Bipolar Disorder Support Group
Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.
Hi you know when someone finds out you have a mental illness it makes me feel like am worthless I try to pick myself up and go on but its still in my head the way a doctor nurse or anyone treats me it not the same I know my illness is not me but sometimes the name bipolar is ur stamp I hope that someone can understand how I feel
If a bipolar acted out in the forest and no one was there to hear, would they really be bipolar? Hmm.... I don't know.
I've gotten the comments and looks that you are talking about but mostly from clerks at the pharmacy. Usually, when dealing with the more educated of the medical field it's a non issue.
I had a dentist that I told the first day I consulted with him that I have bipolar and panic disorders. Bless his heart, he never did understand it. Oh well, that is on him and his loss that he will never be any smarter than he is right now.
My point, Marie, is don't let anyone put that stamp on you. They are not smart enough to stamp you. People (medical and otherwise) who quit learning and growing in life, for whatever reason, are doomed to a life of stupidity. Not your problem.
In more recent years, I have said i am grappling w/depression & my couple friends say they have noticed more people deal with it than they thought. Keeping it a secret is not me anymore! And it opens the eyes of folks that looking normal & having on the "mask" of cheeriness sometimes is not the real deal.
I have been open with my 3 kids about the fact my sister had it & did some crazy things and died in a mental hospital. if it runs in the family, more info is more power! It is the same as the fact that my brother had epilepsy & died from a seizure..it is brain chemistry!! Not our fault.
In the 50's, my folks were ashamed that my bother had epilepsy & times have changed for that stigma & it will for other conditions as well as time goes on.
Please do not feel like a freak..a neurologist I saw for pain years ago treated me like a whole person & said it(the bipolar) is not my fault more than any other illness, all our symptoms come from our brain chemistry! That was a relief!
There are other docs who have no tact...my neurologist's associate heard me talking too quickly once & began yelling"you are having a manic attack!" that was the last time I saw him!
You are not alone & not worthless. You have helped me.