Thought this was a support board for the mentally ill? Does it really matter who is what?

Quite honestly, I think the suggestion that only people who have BP should be here is quite bigotted. People come here for support.

As has been mentioned they might have friends or relatives with this and want to see first hand how to deal with this illness.

This board is for everyone and as long as people respect those that are here why should there be a problem

you know, we've been through this many times, & i think while we cannot limit participation to the board, now should we, i do think its wise to respect that this is a BP board with the intent of being for BPers - that there is already a FFBP board - & that some of us are very wary & cautious of having non-BPers on the board - & i think we must respect that if they are, they have, in their experience at least, good reason to be so.

i know i believe non-BPers should be welcome, so long as they are not trolls or they do not become trollish, but i can certainly respect folks like BP Princess & Viejo's concerns about it.

I'm lost really.... what's the big deal? You don't even know if you are a real BP person BP, so how can we discriminate against an avatar? Huh? Why should this board be for only bipolar people? This is what causes ignorance in society in the first place: isolationism.

I isolate myself from the outside world as well. I just don't think that someone has a right to be here if they don't suffer from it on the basis that they want to "help me." I get enough help from people who suffer from the same disorder like me. Also for the people who think their spouses suffer from BP should join the friends and family group that have BP. Although I think the people who suspect that they might be BP deserve a right to be here. Just wanted to point that out.

lf l'm in need l could care less who has what if they help and if l had a bp friend or family member and wanted to learn more why notfrom here and the f&f board....as long as there's respect its fine

BPP, Isolating yourself will never help you.
Pushing people away will never help you.
Dictating who does and doesnt have the right to be here wont help anyone.

Fuck the fact that there is a seperate forum for friends and family.
Who cares if theyre not BP. Theyre still people.

I honestly think this is one of the worst things Ive seen you write. I know you have the right to your own opinion but in my opinion its childish and mean

Here we go again
Agree, Princess.

This is kind of not a big deal if you really think about it, isn't it?

its as big a deal as you wanna make of it - which i guess might be the problem...

I dont know that there is anything wrong in wanting a forum just for people who are bipolar are who think they may be. Some people need to feel safe thats all. Most of us deal with normies all day in our real lives so perhaps some people like a place to interact with people who understand . I dont know if there is anything wrong with expressing the opinion either. I personally dont have a problem with non beebers being here as long as they are respectful. Be nice of the beepers were respectful too. We cant ask of others what we dont do ourseleves now can we ??

There are people who understand who are not bp. My husband sometimes has a better handle on things that are going on in my brain than I do. Then again, he also tells me there are aliens that invade my brain when I'm not stable. It's his analogy. He understands that it's the illness talking sometimes and not me.

I saw a similar post a few days ago, and I was on the fence. The thing I haven't seen here is the fact that all these posts are visible via google or any search engine. There's no privacy.

After going through what I've gone through over the past few days and all the support I've received, I don't care where it comes from. Not all of the people who supported me were bp. Many in fact were not.

What's wrong with a different perspective?

Kat (and all)...the basic problem is this. Or at least in the recent situation.

Normal person responded to a beeper's cry for help by bashing her own beeper husband, similar to the problem he was having with his own wife.. That was the absolute worst thing in the world anything could have said to him.

That's coming here for understanding and support and being chastised and degraded the way our non-understanding family and friends do. This is supposed to be where we come to get AWAY from that.

After being directed to the proper group, given other ideas, politely asked to leave due to the upset on the board, she drew a line in the sand, refused to apologize to the original guy and refused to leave. Then began posting about homeopathic remedies...just what we need...another excuse for people to stop their meds.

She finally said she was moving on to the other board and I convinced the original poster not to leave here, that she did. Unfortunately now I see she didn't.

Everyone is talking about support here, but this is NOT support. This is extreme disruption of the board. There is a HUGE difference.

Bobbi, I understand where you are coming from; however, why blame the populous for one bad egg? I have received a negative message from those who are bp when looking for support.

Can you disrupt someone if they are not willing to be disrupted? This is a philosophy that will lower many stress levels here and help us all get along.