Last night as I was falling asleep, a thought drifted through my mind. A long time ago someone, likely one of my therapists, told me that we are not our diagnoses. That while I might have bipolar disorder, that doesn't mean the disorder defines my identity or the type of person I am. It is something I have. A cancer patient does not identify themselves by saying "I am cancer." Why should I say, "I am bipolar"? Or any of my other disorders. They are an illness like any medical illness, they have some basis in physical chemistry. Just because they are psychiatric doesn't mean they are not physical...otherwise we wouldn't need to take medication. I personally, refuse to identify myself as one of my diagnoses. They aren't who I am.

For so long now, I have separated myself from the rest of the world. There's everyone else, then there's me with my mental health issues. And all I've thought about were my mental health issues. "Warning, I'm manic today." or "My anxiety is severe today I need to hide." or "I'm socially awkward because of being schizoid." What about...I am a talented artist. Or I'm an avid reader and extremely intellectual? My employer views me was one of the hardest most reliable workers they have. What about those things too? What about me being sweet, cute and empathic? There is more to me than a psychiatric list.

And I just want other people to know...there's more to them than a list of psychiatric diagnoses. We're multi-faceted people. We're more alike, then unlike, with the rest of society. I'm going to try extra hard from now on, to remind myself I'm human, just like everyone else. That I'm not extremely different, even if I function on a much higher level than most people. We all have our humanity tying us together. When people see me, I don't think they see me as crazy, unstable or anything....maybe we're all a little hard on ourselves.

So from now on, it's "I have bipoloar (or whatever)" not "I am..."