My parents had both died by the time the docs finally figured out I wasn't depressed, I was bipolar. I suspect they would have been supportive; they were when I told them I was an alcoholic. They then told me half the family was. Ha! Would have been nice to have had a clue ahead of time. Still, they came thru in the end.

The rest of my family, on the other hand, told me (1) I was the first drunk in the family (2) I was the first person even to disgrace the family, and (3) I couldn't be an alcoholic because I was a woman.

Sadly, I disowned my family when my mother died & they said I had killed her by moving so far away. If I hadn't disowned them, imagine the disgrace I could bring to them now by being a bipolar, mother-killing drunk!

Maybe I should find them ...