It's challenging, because sometimes the patient's say something, and I can relate, but they assume that I have no idea what they are going through. Sometimes I feel like telling them would be therapeutic, but I don't self disclose because it could damage my career and also I don't know how they would feel about it. I have one patient in particular, who is trying to come to terms and learn to manage his bipolar disorder. I feel like if I could tell him my personal experiences he would benefit, but I am careful what I say. He said he had a youth worker once who was bipolar, and he really listened to and respected her. I don't say anything, but I've encouraged him to read Icarus project books, and we talk openly about his ambivalence around meds and his experiences with this disorder. He met our team psychiatrist once, but really didn't like him. He prefers to just see me, so I"m doing the med management etc. I have another patient with an anxiety disorder who keeps going on and off his meds. He asked me if I'd ever had anxiety, so I said yes (I also have GAD). He asked me if I"d ever taken meds for it, so I also said yes. He looked shocked - I hope hearing that reduced some of the stigma he was feeling, because he felt like people with anxiety can never lead normal lives. I didn't tell him that I am on WAY more meds than he is, lol. So those are a couple examples. I have more, but I don't want to bore you with it. I guess I let my experiences inform my practice, but I base my interventions on scientific evidence and my training. I can't assume that the way I experience things is the same way the patients experience it, even if we have the same disorder, and I have to keep my boundaries. Usually it's not a problem, but I have had cases with were a challenge. It's also hard with disclosure to coworkers. 2 of the social workers and one of the psychiatrist's at work know about my bipolar, but only one of the social workers knows any details, and even that is limited. I struggled with telling anyone because of the stigma, but ultimately decided to tell a few people because I felt like people were noticing signs, and I was depressed and having a hard time covering all my symptoms. People seemed really surprised, so I guess I was better at hiding it than I thought. I don't know if disclosure was the best idea, but it's part of my problem with having no filter I guess.

You will be great as a mental health worker. I think my illness has made me better able to help others, and yours will too. You always post caring and insightful things, so I think that is how you will treat your clients too. PM me anytime