Not anymore. And even when I was quite ill, I didn't think of myself as "mentally ill;" I thought that I was dealing with a mental illness. It's a subtle difference, but an important one for me. Calling myself "mentally ill" would be describe my being; a mental illness is a condition I have to deal with.

I'm glad I very consciously chose to address my illness that way. I also say I "have" bipolar disorder rather than I "am" bipolar for the same reason. I think because I was able to have enough times of stability between episodes, I was able to do that. I completely realize there are others who rarely see moments of stability and really do feel comfortable saying "I am bipolar." I respect a person's decision to use either language because everyone experiences these things very individually.

Now that I have gone into a very long remission (with hopes for no return of symptoms), I am even more relieved that I made the language choice I did for myself. I struggled a lot with feeling broken just from the level of CSA I endured alone and it took me decades to see myself as whole. I didn't need more baggage of brokenness on top of that.