Hi guys,

I actually wasn't referring to people faking it at all. I meant truly having symptoms that might point towards the diagnosis but not to the point of fitting the criteria. People who do and truly suffer (to a greater or lesser degree) and seek out a reason for this in a diagnosis that carries less stigma than some others (some here have mentioned BPD and depression). I do agree there's a big 'crazy' stigma with Bipolar and that there's so much stigma regarding any mental illness at all that many of us hide it, don't share it, etc.

I guess I'm also referring to what some have called the fashionable, interesting-ness associated with the diagnosis. So if someone is very distressed they might gravitate towards thinking it is bipolar for these reasons, even if it isn't, and of course not knowing how awful it is having it (including the medication issue, I hear you guys on that one). And to the extent that a small minority of people might gravitate towards it, I really don't think it's on a conscious level.

So, no, not faking, true distress, just erroneously thinking one has the illness.