The ADA Law and a thank you to my readers!

This is just an update after my appointment with my primary care doctor last week.  I decided that I was going to be completely honest about my OCD, as I've really minimized it in the past with her.  Since I needed her to fill out paperwork to submit to my employer regarding ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), I wanted her to understand just how severe my symptoms really are.  The reaction I got from her was not what I expected, but she did fill the paperwork out, so now I have documentation that I hope will allow me to continue to work from home for a period of time yet.  Of course I started breaking down and became very emotional when I started talking about my OCD.  It has been a long time, too long, since I have spoken about my OCD to a medical professional.  What shocked me was her initial reaction.  I hadn't even really described my symptoms yet, just summed it up with a couple of sentences to start.  She then asked me if I was sure it was OCD, and if I had ever considered that maybe I was bipolar and not OCD.  This really rubbed me the wrong way.  It's not that I think anything badly about bipolar, it just frustrated me that after living with this condition for 10 years, her initial reaction was to second guess what I had.  She then said that she herself was "a little OCD, and that doctors have to be that way to do their job, but the difference is that she knows how to shut it off in her free time".  This statement just kind of showed me how little she probably does understand about OCD.  It just goes back to people without any knowledge about the condition saying "Oh I'm so OCD" and throwing the term out lightly, not realizing how OCD entangles itself into every aspect of the sufferers life and that it is a true, oftentimes debilitating disorder.  I also brought up ERP as the preferred form of therapy, and she kind of brushed that off like she didn't think that was helpful.  She was very pro-medication, and I almost got the impression that she felt medication was the only way anyone could ever manage this disorder.  I was very disheartened at the lack of knowledge about this disorder, but I think through the course of the conversation she at least understood (and we honestly didn't even get into specifics about my OCD) just how much it affected my life, and she signed the paperwork which I am now submitting to my employer today.  I would imagine that by the beginning of next week, a determination should be made.  If you're not familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act , check it out.  OCD usually qualifies under the ADA if your symptoms are affecting your life significantly.  If you are having trouble doing your job because of your OCD, you may be entitled to reasonable accommodations to help you do  your job better (and this could include a number of different things).  I was nervous to disclose my OCD because of the horrible stigma attached to mental illness, but I decided I needed to do this.  I've done a lot of research on this.  If you have any questions after reading this, please let me know.  I also contacted the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), who will talk about your particular disability and give you ideas.  It is a free consultation and they were extremely helpful.  I would also like to thank Janet from ocdtalk for her own post about this recently, as it first gave me awareness of the law and protection that we have with a disability.  She is an excellent resource too, and if you haven't checked out her blog I would highly recommend it!
       I am so thankful for this blogging community.  I have met some of the most amazing people  through this blog.  I read all of your comments and await to connect with all of you.  Many of you give me close-ups into your daily lives and struggles.  I follow others blogs and read others stories.  I have been given wonderful advice on this blog.  I have been inspired by others, and hope that somehow my story and struggle inspires someone else.  You have shared honest details about your OCD, things that you don't tell anyone else.  You all are truly the people that best understand this.  We all my  have different forms of OCD, and a different collection of symptoms or problems, but we can truly relate to each other and feel like "someone else gets it".  I have connected with many of you and feel that you are my friends and that you truly know me better than most people in my life do.  I think it is so important to connect with others that share similar life struggles.   I am so thankful for all of YOU.  As I worry about my work situation, and my marriage and my OCD, I can't help but note that not many people in my regular life that know the sum of everything.  This is where I come to be honest and put it all out there.