[dubblemonkey]

..and thats immediately way politically screwed.
to be all nice and neat?..."I am a person with bipolar disorder"

and thats exactly one of the 1655 things that piss me off!

I'm bipolar!...so what?...f--k it!...there is plenty more going on with me....but to suggest that there needs to be some kind of communication adjustment?

just for who?...

I can tell you why....it keeps the sane ones separated from the insane ones....ooooh!...how convenient huh?

it's such a shame that this was on my mind yesterday and a bunch of other days that now miss yesterday!

but seriously...(haha..like I never am not!! )

...how do the regular people look at me?...or are they too busy?

I can give you a hint...

and it's all about comparisons!...a very obscure but obvious behaviour easily missed ....especially if you are not looking for self confidence!

...and when I'm in my psychosis I believe I'm at the top of the emotional food chain!...oh yeah for sure!

...and this aint about me...cos I know I'm a fool...and this is what shatters me....!!

cos I'm not stupid...I wish I was...

life is a spiritual existence and I'm lonely in amongst so many otherwise self confidently directed humans....with no regard.

I've been around long enough to think that 'they' don't think.

weird huh?...

and so mental illness goes and the purity of stigma remains!

I think about me and what they think about me....meanwhile?

"they" ...think about themselves and as little about me as possible.

I don't think you're a fool and I get it.

i think i've heard just about everything bad people can say... we don't work, we arn't inteligent, we can't make choices for ourselves... all a bunch of crap.

sorry for the language- but it is

[dubblemonkey]

your apologies have no value here SS...

...like at the bar..."your money is no good here"

this round is on me

I'm not Bipolar, but I relate to a lot of what you say James. Sometimes I like messing up "Normal" and many times they don't even see it

[dubblemonkey]

hey buddy...such a long time...

I still got to find a way to fly into arizona...

without shakin' up the beers...

unless you got a few quiet cool ones ...

hehe...

[dubblemonkey]

...but?...

I digress...as very usual my mental transparency has some immaculate insanity...

so my original point...

I got this peculiar feeling that I need the regular humans to care...

and yet?

I don't care about them...at least not beyond the necessary compassion.

and suddenly I have stigmatised myself....this whole effort to engage with the "safe"...has made me feel very unsafe...

so?...

lets change the question!

what do bipolar people really think of non bipolar people...

thats fair...

even more fair

and thats my point!...

Pot calling kettle black here... I'm guilty of thinking ADD was just an excuse for poor behavior, then "Poof" I'm diagnosed and begin my studies.

Most people seem to live in their little glass houses, until they find out they have to deal with one of the MI's we know so well.

Maybe our gift is understanding and if we can enlighten one Normal person about a MI, then we have accomplished something indeed

If I try to hang onto this one, I begin to feel different, somehow.

Stigma is less than pure; it's corruption at its finest.

It's very worldly and to be pitied, in my view.

[Chupacabra]

Ah, maybe I can provide some insight? Or rather, a sad validation that the stigma is very much there. I'm a nurse, only a couple of my coworkers know that I am "a person with bipolar" Every so often we have a patient who is silly enough to list it on their medical history... Silly enough to think it won't matter. Sadly it does... Even though it is completely unrelated to their admitting diagnosis. I don't think they receive different treatment from the docs or their orders... But some of the folks I work with- no, they don't get it. I don't directly observe them while they're providing care, but I'm fairly confident in assuming that they're providing it from a distance... With kid gloves... Because who knows how that bipolar patient might react, right? •_• I assume this because I hear their comments... At the desk, in shift report... "They're bipolar..." As if it matters. Any behavior displayed by that person, "they're bipolar..." Not "they're a sick person who is scared, who is worried about their job/kids/pets while they're hospitalized for what could be a potentially serious health problem." I speak up, to an extent. I try to put the focus on the situation, I tell them that the diagnosis is irrelevant. But ignorance is bliss and I can say it until I'm blue in the face... It doesn't change their opinion, their preconceived notions, it doesn't make them realize how incredibly stupid they sound. How incredibly judgmental they are. How very little they really know. And I don't even know their complete thoughts on it... What they really think bipolar is...

Maybe next time ill ask... Hmm.

Yeah ill get back to you

[dubblemonkey]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

Ah, maybe I can provide some insight? Or rather, a sad validation that the stigma is very much there. I'm a nurse, only a couple of my coworkers know that I am "a person with bipolar" Every so often we have a patient who is silly enough to list it on their medical history... Silly enough to think it won't matter. Sadly it does... Even though it is completely unrelated to their admitting diagnosis. I don't think they receive different treatment from the docs or their orders... But some of the folks I work with- no, they don't get it. I don't directly observe them while they're providing care, but I'm fairly confident in assuming that they're providing it from a distance... With kid gloves... Because who knows how that bipolar patient might react, right? •_• I assume this because I hear their comments... At the desk, in shift report... "They're bipolar..." As if it matters. Any behavior displayed by that person, "they're bipolar..." Not "they're a sick person who is scared, who is worried about their job/kids/pets while they're hospitalized for what could be a potentially serious health problem." I speak up, to an extent. I try to put the focus on the situation, I tell them that the diagnosis is irrelevant. But ignorance is bliss and I can say it until I'm blue in the face... It doesn't change their opinion, their preconceived notions, it doesn't make them realize how incredibly stupid they sound. How incredibly judgmental they are. How very little they really know. And I don't even know their complete thoughts on it... What they really think bipolar is...

