As a nurse I've used PC as a mental health resource for years, but it wasn't till I was diagnosed with bipolar d/o myself that I started using it for support. I've checked out other BP forums but don't use any of them; especially since I moderate both a nursing forum and an NFL football fan forum, I'm pretty fussy about the places I frequent.

I did start a Mood Disorders Support forum on the nursing site where I spend most of my online time; we have members who suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, and other disorders, although many of the participants are bipolar and we tend to take over sometimes, LOL.

Nurses are notorious for having extremely high rates of depression and anxiety; it's inherent in the nature of modern nursing. It's when you get into bipolar and other more 'serious' mental illnesses that things get dicey, and sometimes we end up having to report these conditions to our state board of nursing and attend a program for 'impaired' nurses. This does nothing for our self-esteem and complicates our lives in many unnecessary ways (why should I have to pee in a cup every week when I've never diverted narcotics, consumed alcohol on duty, or practiced polypharmacy?!).

But, since I'm the leader of said merry band of depressives, manic-depressives, ADDers and stress-monkeys, I have to maintain SOME clinical distance, so I come over here to blow off steam and whine about how bad things really are some days. I'm glad PC is here for me, and for all who grapple with mental illnesses.