Come Out at Work: With MS

Coming out with multiple sclerosis must be a harrowing process, and coming out with it at work has to be even more distressing. Cathy John relates the complexities of coming out with MS, and explores some of the issues specifically related to coming out at work with the condition.

She explains:

…A poll reveals 74 per cent of the public believe MS is fatal… Such misperceptions make a pretty good reason to be tight-lipped – anticipated death is not so hot for your career. Fear of the disease eclipsing their professional reputations and making it difficult to be promoted or recruited, makes people hide their MS for as long as possible. This often then forces people to come out when their condition is rapidly deteriorating, reinforcing negative misconceptions about MS’s aggression. Yet even if employers do have a reasonable understanding of MS they might shy away from a candidate who needs modifications to be made to the workplace, time off sick due to relapses or treatment, and whose fatigue may force them to eventually work part-time.

The Independent article has more insight on this patient’s story about managing the slow onset of MS.

How has multiple sclerosis impacted you in your workplace?