I am newly diagnosed, so I have been telling a few people about my Bipolar Disorder... A few blogs I have read say not to tell people especially in the work place, unless you really need to. Has anyone experienced being treated differently, after telling someone??

I find once I tell the person they understand me a lot better. Sometimes it takes a while, for example my best friend of all people, would not accept it. She said to my face, your not bipolar. But after a month or so, once my moods had settled down a bit I explained it to her again what Bipolar means, and she cried, and said how sorry she was for not supporting me!

My boss also did not understand at first, telling me 'get over it' or 'harden up' but now that I have explained to him a few times that it doesn't work like that, he respects me more then before. He is very good at pulling me to the side, and letting me know when my attitude is bad/or if I'm stressing too much.

So, in saying this I have not found that the people I have told, look at me differently, but I know how judgemental people can be. Before I was diagnosed people were so judging asking me 'are you on drugs' or calling me 'ditzy di' or just 'crazy'. Being able to say 'well actually I'm Bipolar', means there is a reason for how I act. Not an excuse, but a ligitimate reason.

The last thing I want is to be labelled. I never want use my Bipolar as an excuse for bad behaviour. I don't want to claim disability pensions now all of a sudden, while I am highly functioning. I don't want people to treat me differently or make exceptions for me. I just want respect and to be able to change the minds of those who don't understand.

But still, I feel guilty about telling so many people. I don't know why. A part of me thinks 'do they really need to know? Will they still respect me? How do I regain trust/respect after having an episode?' A voice inside tells me to stop mentioning it to people, telling them, talking about it openly. But then again another voice says, I can not change who I am, and to walk tall and proud - reduce the stigma around mental health. After all I wouldn't be having this delema, if it was a more visible medical condition.

So, I would like to know other people's views on this. Do you tell people about your Bipolar?