Depression/self injury, employment, and background checks?!

Depression/self injury, employment, and background checks?

Here's the situation: I recently started working as a caretaker at a home for people with developmental/physical disabilities. A year ago, I was committed to a mental institution for a week because a psychiatrist mistook my self-injury for suicidal tendencies. I have scars all over my arms from the intense depression and anxiety I went through, and am going through (to a lesser degree) now.

My question is: Could this affect my job? They will run a background check, and I know the stay at the institution will show up. My employer may or may not ask me about it. I really don't know anything about how businesses handle these things. And, because I spend a lot of my time bathing/changing the clients at this home, I have to roll up my sleeves at some point; and one of my coworkers is bound to see it eventually.

I'd just like to know what the business could/couldn't do about this, and how much privacy I have. Is it a problem if it doesn't affect my job performance?

When interviewing for a job, make sure you understand what kind of background check will be done.

Sometimes they only check your criminal record, and sometimes they will check both your civil and criminal record which is becoming more common. I believe the only time a "civil commitment record" would show is if you were sent to an actual mental hospital, not a hospital pscyh ward.

Because you've had some mental health struggles and bear the scars of it, you should familiarize yourself with the ADA (American's with Disabilities Act). http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm...

You need to be aware of what an employer can legally ask you and what's off limits. Protect yourself from discrimination. Now that cutting has gone mainstream and most people have heard of it, more people are aware of what those scars are from.