Bipolar Support Group

Hello all, I was "diagnosed" in June '08 and have been working diligently with my psychiatrist to achieve the best meds balance for me to deal with BP and ADD.

I wanted to say that I have had fingers pointed at me and told that I am "mentally ill," a very hurtful and abusive stance but I counter that by saying BP is not an illness or a disease, it is not something that "will never get better" or will always bring me down.

It is a part of my personality, just like ADD, just like my artistic bent, just like my humor and my sensitivity and my affinity for sweets(!). I embrace it and my medications are simply to help put me on an even playing field with everyone else, so that I can have an equal chance of working hard to give myself and my children a great life.

I guess I just wanted to affirm my attitude about it all and share it with you. I hope you agree, or maybe I have shown you a new way to look at being BP-not "having it," but "being it." Be gentle with yourselves and be patient. (I know I have to remind myself of that every day!!)

hey alidandi I'm not saying your outlook is wrong but bipolar is an illnes or disease. Its just a chemical reaction in the brain. There's no shame in it. SO I say stand up to the stupid people who are ignorant to our disease. Thats the only way the world will learn we are normal people.

good topic. i've wondered too what makes up a personality. we can agree that happiness and positivity in a person do serve as personality traits. so then would also depression and negativity be personality tratis? i would have to say yes. they have governed me for a long time. i also believe that personalities can change.

medsaint, i hear you but i think every bodily function is chemical and physical, from a heartbeat to a happy thought. if any of our functions do not work exactly as a standard specifies, does that then mean we have an illness or disease? if you have a sensitive stomach you don't necessarily have crohn's disease but you also don't necessarily have a disease. i don't think it is ignoring or denying bp by viewing it as part of our personalities as opposed to an illness. but sincerely thank you for your thoughts. i like debates!!!! and yes seabass personalities do ebb and flow but our core selves are always the same, don't you think?

Post edited by: alidandi, at: 01/28/2009 14:09

Post edited by: alidandi, at: 01/28/2009 14:10