If I Knew Then

I have a really good relationship with my bosses at work, so it came as no surprise to them that I was comfortable enough telling them about my diagnosis and the treatment I needed. Although it was a difficult, embarrassing, and tearful conversation, I found it important to tell them so they were aware that somedays I would have to leave the office early for treatment.

Although I was full of anxiety before telling them, they quickly reassured me and told me they would gladly work around my schedule but they also suggested filling out an accommodation request. A reasonable accommodation is essentially a change or adjustment to your job or the way you do your work. It is part of the Americans with Disabilities act, or ADA, and is in place to ensure people with disabilities are able to get jobs and perform the necessary tasks of said job.

The first thing my brain thought of when they said that was: Am I disabled? There are multiple mental health illnesses that fall under the ADA and are considered disabilities, BPD being one of them. Even with the explanations written on paper, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that that could apply to me. It’s a hard realization for a lot of people including me, and I felt as if signing the accommodation would be a way to seal the deal and brand me of that title forever.

Clearly that is not the case. But when your brain is already on overdrive dealing with drastic mood shifts, it’s hard to keep logic when anxiety is high. I did ultimately make the decision that filing an accommodation would be the best way to secure my job and get treatment.

The first step was signing a form at work to let them know I wanted to file in the first place. Other workplaces might have other policies in place so make sure you contact Human Resources for more information. After filling out my companies form, I received a packet with information that my psychiatrist, or other health professional who was working with me, could fill out. This form was asking information about the type of impairment I had: whether mental or physical. This information had to be given in a way where it gave enough information without breaking privacy laws. It also asked for more in depth information about how this affects your job duties and what recommendations your provider has. Again, this form may vary from place to place, for example, the form I filled out was made by my employer. After filling this out I had to return it to Human Resources where they informed me that they would reach out for the interactive portion of the accommodation where we would discuss what would work best for my particular needs.

At the suggestion of my psychiatrist and bosses, I now have the option to change my schedule to fit my appointments, have days off in case I have a bad mental health day, and also have the option to work from home. This plan will give me the opportunity to attend all of my appointments and gives me the flexibility to take care of myself on days where I can’t function as well as I should. This will come in handy after DBT and therapy sessions, as I’ve been told they can resurface a lot of things and it may be hard to adjust. I am thankful that this is an option for people who need it and also thankful for having such a supportive workplace.