We’ve recently returned to the office and I just can’t handle it. It’s a God awful open office concept so we don’t even have cubicles. I have sensory processing issues and I absolutely can’t focus on my job with multiple people having phone calls, office chatter, beeping microwaves, people on speakerphone etc. I absolutely panic and spend a lot of time in the bathroom because I get a fight or flight reaction and have to get away.
I discussed how my productivity has gone down with my direct boss, who is fine with me working from home. It’s his boss, the President of the company, who won’t allow it. So I asked my psychiatrist for a letter saying I can’t work in an office due to my diagnosed Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
I received the letter today and it’s really embarrassing to me. I know we need to break the mental illness stigma, but I just really don’t need these people knowing all my issues. It lists my diagnosis’ in all caps, like “MAJOR CHRONIC DEPRESSION – TREATMENT RESISTANT” among a few other things like PTSD due to extreme trauma that my coworkers just don’t need to know.
On one hand I have a golden ticket because a few of these things are ADA protected. But on the other, my issues like anxiety make it very hard for me to share this letter with very blunt descriptions of my mental issues with people I don’t like or trust for the most part.
Im just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and how it played out.
ETA: the issue is not that I’m afraid that they won’t let me work from home once I present the letter. My problem is that I’m not comfortable sharing private and sensitive information related to my various diagnosis. This is information I wouldn’t share with a close friend, much less my employers.