If you have a mental illness, you may struggle with the difficult decision as to whether to share information about your illness with others. You may be reluctant to disclose your experiences for many reasons, including fear of rejection, shame, or not wanting to be labeled negatively because of the stigma associated with mental illness.
How much people disclose about their illness can vary greatly. While some people don’t disclose their illness to anyone, many choose to share their experiences with a limited number of trusted confidantes. Others may be completely open about discussing their illness and a few may even become vocal advocates who speak publicly about their mental health history.
I’ll go ahead and jump to some of the important conclusions about this process. Your decision to disclose your mental illness is your decision alone. No one can or should make this decision for you. Also, there is no “one size fits all” outcome and there are no “right” or “wrong” decisions. There is also no “perfect time” to disclose your illness. This is a very personal decision. How you decide to manage it should fit your needs and the decision should ultimately feel like a healthy one for you.
I was pleased to find that there is a program called “Honest, Open, Proud to Eliminate the Stigma of Mental Illness,” which provides a thoughtful, detailed and structured process to help people decide if they want to disclose their mental illness. The lead author, Patrick Corrigan, Psy.D., is a professor of psychology who is also a person with mental illness (major depression and anxiety disorder). Another author, Robert Lundin, is a peer provider in a mental health program and also someone with a mental illness (schizoaffective disorder).
The “Honest, Open, Proud” program is presented in a well-organized facilitator manual and accompanying participant workbook which are divided into three lessons: 1) Consider the Pros and Cons of Disclosing; 2) There are Different Ways to Disclose; and 3) Telling Your Story. Let’s take a look at Lesson 1.
Consider the pros and cons of disclosing
The first lesson of the program is based on the overall goal of considering “the costs and benefits of disclosing one’s experiences with mental illness to some people.”
Costs of disclosure are reasons why you may decide not to share about your mental illness while benefits are reasons why disclosure may help you. An important step is to consider the specific costs and benefits you believe you may experience. You can then generate lists of these costs and benefits.
Some benefits of disclosure may include:
- Not worrying about hiding your illness anymore.
- Being more open about your day-to-day activities.
- Others may support or encourage you.
- You may find that others have had similar experiences.
- You can fight stigma surrounding mental illnesses.
Some costs of disclosure may include:
- People you disclose to may disapprove of you or your disclosure.
- Others may talk behind your back or say negative things about you.
- Others may exclude you from social or work gatherings and other opportunities.
- You may worry about others’ opinions of you.
- Family members and friends may be upset about your disclosure.
It can be helpful to highlight one or two costs and a couple of benefits that seem to be especially important to you. It may be that you determine there are different costs and benefits in different settings, such as home, work, or school.
Next, consider what your goal is if you do disclose at some point in the future. Usually, the goal will align with one or more of the possible benefits of disclosure mentioned above. Also, give some thought to whether someone else could help you make the decision to disclose. This could be a trusted friend or loved one or a professional counselor or other health care provider.
After weighing all of these factors, you will hopefully be in a more informed position to decide if you want to disclose your mental illness. Or your decision could also be to delay deciding for a while. Remember that this is your decision and yours alone.
In an upcoming post, I’ll review the second lesson from the “Honest, Open, Proud” program, which focuses on the process of how to begin to comfortably and safely disclose your mental illness, once you have reached that decision. This lesson describes different options for how to disclose your mental illness and helps you decide who to disclose to first.
Here’s a question: What factors have you considering in trying to decide about disclosing your mental illness? Please leave a comment. Also, please subscribe to my blog and feel free to follow me on X (formerly Twitter), “like” my Facebook page, or connect on LinkedIn. Finally, if you enjoyed this article, please share it with a friend!