Last night I watched a British documentary on YouTube about bipolar disorder called Being Bipolar. I kind of bristled at the title. I don't say "I am bipolar.' Rather, I say, "I have bipolar disorder." It may seem like nitpicking, but the former can allow me to define myself by a label...which I feel is unhealthy. Using BP as an excuse for every mood swing can be a dangerous trap for me. To some degree, having mood swings is a part of life for everyone. For folks with BP, it's more a matter of intensity....I've been hospitalized for mania several times...for depression, etc., so please don't think I'm suggesting we can always control our mood swings 100%.

The documentary I mentioned can be found here:



I'd be curious as to how folks respond to it. I'd imagine it might prove to be kind of controversial since it does seem to suggest that BP can sometimes (note italics) be used as a catch-all to explain behaviors. It stirred up some pretty complex, sometimes painful feelings in me, to be honest, but I'm glad I made it all the way through (it runs 45 minutes).

Just wondering...