prejudices of bipolar disorder

I have most recently come to realize that there are alot of people who have a "i'm better than you" attitude when it comes to people with disorders such as manic depression (bipolar). it realy grinds my nerves every time i see/hear this.

i would like to see what your thoughts are on this

Well, i believe in carma. I also believe there is only one person who should ever judge me. Let these peple try to function one week in our shoes. Haha. If there is one thing i know. We may not always feel it but we are so much stronger for everything we have been through with this disease. I know i have grown alot since becoming sick. I feel more empathy. Some people need to step back and think. The world is full of stupidity.

You know Miss.Vickie I used to get really upset with this kind of thing. On the other hand , It's something we have probably all been guilty of at one time or another. Whether it be social class, sex, race, even small things like punctuation and grammar on forums.

So I don't know, but maybe if we try to work on these things within ourselves first, maybe we can become teachers of acceptance and tolerance by doing.

I used to be scared of people finding out I had Bipolar because of the stigmas. When I finally starting being honest about it I mostly received a different reaction than I expected, of coarse not completely. People generally were more like "really? huh, I wouldn't have guessed" The more people see that mental illness can hit anyone, even people they know, the more it breaks down the preconceived notions. So I think we just have to work on it a little at a time. Things change slower than we would like, but things are changing.

I hate the media regarding mental illness. I want to be able to stand on a platform one day, and be an educator of mental illness, and preach, and testfy to the fact that we are more harm to ourselves than others. The media tends to not give full truth to the public about any of my illnesses...Is there a foundation for BPD and BP? I would join, and become an educator, if I could. I hope that one day mental health is taught in schools, as a required class, and that they actually have therapists and psychologists in all there. You have only to look on yahoo answers etc. to see how many children a suffering with suicidal thoughts, cutting, depression etc., and their parents don't even know. There needs to be a huge push regarding mental illness, and resources in schools as well. I am always so worried about parents finding out I have mental illness, and them not letting their children play, or that if there is some sort of issues that come up that I wont ever be taken seriously due to having mental illness, or be judged for having one. Great topic!!!

Vicki, can you give an example of how they display this "better than" behavior? I cannot imagine it, someone expressing that they are better than I am because they don't have the illness I have? I think you must be speaking of ignorant, perhaps thoughtless people who don't have the depth and richness of our experience. I feel sorry for them, for appearing so shallow in their ignorance.

UGh. Don't even get me started. I like your expression "grinds my nerves" its so true!

I've been struggling at work lately with staff members calling people "bipolar" as an insult. I can feel myself becoming angry and defensive of all of us as a whole. I'm pretty sure my face turns bright red.

Anika- you are so courageous! Telling people. I know its a way to break the stigma, its just so hard to tell people these things. I have managed to tell close friends - but family and people at work dont know. Im afraid of losing my job.

Tosspot, it's not that easy it? We still have to be cautious. Work and things of that nature might not be the right platform for disclosure ~ yet. I'm on disability, when people would ask what I did for work, I would feel a surge of defeat and no real way to answer the question. I'm still slightly selective on who I tell, I think we still have to be. I don't have to face the same consequences of disclosure as I would if I was in a work environment.

Perna: "can you give an example of how they display this "better than" behavior?"

Tosspot: "I've been struggling at work lately with staff members calling people "bipolar" as an insult."

Thank you,Perna, for asking and i beleive Tosspot gave a perfict one.

i can give another though...
i was talking to one of my roomates the other day and happened to say, "all women are crazy" which is a simple, narrow, statement i hear every so often, mostly by men.
she says, "well, maybe you are, but i know im not.. im a stronger person than that." this was a broad statement not only pertaining to bi-polar but all of my mental set backs.
but it realy tuged at my stoumach, and made me feel sick.
Sick because i know that's how she feels about about alot of things.
...and it made me start to notice that i get alot of comments like that.
so, stupidly, i took it personaly.
untill i realized that it honestly isnt only me.
i am much more aware now that people way to often use mental disibalitys and physical ones as direct insults
...and on a list that grows increacingly every day, i very much dislike it!

Funny, I was just thinking about this earlier today, feeling a bit crabby at yet another "down with stigma" campaign thingy.

I really don't understand how these organizations think they are combating stigma or what they can actually do to that end. The only people who listen to them are those who are already open. The media is what gets a message to everybody else, and like others noted, the media are one of the worst perpetrators of stigma. The general population does not pay attention to Active Minds or NAMI. They have never even heard of them.

