Well I guess mental illness runs in my family. My brother got diagnosed with Bipolar in December. I always knew he got depressed a lot and went through periods of being all over the place and he always cried a lot. But I guess I never thought about bipolar because I never really knew much about it. But it's official now.

In a way I'm glad because I have family to share things with. But he kind of took it pretty hard but I honestly think he is doing better now that he knows he's not alone. He used to think he was weird and he'd get down on himself about not "taking it like a man". So he's definitely feeling like he has a good excuse now for being emotional.

The only problem now is meds. I have never gone on meds and I am a Schizophrenic! I never get violent though, but I do have some pretty bad attacks sometimes. I am older, so I have been able to fight those who try to tell me I need to go on drugs. My brother is still in high school and now that his teachers and principal found out, they are really pressuring him to keep seeing a therapist. He really doesn't want to, because he's taking after me. I mean, the only reason he got diagnosed is because he got so depressed one time that he wasn't eating anything and we got scared. He knows that if he sees a therapist, he is going to be put on meds. Plus, the school is concerned that if he doesn't, he might be a threat to other students or that the bipolar will interfere with his school work.

Anybody's thought on this would be appreciated! Thanks