So, I am open about my bipolar disorder. I believe that this disorder is a way for me to reach out to people that have similar experiences, and help them find a way to cope with it. At least that is why I believe I am open about it. I also believe that the more people that I trust that know I have it, the safer I will be in the long run. Last year, when I was having major troubles coping at school, it worked out exactly like that. My roommate, and my friends were able to tell even before I was when I was getting to a place where they needed to call outside help. I am grateful and thankful to them because of that.

Now, all summer I have been dealing with my bipolar pretty much by myself. I was at home with my family who aren't big supporters of the "crazy meds" that I'm on. Not to mention the church that believes that my parents should have simply beat it out of me when I was young. But like I said, I've been dealing. Fairly well too.

Now I come back to school, and I'm being treated with kid gloves. Yes, bipolar sucks. It is a mood disorder which means (gasp!) it effects my mood. It does not effect the fact that I don't like people being loud in my house after I have told them that I'm going to bed. It does not effect the fact that yes, I am going to get a bit upset when people say that whenever I get angry it just means I need to increase my medicine.

One girl in particular, one of my housemates. I love her dearly, she's a really sweet girl. However every single weekend we end up getting into an argument over the fact that she invites four or five of our loudest friends over to our apartment rather then going to theirs when they all know that I like to be alone to write on Friday nights. I like my quiet. I picked the roommates that I picked because I knew that all of them like to go out to parties. Of course, this year all that has changed. They find it necessary to stay in and get drunk. Which is another thing that bothers me because they know two things; 1.) My father is an alcoholic, and therefore I don't like alcohol even in the house, plus we are all underage and 2.) the last time I did get drunk, it messed with my meds and I ended up hospitalized.

To end this rant (sorry I really didn't mean for it to be this long) does anyone have any clues for how to enlighten my friends that not all of my emotions are controlled by what they view as my "crutch"? Without of course beating them into the ground? Because that is what it is coming to...