.

[anjaylah]

I asked my psychiatrist his opinion on telling my employer. He strongly urged me not to tell ANYONE except close family and people who loved me.
I replied that I did not understand what the big deal was because of the ADA.  He said he has researched it and found 9 times out of 10 the employer wins the case.
I thought telling people would make them think, oh well that explains a lot. Apparently there is a stigma around BP/mental illness.  I do not normally judge people so I do not share this view.
I want to tell my employer but I am now in fear. I know that under the act I MUST ask for accommodation.  If I do not come out how can I ask for accommodation if the need arises? I fear being outcast-ed and seen as unfit as a manager.  I feel like anything I do or say form that point on will be weighted with - oh that is just her mental illness and I will never be taken seriously. People who are close to me do this with any idea or decision I make.

[rogelio63]

Oh I know it now.  At the time though, my meds were being adjusted and I was a wreck although still doing my job effectively.  She enjoyed seeing people squirm.  She would do something and then go in her office and laugh about it.  I have mental illness?  She definitely had some kind of malicious mental illness thing going on!
I have actually thought about a law suit.  The place had complaints filed against it as a hostile work environment untold times and she was accused (and rightfully so) of sexual harassment several times (several which were directed at me).  I never exhibited obvious bipolar symptoms or the diagnosis until a year and a half after I started working there.

[hummingbirdT]

This is a bunch of bunko, and whoever told you this is uninformed. Your bipolar is a medical condition and you are covered under the "American Disabilities Act". You can look it up.

[rogelio63]

I work for the government, I can't say what branch, but it is a uniformed service.  I told my boss and she said she could relate due to a former husband with BP.  When I asked for reasonable accomodation, she said that I would be labeled unfit for duty and "drummed" out of the service.  All she said was a lie.  She is no longer there.  I think it would be good idea to tell them AFTER you're hired, and then they have to make d@mn sure that if they fire you later it can't be related to anything that would appear in court to be discriminatory or a violation of reasonable accomodation.

[littlebit667]

If you were on a "probation" period, they may have not have to reprimand.  It seems strange to let you go so quickly, but I have seen it happen.  It ***** and I am so sorry.  

[msshoothingstar]

Your responses have been helpful... I was not reprimanded prior to them firing me, oddly. This was a first offense. I thought about fighting it but then I'd have had to explain that I was on medication/bipolar and that would have (I felt) encouraged them to find flaws in future work so that they could fire me based on future mix-ups.

I'm still unsure about workplace discrimination, it seems like it still happens a lot without there being much reprimands to the employers.

[Sandtiger]

Was it something you were reprimanded for, before you were fired? If so, it should have been mentioned at the reprimand.

With me, I was hired on as temp and then moved up to full time in the position I'm in now [going on 8 yrs ago]. I didn't mention it until after I became full time because it wasn't necessary; I was relatively stable. When things started getting rocky, I apologized when I realized it was affecting certain things, and explained to my closest co-workers. Word got around, though slowly, and mainly from me explaining: "sorry, I zoned there for a few minutes; with what I have, it's kind of hard to focus right now; could you repeat that, please?"
It usually invited questions, which I then answered.

That's helped in two ways; 1] it's a fore-warning to those who can realize when I'm having a bad day and don't hold it against me - they just kind of give me my space. 2] my boss gives me a bit more of a lee-way than with others, in that she gives me approved PTO for my doc appts when others are refused, and she tends to forgive the more minor transgressions like not always keeping up in my workload. Then again, I do a tremendous amount of workload on average, above and beyond what the others in my office do, so that could account for some things...

Not everyone can be that open, though, and not every boss/employee will be as understanding or accommodating, so keep that in mind.

[msshoothingstar]

I started lithium in March, it was increased in August when I got the job... and training for the job was an intensive 40-hour a week classroom-like setting. I didn't realize it would be a problem until something that we'd learned actually came up on the job and I'd forgotten it.

So does that mean I should or shouldn't have said something from day one?

[ILADVOCATE]

  At any workplace in order to be able to be granted a reasonable accommodation that would help you be able to perform the "essential function" (basic requirements of the job) you need to discuss this when you are hired with whoever is your manager or supervisor. However its best not to discuss it until you are hired so that it wouldn't work against you (although of course its not allowed to be part of the decision). Also be ready before you are hired to discuss the specifics of the reasonable accommodation so that whomever you will be working for can see whether its acceptable and not an "undue burden" (ADA term for it not impacting on the workplace overall). You can find out more information at ADA.gov.
   Its best to avoid mentioning the specifics of your medications unless you are at any time requesting a sick leave but if you need accommodations focus on the basic pragmatic concerns. There are also agencies who could give you more specific advice about this. In the meantime the important thing is to be prepared about what aspects of your disability might cause any difficulty with the work and what reasonable accommodation might help.