I think one of the most successful ways to really truly beat stigma in our lifetimes is for pretty much everyone to come out. If everyone really understood how many people in their lives struggle with mental illness, we'd all have a new appreciation of it. We'd all find that we know people that we admire and would be surprised to find that they struggle with schizophrenia or eating disorders or whatever. It would be harder to discriminate in workplaces if the full scope of the issues were apparent. But that's not very realistic, is it? I'd love to come out. I'm afraid to - there are career considerations - and hey, aren't we all anonymous here? So. Yeah. Pipe dreams, such as they are.

The only other way to really get at the issue that I can see is education, and I think this could be much more effective in the long term, and more effective than it has been in the past. When I think of the kind of education that would really and truly make a difference, it would be part of (required!) health education at a young age in schools, right along with reproductive health and nutrition (so very sadly neglected...) there should be mental health, covered in more depth than just the "depression makes people sad" sort of lip-service. These are important things for everyone to know about, especially given the statistics about how many people experience mental illness. It's the sort of thing I think kids should be introduced to when they are young and have substantially more exposure to by high school so that they have some chance of knowing what the problems really are when they crop up for themselves or a loved one, and some idea about what they need to do to/for help.

OK, off my soapbox... /rant

i always appreciate your rants animaniac!
I agree... "coming out" is something we see over and over. Small steps
I have seen shifts so far, people have become seemingly more accepting generally of depression as a legit problem. Hopefully down the road things will be more accepted.

I actually experienced a coworker being fired after she had a small psychotic break at work. No way am I telling anyone there that I'm bipolar. I've told my family, my brothers think it's funny and my sister was glad I told her because she too is bipolar and hadn't told anyone. My mother told me that was a bunch of crap..I am justing looking for an excuse to be a *****. Mom thinks mental illness is non existant. I wish my sister lived closer (she's 1200 miles away) we could help each other out.

I came out two years ago and lost most of my friends. It was hard at first but I have to say it feels better being accepted as I am. It took so much effort to hide everything and I had to lie about my behavior. Now I have a small handful of friends that simply treat me like a human being. Some of my old friends became obsessed with fixing me. They offered unwanted advice and blamed me when their therapies did not fix me. I've always done my best to participate in my community. I go to school and teach dance workshops. I hope one day the stigma of this neurodiversity will be diminished. I refused treatment for twenty years largely due to the stigma involved. It almost cost me my life on more than one occassion.

I thought it couldn't hurt to add this...

prejudice

[prej-uh-dis]

noun
1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.

2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.

3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.

4. such attitudes considered collectively: The war against prejudice is never-ending.

5. damage or injury; detriment: a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.

6. to affect with a prejudice, either favorable or unfavorable: His honesty and sincerity prejudiced us in his favor.

(((dictionary.com)))

I am currently on disability but before that I was a professor of special education. I had to take a leave of absence due to a depressive episode. When I came back to work they required me to sign a statement that I would not disclose my symptoms or diagnosis to any faculty, staff or students. If I hadn't signed I would not have been allowed to return to work. They certainly wouldn't have required this of someone returning from a leave for a heart condition.

I must admit, that most of the time I consider myself intellectually superior to those who think that they are somehow better than me. It is not worth my time to justify the difference in my mental functioning with people who don't have enough sense to "get it"! I may have killed a few brain cells with my bad choices over the years, however, I know the test scores, as well as artistic gifts that my children possess, and there is no way that anyone could be better than the two who already have been labeled with mental disorders.
Bluemountains

Oh how I could go off on a rant here ,,but I wont as me getting all bent out of shape wont help anyone or me ..

But the stigma is there .. maybe one bipolar or any mental illness will be treated the same in peoples views as heart diease or diabetes etc etc etc ..

I agree with what everyone has posted ...

One day things will be differant .

I'll join those trying not to rant.
I learned early on not to disclose my mental illness to anyone. Too many people reacted like I was from another planet, or some stranger they didn't know. My family knows, as most of my siblings are mentally ill to one extent or another. It bears no stigma there, and I can be free to be who I am. 2 of my closest friends know, but that's all.

