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My Mental Health Gets In the Way of My Dating. Should I Keep It a Secret?

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I’ve battled depression and anxiety since my parents split up when I was 7 years old. I was misdiagnosed for most of my life and finally met a doctor in my late 30s who recognized my symptoms and diagnosed me properly.

After receiving the proper diagnosis, I was prescribed the correct medication to help treat my illness. My mental health has been a journey, and I no longer carry shame that used to come along with the stigma of suffering from the aforementioned conditions.

My Mental Health Gets In the Way of My Dating at Times. Should I Keep It a Secret?
Woman on train. (Photo: Pexels.com)

When it comes to dating and having a mental health condition, it can be a little tricky. You don’t want someone to come to your house and notice pill bottles and become inquisitive. Even worse, you don’t want to disclose the nature of your condition too early and scare the person off. Some people can be very judgmental and unwilling to give you a proper chance once they know you’re “different.”

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I’ve had experiences go both ways, but generally guys tend to run away from a woman who looks them in the eyes and expresses herself openly and honestly about having bipolar disorder or being manic depressive, for example. No matter how sexy I feel in my clothes, there’s always that unsexy feeling I get before I go out, one that has me thinking that my mental health condition is on display for the whole world to see.

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I’ve met a guy that I happen to like a whole lot and we’ve been very transparent with each other. However, I’m still afraid to tell him my mental health truth. We’re going on our third date this weekend and I’m thinking it may be time to disclose some things.

Should I tell him that I take medication for depression and anxiety or keep it to myself until It comes up somehow down the line?

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