Self-disclosing mental illness

I work in an emergency psychiatric hospital setting. I have bipolar 2 disorder along with anxiety related disorders. I've only disclosed my illness twice out of the hundreds of patients and families I've dealt with.

One was when a young patient was utterly terrified and emotionally distraught. This was her first mental health crisis. She thought no one could understand what she was going through (she was genuine, not being overdramatic). I went in her room to de-escalate her and eventually vaguely disclosed this information. Her entire demeanor changed, and she became relatively calm because she knew that I had some idea of the way she was feeling at that moment.

The second time I disclosed my diagnosis was a bit more vague but still an admission of mental illness, and it was actually to a patient's mother. Her young adult son was having his first psychiatric crisis. The poor mother did not have a clue what was going on with her son. We were outside talking while her son sat in our locked unit, and I had established great rapport with her. Through tears, she explained how worried that "whatever this is" (his illness) was going to ruin his life, and he would never be able to go to college, hold down a job, etc. I basically said something like, "Look, John (fake name) can potentially go on to lead a relatively normal life once he's stabilized on meds, especially if he has a good support system." (which he did). She kind of repeated the same concerns to me again. I (to keep it simple for her) said, "This may or may not make you feel a little better, and I usually don't tell patients or their family this, but I have the same "thing" (illness) John does. I have two college degrees, a great job, and loving wife and kids." You could see the relief on her face. It was actually pretty moving.

To be fair, disclosing this info could have blown up in my face both times, but my judgement guided me, and I was 99% certain it would be helpful. It brought both of them a little peace, knowing that someone else could relate.

/r/psychotherapy Thread