In my opinion the stigma is so huge, it will never ever go away. I told two of my old friends I was Bipolar, and they just fell by the way side. Now I tell no one. In my opinion, it is not my job to change the minds of so many people. I just live and let live. There are all kinds of things people do not understand just like psychical and medical health issues. I tell you something that also helped me. I searched Google - "How a person with Bipolar thinks" Article at top of the page. It helped me to understand many of the things I do and think are normal with Bipolar. Such as OCD. I add to this by saying most people with no mental disorder could read the same article, and just not understand what the hell is going on with us. It's just something they never experienced.