I mentioned in another thread that my 12 year old daughter is bipolar. My husband and I have done our best to shield her from the stigma attached to mental illness, but also do not want her to be ashamed of who she is. At 12, girls are extraordinarily cruel and we do not want her to be hurt more than she already is.

We finally disclosed her condition to the school this year. I know that it is illegal for schools to discriminate against people with mental illness, but there are many preconceived ideas (albeit incorrect) held by individuals. Her teachers thus far have been wonderful. When she is not well, she cannot keep track of assignments, studying or even maintaining her appearance. But, I still live in fear of the time she will come home from school despondent (or suicidal) due to bullying or discrimination.

Any ways - I guess what I am trying to say is that the stigma attached to mental illness is still a problem that my daughter is going to face for the rest of her life. Hopefully, at some point, the public will be educated enough to understand.

...and insinuate that mental illness is equivalent to being a RW nut.

on a public forum. There is one area where I'm not as brave and it has to do with my employment. I have not told anyone there about my illness and I don't know if I will in the future for fear of stigmatization and losing my job. I won't have health benefits until March of next year, so I'm certainly not going to say anything to anyone before then.

I got it long before I was diagnosed as having a mental illness. But here's how my illness affects my qualifications to drive. Every two years commercial drivers have to pass a Department of Transportation physical. They are given a questionnaire to fill out before the physical, part of which asks about any illnesses that the driver might have. I have to have a letter from my psychiatrist to be given to the examining physician telling her or him that, in his opinion, I will not be a safety hazard due to my illness; the illness is under control; and that I am compliant with treatment. It is then up to the physician doing the physical to use his or her own judgement on whether or not to issue my physical card. So far there haven't been any issues.