I have a family reunion coming up and I know there will be questions regarding my illness. See, I recently got a semicolon tattoo on my forearm and I know people will see it and ask about it. I can't describe the tattoo without describing why I have it. My new tattoo means a lot to me and my struggles with my "basket of crazy" as I call it. It helps to keep me looking forward and remember that I can continue. Even on days when I can't or don't want to. So how do you tell people that you have a basket of mental illness and the tattoo is a reminder for people like me that they need to continue on. I suppose just like that. Seems simple but it isn’t. See there is a greater question here. How do I tell someone about having a mental illness? Just typing the word seems bad, like even the keyboard is judging me. I understand that I can hide the tattoo and that I can say that the meaning is private. But is that the easy way out? To begin to deal with the illness don't I have to first say I have it, face it. Take it on head on. How do you tell people that life gets dark? People that just will not understand. How do you tell them that you see the world differently than them? That life affects differently. When I was first diagnosed with Bipolar II, I felt broken. More broken that I normally feel. That is hard to convey. This tattoo means all of these things to me. It means that I may be broken but I can go on. I can continue on like people on this site have continued on. It means I am mentally ill and no matter how that sounds to them, my keyboard, or anyone else this is a part of who I am. It means to me that I try to get a grip on my illnesses, that maybe there is hope. Even if it is only a sliver. Hell, the tattoo means me. It's who I was, who I am, and maybe who I can be.