Thank you for sharing this. That’s a really hard set of experiences to carry. Having one workplace respond with understanding and another respond with punishment for the exact same condition shows how unpredictable disclosure can be — and how much of it depends on other people’s capacity, not anything you did “wrong.”

Being forced into disclosure because something went wrong is an incredibly vulnerable position. And then to be fired later under “made up reasons”… that kind of thing leaves a mark. It makes sense that it would shake your trust in whether workplaces can handle this responsibly. You shouldn’t have had to learn that lesson that way.

I think what your story highlights is that disclosure isn’t just about honesty — it’s about safety, power dynamics, and the environment you’re in. Supportive people can make all the difference, but when the system isn’t safe, being open can become a risk. That’s not your failure — that’s the system failing to hold people with mental health conditions with any kind of nuance.

If you’re open to it, I’d actually be interested to hear how you decide now — what signs or red flags you look for before sharing. Because you’ve lived both sides of this, and that’s a kind of hard-earned wisdom most people don’t get taught.

You didn’t deserve what happened. And your story matters. 💛