Quote:
Originally Posted by bluewave7
I'm not my diagnosis. I don't say, "I AM bipolar." I say, " I HAVE bipolar. Big difference. I am not my illness, though it defines much of what I do, I am much more than that.
It took me 8 years and 10 different pdocs, lots of going off meds only to get sick and give in to the meds again. All of this until one day, I just accepted it. I think acceptance of anything I perceive to be negative is difficult. Acceptance does not mean I have to like it, but just to accept that it is real.
Also there is still a huge stigma concerning mental illness. Especially in the south! But the more advocates and education we can offer, the less the stigma.
Once I let go and accepted things, I felt a peaceful feeling and I felt light as a spring breeze.
|
I AM bipolar. It's as much a part of me as my personality (although other people seem to have a much more personal relationship with that construct than I do), and if I'm supposed to say "I am an introvert" then I'm sure as hell going to say "I am bipolar". Just my opinion. I think it's fine to identify with a diagnosis like this. I wouldn't say "I am cancerous", however, if that were the case. I know you're trying to be helpful, and what you said can be helpful, I'm not arguing that, so please don't take this the wrong way. But I hope it's as acceptable to say "I am bipolar" as it is to say "I have bipolar". And truthfully, I think looking at it this way has helped me, just as I understand that other people might be better off not identifying that much with their diagnosis. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my struggles, and the way I deal with them, are an important part of who I am. Saying "I have bipolar" makes it seem like something other than who I am, when everything about it is me. It's an illness too, but I see no problem with integrating an illness into my self. I don't think it will harm me.