Telling the World you are Bipolar

In our lives there are moments that will define our future.  We must choose our battles carefully due to fear of rejection.

I decided in September of 2012 to come out publicly on being Bipolar.  I spoke of it generally on Facebook and then decided to open a page for discussion not knowing what would come of this page.

I named  my page: Bipolar and Living Med Free and also have a closed group for more private talk.  It has been a slow steady pace of work.  Such satisfaction is given by knowing you give others like yourself a place to speak to each other and to find connections, information needed.

Most seem to hide the fact they are Bipolar and its due to the lack of understanding in society as a whole. The stigma that goes along with Mental Illnesses. We hide in shame, as if we have personally done the world wrong in some way.

I believe now that the mental health community is strength in numbers.  Acknowledging who we are, what we have and NOT what people think we are as Bipolar or any other mental illness.

It takes years for a mental illness to really show its ugly self.  Very seldom do we come into this world so tainted by the effects of mental illness.

We grow into the dark as the years go by and this is where so many of us stay and are lost.  We need to help one another find our path back to the light of day.  It is not an easy road but it can be done.  To me it is about opening up, telling people about yourself, when and only if the time is right and you are 100% comfortable about opening up to that person.

There should be no shame or blame in having an illness.  Society has made all types of diseases and illnesses hard to be talked about, why is this?  No one is perfect, no one is without flaws so why can we not openly speak to family, friends about what is going on in our lives?

Fear of being shut down, left alone, made fun of, fired, hurt even abused is always in the mind of so many when they think about opening up about what they have been born with, not caught.

Until we as a whole learn to acknowledge differences in each other our World will be a closed place.

Reach out to your family members who have a mental illness such as Bipolar, a neighbor, friend.  We who have this are not the illness. We are caring, loving people who just want to show we are ok to be around.

Telling the world you are Bipolar is the hardest thing you will do and only take that step at your strongest.   Never letting anyone make you feel bad about who you are and what you bring to life.