I wasn't diagnosed until my 40's, and for me, I think that may be why I don't internalize having bipolar disorder as anything but something I have to deal with -- it isn't "me." I'm glad for that. I had plenty of years to establish who I was without that diagnosis, so I've never considered myself to "be" bipolar but rather that bipolar disorder is just one of the challenges in life I have had to deal with over the years.