I told my mom about it when i was 25. I think it was a mistake as she was just overwhelmed by it. She was helpless. She made a couple gestures of support, like reading Kay Redfield Jameson's "Touched by Fire" and asking me once how my bipolar was going but basically there was nothing to be gained by telling her. She had me late in life and she just wanted to enjoy her peace and quiet and stop being a mom by the time i was diagnosed. She wanted us to be friends and to have a good time and not deal with my misery.

My ex-husband and his family didn't really believe the diagnosis. My father-in-law said whatever specialist you go to will tell you that you have whatever they specialize in.

I think discovering he had a bipolar wife also contributed to my ex-husband's decision to divorce me as he didn't want a sick wife passing down bad genes to his kids.

I'm almost completely isolated these days so the question of outing myself doesn't apply anymore. At Scrabble club i told one woman who just said that her friend had it too and the topic died there. One player recently complained to me about her crazy relative who doesn't work and 'must have bipolar' but i kept mum and i don't regret it. What's to be gained by confronting a person like that? Obviously they have a very exclusive and backwards attitude and i'm not up to changing her mind. She can go to hell.