The issue with labels is a touchy one. mental illness is still such a sensitive issue....even amongst those who have one. I have seen people target others because in their opinion others don't measure up to what their standard of "illness" is. Some people feel that medicines are the way towards management, others, not. Labels applied to people can be tricky. What i accept as a label is fine. Should i apply the same label to another without first asking? probably not. boundaries. always important. even for those of us with mental illness (which as i take it to believe is most everyone on these forums). some people might not be called bipolar but not dissociative disorder/bipolar , say if they have a dual diagnosis for example. or perhaps they want to be selective about a substance abuse disorder. it boils down to what the individual is comfortable with..since it is their life, no one else's.