I lost my husband two years ago, and in many ways I'm still grieving. However, I know there's a difference between grief and depression, though sometimes it's hard to distinguish one from the other.

I also mourned when I was diagnosed with bipolar. I missed the woman I'd thought I was, and felt as if I'd lost my hopes and dreams. I didn't realize then that it didn't have to mean losing those things, only that my view of myself and my ambitions had to change. I've learned over the past six years that I'm still me, that I have to live within the limitations my illness has imposed on me, and that all will be well as long as I remember these things.