How do I feel about telling someone about your diagnosis? Who do I tell? How do I tell them?

March 24, 2016 (Chapter 1 Symptoms and Diagnosis & Chapter 6 Living with a Memory Impairment in my book)

I used to work two jobs and a lot of people at both of my jobs didn't know about my diagnosis. If I told them, they were pretty shocked! I guess, that most of the time, I can function fairly well. I only tell someone if I feel that they need to know. That will usually be because I’m spending a lot of time talking to them. Right now, for me that is on a “need to know” basis.

When I first meet someone, I don’t want them to know about my memory impairment. I want them to get to know me before they know about that part of my life. I don’t want to be criticized for something that I have no control over and is not my fault.

I think that I usually tell someone about my diagnosis in person. I usually plan ahead of time when I’m going to do this. I will be prepared to answer any of their questions.