There was a time when I could count on 1 hand how many people knew I have bipolar. I was diagnosed 5 years ago, almost exactly (April 15th, 2011), and when I was diagnosed, I told my mom who told my dad, and I told my best friend and my therapist. The only reason I told my best friend is that he was actually the first one to say something about me possibly being bipolar because he himself is and he could see the same symptoms in me...and he recommended a pdoc, so it only made sense to tell him.

Now, it would be nearly impossible to tell you how many people I've told because I'm very vocal about it. All of my friends know, even my acquaintances know -- because I post about it fairly regularly on Facebook with the hashtag "stop the stigma". I used to want to hide it from the world, but as I grew up and into the illness, I realized that I was doing a disservice to myself by hiding because that's what everyone expects you to do because society isn't ready to open up and understand.

I don't tell people at work though. I do draw the line there...especially with bosses. I told my bosses at an old job that I went to therapy because it interfered with my work schedule, but if it hadn't, they would have had no idea.