[OutlawedSpirit]

I have schizoaffective disorder bipolar type.

But I am not ashamed.

My fiance is a woman instead of a man.

But I am not ashamed.

I don't have a college degree, instead, I work in a factory.

But I am not ashamed.

I can admit there are things I've done that I regret.

But I am not ashamed.

I am not the person others wish I was.

But I am not ashamed.

Sometimes I think it is good to actually say you are what you are, and sometimes it's even better to admit that it isn't something to be ashamed of. Anyone else want to stand up?

I have been diagnosed as bipolar type II but I am not ashamed.

I am not nearly close to the person people with I was but I am not ashamed.

I've made many mistakes and will continue to because I am human.

I stay at home and take care of my three small children instead of working but I am not ashamed.

Some things, I struggle with shame. And as far as being the person I hope to be, well, I am working on it. I'm not perfect and never will be but for the moment, I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

Thank you for sharing this and starting this thread.

[Trippin2.0]

Have to think about this one, I have too much negativity brewing upstairs, and need to sort through the muck to get the truth. I will try to post mine a bit later tho. Thanks OLS

[Doxie mom]

I am not ashamed that I have bipolar 1. I am however still struggling with being ashamed of my past behavior. That could partly be because I still repeat many of these behaviors.

i'm not ashamed.... it is what it is

life is life, you know?.

you can only do your best at things

just because i have bipolar, does not make me a bad person

[OutlawedSpirit]

Originally Posted by shattered sanity

i'm not ashamed.... it is what it is

life is life, you know?.

you can only do your best at things

just because i have bipolar, does not make me a bad person

Shattered, I'm not necessarily just saying we shouldn't be ashamed of our MI, but there are a lot of things I'm sure we are ashamed of that we really shouldn't be, especially in regards to where we are in life now.

[Anika.]

I am not ashamed of anything that I am or that I am not, this is my life.. given to me to learn. If I had to do it perfectly, what would I learn? These are my lessons for reasons only I might understand. I am thankful that I am here, that I can learn, that I can grow, that I get this experience, that I meets other souls on this road, and that I have the allowance and freedom to live my life without anymore shame.

[Trippin2.0]

I'll never win 'Mother of the year' but I do my best, so I am not ashamed.
I have been dxd with bipolar, but I am not ashamed.
I struggle to thrive at work, but I try very hard, so I am not ashamed.
My relationship went south, I blamed myself for the longest time, but we are trying to become friends again, so I am not ashamed.
I 'chose' the wrong 'father' for my daughter, she deserves so much more than he could ever have given, but 'it is human to err' and I am not ashamed.

[usbusi]

[BlueInanna]

I'm ashamed of this rage inside me, but working on it.
My thoughts pollute my body and the world around me, it's not fair for me to do it.
So when I can better control it, I will no longer need to be ashamed.
When I am able to be more emotionally mature, I will be responsible with the energy I put out there, and be able to feel proud and unashamed.

But I can have some compassion for the weaker me, may not be proud, but trying not to be ashamed.

Shame is a false belief that needs to be released so I can be my authentic self. Working on it.

[icinggurl]

This is so ironic cuz I've been thinking a lot about this topic. I know that it's not my fault that I have schizoaffective disorder. It's the other people I worry about. I hate hiding it from my fam (not my immediate fam) esp when it's relavent to whatever is going on. Ex. I can't tell my inlaws that I don't have the stamina to be active an entire day because I take a large amount of psych meds. Instead I feel like I have to just make up some excuse like I have a headache. I've dealt with so much discrimination from people I've told that I've become paranoid. Some people have such archaic ideas regarding mental health. The other thing I hate is that so many people equate mental illness with ignorance. I've read of doctors who have bipolar disorder. I'm not an idiot so don't treat me like one! Anyone else noticed how confessing to mental illness can shut an entire conversation down? I don't wander up to people and say, Hi, I'm ------ and I have schizoaffective disorder. I'm just talking about the conversations that relate to it. I had one lady say she didn't want me to babysit because I might be dangerous. Even at my most sick, I was never violent towards others. Sorry to just rant, but I've been struggling with all this stuff. I'm very frustrated. I guess I should just figure that who cares what they think, but it's the past mistreatment that keeps me from that. I never want to admit to something and then feel uncomfortable around that person later. I shouldn't feel ashamed. No one is embarrassed to say they're diabetic, right?