I'm on disability for it, and like so many, I don't say that's why I don't work.I got tired of the "you could work if you just wanted to" attitude that even my family gives me. But with everyone else I'm lucky enough to have rheumatoid arthritis that I can use as an excuse for my being unable to work. It's not the full truth, but it is a contributing factor to my disability, so I'd say it's close enough.

Yes, I'd like to be free to just say it to anyone and not have the current consequences of the stigma it bears. And I think the media could do a better job of portraying us. Instead we're ranting schizophrenics or multiple personalities, something to be laughed at in a sitcom or soap opera. And I'm starting to rant so I'll stop here.

And oh, yeah, the workplace is definitely not where you want to come out!

Shoot, I know exactly how you feel. I remember a couple years back I confided in my then boss about how I struggled with depression and anxiety and I had just started there and was on a trial basis and she asked if I wasn't able to work because of it. She also said she thought I wasn't smart enough- really pissed me off!

Ooooh, I like this word!

I'm pretty selective in saying. I have little interaction, so not sure how much it'd amount to anyway(!) I've never disclosed at a job, just had to deal with the consequences. I've always worked at VERY small places, so there's nothing like an HR dept. and they are exempt from FMLA, so...

A notable example from my work history: Had a boss once (at the max it was a 5 person shop) who declared that one day he simply decided he wasn't going to have headaches anymore. (!!!!!) (I'd say he'd never had a real one if it were that simple(!)) Sooo, anyway... you can imagine how BP would've gone over. While there, I had a really big depression. Way beyond hiding. Fortunately there was a situational thing he assumed it was, so I just said, "yeah, that". It wasn't.

It'd be nice to be able to say, but situations aren't always conducive to it.

so last night while sitting with a group of my peers,
one of the girls was acting very strange...
then one of the girs that was sitting next to me coughs out the word "bi-polar"
and then smirks at me in a friendly way.
and a coupple ppl who heard it laughed..
but it realy pissed me off!
it made me think that it was a bad thing..
and yes it is.. but it isnt something to be judged..
its something to be worked on!
see, i rarely tell people that i have problems.
periood.
so most people do not know that i have struggles with manic depression...
...and i guess it was just yet another thing to add to this list of prejudices against bp.

I myself have been guilty of stereotyping those with mental illness and I have Bipolar! My therapist allowed me to recognize that these stereotypes were interring with my road to recovery because I couldn't reach acceptance. I'm still getting there but I've made a lot of improvement.

I grew up under scrutiny. My family doesn't accept you if you don't act the way they believe is proper. I was always the black sheep so I was disliked. Loved but not approved of. I think this fostered my stereotypes. I used to think those with mental illness were crazy and rediculous. A big stereotype I struggled with was my goal of becoming a nurse. I thought how can I be a nurse with Bipolar? It was discouraging until my therapist said there were a lot of bipolar people working as nurses at the hospital I want to work at. Now I want to be a doctor

tattedmommy75: [/quote] Iused to think those with mental illness were crazy and rediculous. A big stereotype I struggled with was my goal of becoming a nurse. I thought how can I be a nurse with Bipolar? It was discouraging until my therapist said there were a lot of bipolar people working as nurses at the hospital I want to work at. Now I want to be a doctor [/quote]

that is a verry interesting side to this.. and you cought me there
I wanted to be a theripist or some type of counselor at one point in my life,
but recently i have given up on it as my own mental well-being is not where i think it should be if i were to persue such a career.
i am satisfied with that decision.. but you made an excelent point that i hadnt thought of, so thank you

I really don't understand how these organizations think they are combating stigma or what they can actually do to that end. The only people who listen to them are those who are already open. The media is what gets a message to everybody else, and like others noted, the media are one of the worst perpetrators of stigma. The general population does not pay attention to Active Minds or NAMI. They have never even heard of them.


Not sure if I wanted pharma sponsored "no you can't NAMI" to do the job. They seem to be spreading the "you need meds and you are still so screwed" meme. However well-meaning they might be, they seem to be more pathologizing and promoting defeatism than anything.

I prefer all various kinds of the Mad-pride. They just seem more gutsy and sympathetic. Icarus Project seems pretty awesome with the "dangerous gift" and pro-choice stance.

I've had quite a few "friends" stop talking to me after mentioning being diagnosed with Bipolar. Many of which have known me for years and I've never done anything untoward to them. It's very hurtful! After my diagnosis a couple of years ago, I really wanted to be open about it for some reason, but I'm learning the hard way to be very selective with who I tell.