It gets worse at work. You are even scared to disclose because you will be termed “crazy: . Sometimes seen as unable to perform your duties just because you have disclosed.

People are scared to disclose as they will be called names and somewhat treated differently because they are ” crazy”.

No matter how difficult this may sound. It is always better to disclose to your boss so that you can get the support when needed.

I believe the more you talk about it freely , the more you disempower the gossips behind your back about your mental illness.

Like any other challenge we face as a group , it is the best thing to have a support group of people that you trust those that are in the same position .

They will not judge you or even try understand why you feeling down and why you are depressed .Or how come you have bipolar, because they know that these questions are not easily answered. It all boils down to a state of mind.

Your job requires you to answer calls. And that day you have your depressive mood. You have to answer because you are at work and you did not disclose. You take it and and take it , until you reach breaking point. Luckily that day your medication works I’ll your shift is over .

You do everything in your power to stay up , pretending you are over the moon. You get into your car u have the privilege of being alone. You just break down until u get home about an hour later.

Its a new day, you get anxious because you have to get to work and hope you do not have a repeat of yesterday. You pray that your medication is even more effective than ever .

You are at work and suddenly you have this hectic anxiety attack , you go to the loo for breathing exercises. You get out of there and feel like your heart is skipping a beat. You feel like your heart is pumping on your neck or out of your chest . You rush to the kitchen to get some water to calm yourself down as u have to finish your shift.

You hear someone say : ” why are not at your desk more than 3 times in the last hour. Now you feel even more anxious because you have exceeded your break and you have to explain. You are not ready emotionally and you have not dealt with the fear of judgement , rejection and name calling .

You go to work religiously. You keep yo your working schedule all the time. There s loads of deadlines and there s alot of calls you need to take and there is no breathing space. You continue and not complain , until one day you have a major breakdown . You just feel so overwhelmed , tears roll down your face and you cannot stop them. You try everything you know but nothing helps.

Depression has taken over and now you have to take steps to seek professional help. The psychologist tells you about admission. The stress you now have is how to request the time off to go and sort your emotions out .

In some way you manage to get the time off. You go for psychotherapy . It is 3 weeks later and you are back at the office. People start asking questions, you do not know who to trust and disclose to.

It is important to disclose to your line manager in case you need more time off and support . Most companies have wellness assistance for their employeees . Use these facilities, they assist with coping at work , whilst they also prepare you for disclosure.