I didn’t mean it that you are crazy or me. Sorry I just don’t like stigma or labels

I’m gonna talk to someone else for a second opinion but my doc seems to be nice and better than my old one thank u tho

Mental Illness does not equal demonic possession. If that worries you, smudge out the bad juju with some sage, holy water, or a few novenas.

Bipolar is not a label. When I give presentations, Bipolar is not in my intro or resumé. It’s a medical condition. HIPPA says it is nobody’s business. And I say it sure the hell doesn’t define me.

And I’m sure as hell not crazy. With a combination of meds, therapy, and a great support system, I’m the most sane person I know.

I wish you luck on this journey and self discovery. Be kind to yourself, educate yourself. Prayers for strength and peace.

"yes i have bipolar disorder, but humans came up with it it is a human condition"

Following on from what Melise says I'd agree it's not just something humans came up with.

Things like philosphy are things that humans came up with and attached labels to.

Bipolar, like other disorders exists independently, if we label it or not.

I wouldn't be surprised if research shows (or has already shown) that some of the higher apes also can have a form of bipolar disorder as it's about chemical imbalences in the brain and in that respect our basic biochemistry and brain structure is the same.

I say this because I've come across people who take the step from "it's a human concept" to "it therefore doesn't really exist so I'll stop my meds".

It's good you are thinking about this stuff, most of us do once we are diagnosed and it takes a while to sort out our thinking. This board makes a great sounding board for this so I'd encourage you to continue to use us in that way.

Thanks I just meant that the term was made my humans. It’s hard for me to cope with it because of stigma but I get what you are saying. I will continue to learn more and sort out my thinking

Hi I am also spiritual and I can relate to what you mean about being kind of freaked out about demonic possession. A couple years back a family member of mine brought it and it just kind of left an unsettling feeling in me for a while.

This is why there is a problem when you try to relate Spiritual Healing for Medical/Mental Illness.

You can pick up the DSM-IV, 4 and 5 and every Disease in it was made up by a Human or Named after one. That's how Diseases, Disorders and Illnesses get a name. You seem to be okay saying "Anxiety", yet it was named by a human and if you don't think "Anxiety" is a label...well I wouldn't run around shouting it from the rooftops.

The thing is I can pick up my Bible, which is right here on my nightstand and turn to any page and it's written by a Human, all the black....

Humans do a lot, we got our knowledge from some Higher Power way back when....but we humans do a lot.

If you're seeing a Therapist who's more worried about teaching you to avoid labels, than teaching you how to learn coping skills to deal with the BiPolar symptoms, the anxiety and how to take those things, along with your med cocktail and meld them with your daily life and figure out how to get as stable as possible...your Therapist is doing you a great disservice.

Ok, so some thoughts. Labels can serve a purpose for diagnosis, yes. But after that, it's about treating symptoms mostly. I have a world class doctor and he hesitates to put too much stock in labels either. Some folks seem to like to wear bipolar like a badge. I prefer to play my cards close to my chest. Either way is totally ok. We are all different. We each are on our own journey with it. I get what you are saying about stigma, Ell. People judge no matter what. It's human nature. I prefer to protect my privacy as much as possible for this reason.

I don't mind the term crazy either. We are all crazy in our own ways. And I mean, everyone, not just people with an official mental health diagnosis. It's what makes us all unique and interesting.

thank you splitscreen. i agree completely.

I don't wear my BiPolar like a badge, thank you. I also don't disclose my Mental Illness to people I employee, people I work with or those I deal with in my Professional life, its none of their damn business. I can count on 1 hand the people that know I'm BiPolar. You don't need to worry about labels and judgement if you don't act "crazy and unique" in front of other people.

Treatment, meaning the right med cocktail plus therapy, plus learning coping skills and other different types of therapeutic programs like DBT, equal stability. Stability is the goal, it takes hard work, you have to be willing to put in the hard work. The labels don't matter and judgement isn't there.

OlderCPer, I wasn’t referring to you specifically. I’m using generalizations. That’s why I said “some people”. I’m supporting the OP here. That’s my chief concern since it’s her post. The OP and I happen to see eye to eye on a number of points in this thread. Please try not to take everything so personal. We can all agree to disagree respectfully.

We try pretty hard to not use offensive terminology in this group and there is a lot of that being tossed around in this thread. I have no respect for that, but I'm sure we'll agree to disagree.

When you say “ we try pretty hard...” Who is “we”? I’ve been a member for 10 years. Your opinion is one of many here. You have valuable insight on a range of topics as do I and many others. But we just don’t see this the same.

Thank you split screen