I am about to head out on a date with a man I met on a dating app. This will be our second date. I am looking forward to getting to know one another better. We've been texting and sharing phone calls for over a week. A big question for me is when do I reveal my mental illness? We have already started to disclose some personal information. My experience taught me not to explain right away. When I brought this subject up to my psychiatrist, he said it is important not to divulge too soon and it is just as important not to wait too long, Part of me feels like I could tell him now. And something tells me to wait until he gets to know me better. My therapist also gave me advice regarding this situation. She told me not to be scared to share the information or to receive a bad reaction because I need to know how the individual will react. I would not want to be with a partner that could not empathize with or choose to understand my mental illness.
Maybe it will be discussed today, maybe not. I will try to be mindful and stay in the moment when we are together and let things flow. I know that I am very aware and on top of my mental health but how do you portray that to someone when telling them you live with mental illness? I don't know what his experience is with mental illness or how educated he is in it, if at all. It's a risk and one that I will eventually have to take. He'll need to know that I am a person who sometimes struggles and uses a big tool kit to get by and also I am someone who has a beautiful life to share......
Take good care,
Christine
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." -- C.S. Lewis
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