Working with an employer once diagnosed with depression

Apologies this discussion has somehow lagged for some time, but the topic is important and thus I'd like to invite others to be a part of it. @Laj4934 is asking about how to work with an employer once diagnosed with depression. This member especially would like input on:
- How did your employer deal with your diagnosis?
- What did they do to assist you?
- What could have been done to help you more?

I don't recall ever talking to my boss or anyone in my management about my diagnosis of depression. At one juncture, however, prior to a diagnosis when some factors in my job had me really far down many years ago, I did contact employee assistance in HR, who was helpful in listening to me and then pointing me to counseling.

@jimhd @notaround @darlingtondoll @mamacita @newzbug @helenfrances @ksad @johnhans @shermananski @secretwhitepop - wondering if you might have some thoughts on these questions about work and depression?

@Laj4934 I had this happen to me at different jobs with different responses. My first time I was told I had to go to a psychiatrist and be certified ok to work. Then they said they would prefer me to go to another shift with fewer employees so I would be affecting fewer people if I had problems. Another job said I was not valuable enough to keep so they would get rid of me. They did. Another time I told my manager at another job and was told I could go to HR but their response would probably be to fire me. A month later I was laid off with a number of others in my department. If depression interferes with your work, there was to be no helping to accommodate. The last time I was told either handle it or go. That is why I went on disability. I also read a case where someone years ago was fired by the federal government for having depression. The federal judge assigned to the case agreed with the decision saying that the employer's doctor could not guarantee the employee would not become violent. The doctor stated that depressives are very unlikely to become violent because they do not have the energy to do so. The stigma of mental health is real and hard to overcome. The point I would like to make is that depressives can make excellent employees if given the chance. Statistics show that such employees with counseling and medication are less likely than the general population to cause problems.

Is this the question? If we, as an employee, have anxiety , depression or other issues...do we share that personal information with our employer and our colleagues?

Lisa,
When I was teaching I was not depressed or anxious. I loved teaching and enjoyed each child. My co-workers were wonderful, truly devoted to the teaching profession. We had excellent teaching assistants, a wonderful team of speech therapists, psychologists, physical therapists for children with special needs.

It was not until I retired that I developed anxiety and head tremor (dystonia).. it developed slowly.
We did have challenges in our family.
I went to counseling. (Psychologist)

I now have a wonderful neurologist who advises to continue low dose ...(4 to now taking 1 (2 halves) and I am scheduled to see a psychiatrist to taper off Clonazapam.
I am now reading :
The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D.
( what and how we think can change our brains!)
Stay tuned!

neuro plasticity.... read all about it! You CAN change🌞

@georgette12 That's how I understand what @Laj4934 was asking,and what @lisalucier referenced.

I was diagnosed with depression et al after I had employers, and was self employed. I do think that depression was affecting me long before the diagnosis, and my last boss would have terminated me immediately if I had said I was depressed. He would probably, before firing me, have put his hands on my head and prayed the demon of depression be cast out of me. I also am treated for PTSD, and he was a significant contributor to it.

Being diagnosed with depression as a self employed person, the person I had the most trouble with was myself. That might sound like an attempt at humor. Unfortunately, it was the truth.

Jim

@jimhd and others. When I was self employed I had the same experience as you. I had a lot of.trouble with myself. Not a joke.
My job as a home health care person puts me in touch with people who have extremely tough issues. Suicidal ideation, anxiety, bipolar and the whole ball of wax. Since I have suffered with all of this, and still do, I find a great reward in sharing my own challenges with my clients who are going through the same thing. Well meaning friends say that this emotional drain from someone else's stuff does not help me. But for me, personally, it works. Kinda like in AA you want to talk with someone who is also struggling with an addiction. Unless you have walked in their shoes, it's very hard to understand the complexity of mental stuff.

Working in an environment where your job requires you to present in a specific way, like wearing a face mask, never works for me. As a writer in print publishing, I was able to be myself. Eccentric. Certain professions allow for that. Then I continued to work in hospice and psych facilities where personal experience was welcomed. But, yeah, I would not tell an employer anything personal.

Amen!

I hear you! I took a position in another place because it paid significantly more than the position I held. Wrong move! The employees were unethical.

I called my former employer and asked if they had a position open. “Yes! when can you start?”
Best move I ever made. Less money, great colleagues, ethical administration.

Sounds like you are using your past suffering as a gift of understanding to help others.
Blessings.
H