Disclose mental illness to HR?

Yes, talk to an attorney ASAP. It may not be as simple as disclosing vs not, they can help you frame language, maintain a proper document trail, etc. They can also clarify what your rights are vs where you have to be very careful (time away from work, etc). If things escalate to a point where you have to litigate this could all be extremely important. I have a long family history with similar issues (not me personally, but close enough that I know the details) and you do not want to be underprepared in this situation.

Definitely try to make sure your bosses don't find out. Senior bankers are not exactly the most open-mind bunch. Try to feed HR some bs and hope they go away

I'll look for someone with legal experience. I've been doing my own research and have found conflicting documents. Some state that you don't need to disclose, but others state that you need to disclose if your illness provides a safety issue. Two of the examples they have of this are being too elevated to work accurately (tick) and being psychotic (tick). I'm wondering if I can just disclose some of the symptoms rather than the disorder, but I don't know if that's any better.

I know no one here is a lawyer, but other suggestions or opinions would be welcome! I am very, very conflicted.

Not a lawyer, but HIPPA is rock solid. There's no way they're finding out on their own, so you can give them any excuse in the book (and probably should unless it's a huge issue and will need ongoing treatment).

However, you'd probably be opening yourself to liability if you did end up doing anything ridiculous.

I'd contact a lawyer to be sure.

I agree with Hippa confidentiality. My wife is a nurse and she cant even say Hello to a patient in the grocery store. And contact the employment attorney for advice. Make up some bullshit excuse like gout or belly aches or appendix, etc.

Ted Turner, Winston Churchill and a bunch of other super people are/were bi-polar so it's not a knock-out, just something you need to deal with.

I've lost 5 (five!!!) friends to SUICIDE and they were bi-polar. I'm attracted to nutty manic types. Your diagnosis is super serious shit. NEVER go off your meds. Your manic phase will tell you "it's alright now" but it';s not, it never is. Put meds and treatment above EVERYTHING else. Proper treatment will help you keep a career, though you may lose a job. Help you keep a marriage, thought it may cost you a girlfriend.

You cannot take this too seriously.

To be honest, being an investment banker is not the best career choice for someone that's bipolar...

I would urge you to reconsider!!!

First off, are you a US Citizen? If you are, HIPAA may not apply here but other protections, such as the ADA, might cover you. There are a whole slew of questions that I could ask to determine it but it's futile. You're in a foreign office, so find an attorney that handles employment law specifically for the country the office is located in and has dealing with Ex-Pat issues if you are an American abroad. IF you're not a US Citizen, disregard that last bit and find a local attorney who knows employment laws. Your medical privacy is a big deal and many countries have laws in place to protect it.

Either way, speak to a lawyer so you don't get fucked by this.

Can you present proof that you really were hospitalized and just present that?

You have enough good advice above.

I just want to ask, didn't your medications show up in your drug test you did for employment? Based on what you're saying I'm assuming you didn't list these as any existing medications so I'd assume there would be a red flag on the urine sample...

Just curious.

HR are not going to tell your future boss your mentality ill.

Not a US citizen, so HIPPA doesn't apply. No drug test, so medications don't show up. I don't think they test for them anyway - what harm would it be if someone was taking lithium and antipsychotics? The only thing that might be tested is benzos, but I only take them PRN so I take them very rarely.

HR won't just take the fact that I was hospitalized. I made it very, very clear I was not going to discuss my condition but they kept on threatening me about escalating the matter. I told them I'd had a problem with medication and then they were like, you were taking medication and you need to tell us why. I'm worried that even if I don't have an obligation to tell them, saying nothing would damage my reputation with HR and the business before I even start. Some people have suggested that I say I have depression (have previously been depressed) or that I have anxiety (have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder). That said, I'm not sure if saying I was hospitalized for either of those is any better.

I know that IBD is hard. I know that the sleep deprivation will be difficult. But I'm very high functioning so I think it'll be fine. This is what I want to do, and if I screw up big time, then at least I've tried. I have back up plans in place.

I know how serious bipolar is, especially when unmedicated. I have been hospitalized for suicide attempts. I have been a danger to myself and others while manic. I have had very unhealthy coping strategies. But honestly, on medication and after all the therapy I've had, I'm doing pretty well. I just want to be given the same chance in life to do what I want to do, instead of my mental health holding me back from my aspirations.

Two things:

1) None of us can give you good advice since you're outside the U.S. You need to consult with a local lawyer that specializes in employment law. Your rights will vary significantly depending upon where you are. Don't listen to anybody's legal advice on here, full stop.

2) You should seriously reconsider doing IBD. No job is worth your health or life. I can't imagine your condition getting better with the stress of a IB career.

As others have said, you need to talk to a local lawyer or you may even be able to contact a government agency to ask (in the US you'd contact your state's labor department or the US Dept of Labor). No one on here can give you any advice because we don't know what country you're in and even if you did tell us most of us aren't labor lawyers in you country.

