I've only told a couple of people, I mostly keep it to myself. Part of the problem is that I can't be bothered to explain it to anyone and I'm afraid they still wouldn't get it.

However, I wish people would understand that, most of us, don't bounce from bipolar cycle to bipolar cycle in a matter of a day, for example. I wish people understood that we all have a baseline, during which we're just 'ourselves' which includes moods that run the entire gamut. I want people to know that there's a "me" in there that comes up for air quite often, and want to get to know me when I'm like that (or when I'm super fun -for a while- when hypomanic ).

I'm afraid to hear crickets if I were to try to explain these things to those who do not have BP, or further misunderstandings. I'm also somewhat ashamed of the diagnosis and the sometimes bizarre behavior when hypo/manic