I am SO grateful to be high functioning. It has allowed me to work continuously full-time with only a rare missed week along the way for hospitalization. I'm the primary income in our home, and if I had not been high functioning, I don't know what would have happened to us.

I never found that people didn't believe I had bipolar disorder when I did have problems; they were just surprised by it because I do manage very well the vast majority of the time. I actually kind of took that as a compliment and reminder that "this, too, shall pass."

I also find that as a teacher with bipolar disorder, I have an ability to empathize realistically with any students I have who are struggling with their own challenges in life. I have an innate understanding that comes from experience, and students do seem to get a sense of that even though they know absolutely nothing about my diagnosis because it is not something I reveal to them.