<p>I have a long history of mental problems and I am wondering if employers can see this when they look into my records. I have a feeling that I will have a very difficult time getting employed because of this. In high school I was forced to see a psychiatrist because of a fight I got into. Would it help that I was not the instigator and that I was provoked? Last summer I was forced to go to the mental hospital for reasons that are too detailed to keep anyone interested. To keep a long story short, the psychologist manipulated me into saying it was a voluntary hospitalization and I was stuck there for six hours. Keep in mind that I was not violent or threatening violence, but I was just disturbed with my thoughts. I was banned or suspended from the campus until I got a letter from a mental health professional, not unlike the situation I had to go through to go back to my high school two years ago.</p>
<p>Am I in trouble? How much detail will my employers know? Will I have a hard time getting hired? Should I lie if anyone questions me and hope that I won't get caught?</p>
<p>I meant I am especially interested in the opinions of anyone who is involved in the hiring process.</p>
<p>I am referring to careers that one could only get after earning a degree, not entry-level jobs where hiring is most likely not as strict or exclusive.</p>
<p>HIPAA laws assure that medical professionals cannot disclose any information about current or past conditionss without your (or if you are a minor, your parent’s) permission.</p>
<p>First: Take care of your mental health. Do not downplay its importance. Get good medical advice.</p>
<p>Second: The answers to your questions depend a little bit on the specific jobs you will be looking at, but in most cases your prospective employer will not have access to your mental health records. But you may have to fill out some pre-employment forms where they ask you about medical conditions that might impair your performance on the job. And you may need a doctor to sign off on a pre-employment physical exam. </p>
<p>The key question for the employer is the same as for a physical disability- will it impair your performance on the job. If yes, you should not seek that job and if you seek it you should not be given it. If no, then you should not be discriminated by a prospective employer.</p>
<p>Don’t worry too much about this right now. Just make sure you are mentally healthy.</p>
<p>^ I will, but life moves really fast and I don’t want to frantically search for answers as soon as I need employment. According to statistics, it seems like I will have a difficult time living independently let alone getting employment and even if I do get employment I might be underemployed.
To be blunt, I don’t want to live with my parents for the rest of their lives or at least at an age where everyone else has moved on by now. My neighborhood is turning into a hellhole and it’s depressing, so I want to get out as soon as possible.
I’m sorry if I’m putting a burden on anyone. You don’t have to answer this, but I have no one to talk to and this is better than nothing.</p>
<p>Do not pay attention to those statistics- you are a statistic of one. Take advantage of all of the mental help you can get- never forgo it for fear of it being part of your record. Privacy laws are strict these days, don’t worry about access to to your mental health records. You recognize that you have an ongoing mental health problem- it sounds like you know you need to keep up with recommendations, following them you have a great chance of having a career in a field appropriate for your abilities. Just like someone with a physical disability you have to do as some stated above- choose something that matches your abilities and avoid things that cause a flareup of your problems. There are many successful people with long term careers whose health problems don’t interefere with their lives. Think about what you CAN do and work towards that. Treat your mental problems like someone with any other chronic disease needs to- such as a diabetic who needs to take medicines and/or follow a diet- you know the consequences of not doing what is prescribed just as the diabetic does.</p>
<p>PS- don’t look for trouble, a postive attitude can help you prevent it.</p>
<p>I am an employer who was in a situation with someone who I’m fairly certain had mental health issues. He had a college degree and it was a higher level position.
He did not disclose this when he was hired and it was not evident. It is definitely not legal for an employer to ask about mental health history.
In our situation what happened though is that he couldn’t handle the pressure of the position and ended up having problems. We had several sit downs with him where we asked if he needed accomodations or if there was something we should know. He never did disclose a medical condition.<br>
Short story, we ended up having to fire him because he couldn’t do the job. At the worst points he was disoriented on the job, didn’t know what day it was, couldn’t answer clients questions about what he did for the company, etc.<br>
Several days of no show/no call and then his mother called and told me he had the stomach flu.
He is now working in a different area of the state and in a position with a lot less stress.
Moral of the story is that it is important that you take a job that you can handle. I really felt bad for this young man. He left a decent job to come work for us and it was just way too much for him.<br>
Wis75 has some great advice above.</p>
<p>I would if I had the opportunity. My parents already find it a difficulty or burden to pay for the co-pay and medication for psychiatry. This might sound scary for some, but my pills ran out a week ago and I didn’t tell my parents because I did not want to bother them about it. My mind basically picked the worst time to go mad.</p>
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<p>I won’t, but I got in major trouble for trying to help myself. It felt more like I was getting punished than anything. They had COPS send me to the hospital and I wasn’t even throwing a tantrum. I was completely calm, I never gave anyone reasons to take it as far as they did. As for that fight in high school, certain things just tick me off. Sorry, I can’t stand back and laugh off someone calling me a psycho. If one person thinks it’s okay, soon enough the whole school will. I learned this lesson the hard way in middle school.
I will try to keep a positive attitude in general, but I can’t hold it for all situations.</p>
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<p>It sounds like his mom was trying to cover the real problem. Maybe she was afraid that he would get fired if she told the truth. I feel bad for him too as I had a job with similar duties and messed up as badly as he did. I quit before they had an excuse to fire me.</p>
<p>I recently had a very similar experience to the one ebeeee relates. This young woman had some serious issues and was unable to handle the responsibilities of the position. It’s unfortunate, as she was bright and motivated, but ultimately was simply not performing and doing the no-call/no-show thing. In my business, that’s the end. </p>
<p>My advice: stay on the meds. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Take baby steps.</p>
<p>But it’s hard. As an employer, I love to see bright, ambitious kids succeed. Since I am not generally informed about individuals’ mental health issues, we sometimes tend to ask more of those bright young people than their issues allow. (Suggestion – look for jobs with larger firms where you won’t be asked to take on too much too soon.)</p>
<p>I’m an employer and have no idea about any health issues unless the employee wants to talk about them or an issue obviously affects their presence in the workplace. I did have an employee whose mental health issues became all too apparent. We tried to work with him but he was secretive. First, his personal hygiene went out the window, then he became belligerent, argumentative and delusional. After he (verbally) threatened me, we immediately laid him off. I suspect that he had no network of support, no-one to watch out for him, and we, his employers and fellow employees were left totally in the dark as to how to work with him, how to integrate him into our very small office. </p>
<p>At least, maintain a support network; professionals to tend to any medication and therapy needs. Also, try to live with roommates after college, people you see on a regular basis, who know you and care about you.</p>