Doing anything when you are experiencing a mental illness can seem overwhelming and at times, impossible. If you are responsible for caring for others, maintaining a job and pursuing a career may become significantly more challenging when your mental state is unstable. At the Disability Rights Law Center, we are committed to helping our clients in California to acquire the support they need to be successful despite their difficulties.
If you are confronted at work for failing to maintain positive performance evaluations or because people you report to are unhappy with the effort you have made recently, you may be reluctant to tell them about your mental illness. In fact, your first instinct may be to try and ignore your challenges or hide them and continue to battle your demons alone. While this may benefit you temporarily, ignoring your illness will only set the foundation for worsening problems that could potentially upend your career and ability to maintain a job at all.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, persistent mental illness can impact your ability to perform basic aspects of your job including making decisions, communicating with others, meeting deadlines and participating in team initiatives. Examples of the types of illnesses that may be preventing your success at work include depression, PTSD, substance abuse, anxiety and even schizophrenia. Addressing your concerns as soon as you recognize them may help you to get the help you need to manage your illness and its triggers while still maintaining your job.
When you are forthright about communicating your illnesses and any developments in your condition to your employer, they may be better able to implement modifications to allow you to continue working despite your diagnosis. For more information, if you are suffering from mental illness, visit our web page.
