I was relieved when I got my bipolar I diagnosis because it was something that could be treated! I'd been in counseling for years without any help, and once I started taking the medications I was able to see where and how to use the advice I got in counseling. I never thought of myself as "mentally ill," and I think that's because it can be chemically treated, like diabetes.

But oh boy, the stigma in my family about mental illness...it was horrible. My husband was the worst (exhusband now). I've never hidden my diagnosis and my exhusband made me feel as though I was a failure in everything -- it turned out he was schizoaffective and his problems were my problems! What a mess until I escaped that marriage.

Things are better now and much more stable.