Maybe next time ill ask... Hmm.

Yeah ill get back to you

wow! it always freaks me right out ...when an old thread turns up again. I'm always afraid to read it...terrified even! ...seems I was a bit worked up ......but thats ok.

thanks for this you Chupacabra...you described it well. I used to work in a lock in dementia ward and all sorts of stigmas flourished in that environment. oh boy!

and genetic... I'm glad you pointed that out. ...I didn't quite phrase it well at all. What I meant was stigma in it's "purest" form...just sometimes I screw up the language a bit

[Chupacabra]

Ahh threads from the grave... Zombie threads. Scary.

A locked dementia ward, huh? That's wonderful, those folks need people like you that can offer them the compassion they deserve. I worked in a SNF/long term unit for a few years & I know it can be very trying. Have you thought of going back to that work?

[manicdepressive07]

This is a huge reason why I don't tell people I'm Bipolar... sure SOME of friends and most of my family knows, but that's it! I don't wan't people judging every single thing I do... I'm so afraid to tell people and not because I think will react weird but because I'm afraid of it later down along the lines at some point I'm being "mad" or "sad" or any other negative emotion... someone will just brush it off and say "oh you're having an episode" or "oh you're just reacting like that because you're bipolar" That's what I'm worried about :/

[faerie_moon_x]

[QUOTE]?..."I am a person with bipolar disorder"[/QUOTE]



This is the most important statement anyone can say in their mind.

I think most people who do not have bipolar think it's an excuse and fake. That's what I've come across. So, I don't like sharing with many people about it outside of here very much. Only when I have to like if I was in the hospital.

[Silent Void]

I know I don't have to say this because we all know it's true but, in my opinion, most people have some type of MH issue and should not be pointing fingers at anyone else.

I can't think of one normal person I've known in decades of dealing with hundreds of people.

I think there should be a required course in high school that focuses on things like introspection and general self-examination, and esoterica. I think people at that age would benefit from a deeper view of life and the people in it.

I'm as guilty as anyone of this kind of judgmental behavior, but because of my background I check it a lot faster than people who haven't examined themselves closely.

PC has been a light in the darkness. It has helped me further self-examine and readjust my crappy attitude towards my life and the people who enter it.

From that experience I have drawn some wisdom - we are not as abnormal as others would like to label us.

[thinkdifferently]

Originally Posted by Silent Void

I know I don't have to say this because we all know it's true but, in my opinion, most people have some type of MH issue and should not be pointing fingers at anyone else.

From that experience I have drawn some wisdom - we are not as abnormal as others would like to label us.

i agree. mental health is a spectrum and we're all on it somewhere and just where is fluid and open to discussion.

[Moose72]

Most people just think bipolar means you're out-of-control and not very bright, it seems. I know someone who told me that once I told her that I was bipolar she didn't know if she wanted me around her kids!

[Cocosurviving]

Originally Posted by Moose72

Most people just think bipolar means you're out-of-control and not very bright, it seems. I know someone who told me that once I told her that I was bipolar she didn't know if she wanted me around her kids!

Sad and ignorant

[cool09]

Hey, some of the people that treated me the worst were Psych Nurses. Actually raising their voice at me and walking away from me when I was at my lowest, most crippled point and needed help or direction.

And I have healthy relatives (and godparents!) who show no feeling towards me and don't want to be around me or ever ask for me. These were people that I felt close to and enjoyed when I was young.

[Cocosurviving]

Originally Posted by cool09

And I have healthy relatives (and godparents!) who show no feeling towards me and don't want to be around me or ever ask for me. These were people that I felt close to and enjoyed when I was young.

Their loss.

[~Christina]

Ummmm ... I don't give a damn what people think about me. Like me , love me. hate me.
I have more important things to worry about.

[shery53]

I also tell as few as possible that I am bipolar. Most people don't know because I don't know how they would react.

Well, I'm not necessarily indicative of the general population, but I can tell you what this non-bipolar person thinks of bipolar people.

One of my best friends is bipolar, among other things. I've watched her struggle with the mood changes and I've been there to help support her through the various highs and lows. It breaks my heart, some of the swings she's had to go through. But our relationship is not based on her mental illness, or mine. We relate as two people who have a mental illness, but she is so much more than that. She is funny and she is interesting and she's very kind and generous. She also happens to be bipolar. I tend to think that you could say the same for everyone suffering with that disorder. It does not make you who you are, not by a long shot. You are a very unique person and you bring something very special to the world. You should never, ever be defined by a label such as bipolar, schizophrenic or what-have-you. To do so would be to ignore every other part that comprises the total package of you.

Like I said, I can't speak for every non-bipolar person, but that's what I think.