Outside of the legality of it, personally I think it's fucked up that HR is pressing the issue that much and making you tell them or they'll "escalate" it, whatever that means.

Whatever you do just remember that HR is not your friend. HR's responsibility is to do what's best for the company, not you.

I don't really have anything to add to the conversation. I don't have any personal experience with bipolar disorder. I just wanted to let you know that I'm pulling for you and that I wish you the best. That's an extremely difficult hand to be dealt, and good on you for fighting as hard as you are. Keep it up. Feel free to reach out for any finance-related career advice.

Legal advice sounds like the best way to go. There's a slight problem though - I'm actually still in hospital (I know, internet in a psych ward?), and my call with HR is scheduled in the middle of next week. I might not have enough time to consult a lawyer before the call because I won't be discharged, and in that case, may consult one after making the call to talk about how to proceed in the future. I understand that this is far from ideal and will do my best to get legal advice soon. Whatever way the chips fall, does anyone have any suggestions about how to imply to HR that I'm seeking legal advice even if I haven't yet met with a lawyer?

There is no way in hell that I would want my bosses to find out. I told a supervisor at university and he was thoroughly unsupportive of me, so I've learned my lesson. I think that I can do really well in banking despite my diagnosis. I gunned my summer internship and was told I was the hardest working intern (at a different bank though, unfortunately), I worked three part time jobs at university whilst maintaining great grades, being president of multiple clubs and having a vibrant social life and even when I was on a horrible medication cocktail that turned me into a zombie (thanks, Zyprexa), I obtained perfect marks in all of my classes at a top target, running at least 5 miles a day (not huge, but something!) with a lot of time to spare for social purposes. Despite having bipolar, I think I've done pretty well for myself. And I think that I can push through to do well in banking, as I've done at college, during my internship, and during another six month period of work that followed.

This is unbelievably bad timing - I haven't had a major episode in over a year. Why I let my doctor change my meds a month before starting work, I do not know. Medication is powerful - it might not seem like it when everything's going well, but even small perturbations can cause huge upsets. Proceed with caution.

Legal advice sounds like the best way to go. There's a slight problem though - I'm actually still in hospital (I know, internet in a psych ward?), and my call with HR is scheduled in the middle of next week. I might not have enough time to consult a lawyer before the call because I won't be discharged,

Schedule a consultation with a lawyer over the phone or have the lawyer come visit you. If you have some friends or family that are helping you have them assist you with this. If nothing else, you should be able to find a lawyer over the internet and set up a consultation by phone.

Whatever way the chips fall, does anyone have any suggestions about how to imply to HR that I'm seeking legal advice even if I haven't yet met with a lawyer?

You really need to get advice before the call. Set up a consultation today.

Assuming you can't get that done, which really there is no excuse not to, you need to lay out the facts to HR in the least threatening manner possible. It goes something like this: - I have had a serious medical emergency and am hospitalized - I can provide you a written note from my admitting doctor confirming that I am hospitalized and my expected discharge date (if known) - if the doctor expects you to make a full recovery, have him/her state that in the letter

Don't offer any additional information. If they press you on the nature of your problem, tell them that's private information and you're not willing to give it out. If they bloviate about "escalating it" let them talk. Put the ball in their court until you have good legal advice.

Realistically, if you don't have the time to consult a lawyer then you need to do what's best for you. There's no beating around the bush: You need to make something up.. You felt dizzy, you got sick, you tripped on a banana peel, something. (Keep in mind you might have to substantiate w\e you chose later,) This is gonna sound terrible but I can't imagine that admission of something like a mental illness would go over well in a company that's not based in the US (You'd probably have a million outlets\support groups) if you found yourself in that predicament here.

Really hope it works out for you.

This sounds like an awful situation; just want to wish you the best of luck.

Can you be hospitalized for some type of migraines? That's something people usually understand is bad and don't ask too many questions about.

Just to contrast your experience with an advisor in college - I ended up telling a professor about my anxiety after she questioned why my grades were so low when I was so active in class and she was extremely sympathetic.

In your situation though, I'm not sure anxiety/depression would work, as it would have to be to the extreme level of needing to be hospitalized.

Can they actually check what your condition is?

Update: spoke to HR, described some of my symptoms, said that it had been suggested that my symptoms might align with a mood disorder, and left it at that. HR was cool with it. What a relief!

I'm hypomanic.

I told my boss. He understood I'd go see a psychiatrist a couple times a month to not go full blown mania. But then again I'm not in a conservative field or company. Your's is a bit stronger and more conservative.

Get a lawyer. Don't tell HR a reason and cite HIPPA but if you can produce verification of time in the 'hospital' without distinguishing it as mental related I'd do that.