I have been dealing with this problem with my mother at least since I admitted I have bipolar and decided to get treatment. She has called me "a crazy person", "psychotic".. Today she asked me why did I say I was okay all these years after the diagnosis and now SUDDENLY I am unstable. I had to ask her if she REALLY thought it was all of a sudden. I don't live with her, but she has seen MANY of my unstable moments. She saw the paranoia I went through for a year straight after my son was born, with no treatment. She has seen all of the ups and downs. But, I think as hard as it has been for me to admit I have bipolar, it is also hard for her to admit it to herself. At least I got a nice comment out of the conversation, "You ARE normal. That's just your normal." At least I took that in a nice way..

My aunt last weekend.. I told her I have bipolar disorder(trying to admit to more people as part of the acceptance process for myself).. and she said, "Don't say that! I have anxiety but I sure as hell wouldn't want to be labelled as bipolar or schizophrenic! Just tell people you're on anxiety medication."