Hamster-Bamster, I like your statement. It's concise, to the point and realistic. Good job. I don't date because I have my guy, and we have no secrets. But I'm going to ask a friend to read it, too. He worries a lot about when and how to disclose his MI in dating situations. He dates a lot. He's high functioning, but he has some obvious symptoms now and then that cause a few problems. I refer to the symptoms as eccentricities; he thinks of them as stigmatizing. He worries about the ethics of not disclosing. I think your statement covers that nicely. Thank you for sharing this.

((((MotownJohnny)))) I'm so sorry you had such a traumatizing experience in partial hospitalization. I hope you have some sort of support and social network just to keep you company during those normal times we all face when our moods may not be the best.

Most of my friends know there's "something" going on with me, but they don't know exactly what. Just something that gets better and worse from time to time. We don't talk about it except to check on each other, "You okay? Wanna do something fun or foolish?" We keep each other company and cheer each other up. They have "something" too and we don't talk about it unless they want to.

We all keep an eye out for normal stress to know when it's time to say, "Let's go to lunch." Just for a nice break if things get hectic. That heads off a lot of problems for us. We even listen to relaxation tapes and other self-improvement things together. No dx involved. Just, "Hey, you feeling stressed? Let's have a smoothie and some deep breathing." Uh, yes, we're kind of boring, but it keeps us healthy.

Hope you can find a few understanding and accepting people who maybe have a little something going on, too. Just to hang with and who you don't have to disclose anything to unless you want to and it will be okay.