I have bipolar disorder (which is not information I share with people other than those that need access to my medical information). I consider it just a condition I have to deal with from time to time; thus "have" as opposed to "am." I don't at all feel it is who I am. I am Chris. I am a wife, a mother, a teacher, a singer, a reader, a lover of Mexican food, and a dog lover. Those nouns work together to define who I am. I am not a bipolar.

I have graying hair, a bad knee, allergies to cats, terrible eyesight, asthma, and bipolar disorder. They are just various issues and challenges I deal with from time to time. They don't in any way define who I am.

That said, I understand we all make our own decisions regarding this, and it doesn't particularly bother me what other people call their own disorder. We each have to make peace with this in our own way.