[Harley326]

Ever made a joke about your bipolar to someone else and they become so uncomfortable that the jovial atmosphere becomes incredibly awkward? It's crazy. It even happens with my fiance. I'm just over here cracking jokes (that I believe to be pretty funny ) and all I get in response is an awkward blank stare and a quick subject change. I don't know, maybe they would be just as bad with cancer jokes, but I think if the person afflicted with whatever their joking about can use humor to deal with it, then laugh with them. It's okay, really.

[Eva_Star]

Agree! You have earned the right to laugh at it. In my experience other people with bipolar react the worst to my bipolar humor. One person said, "It's a DISEASE, not something to laugh at." Well, laughing and finding humor in my situation is what gets me through so yeah...they can bite me. lol

Other people, without knowledge or experience with bipolar, usually don't "get it" so blank stares are the norm...that's ok, I'm glad they don't get it. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

I say be yourself...joke away if it helps.

[jacky8807]

I joked with my mom but ya she didnt seem to find it too funny either lol
Ah well

[BlackSheep79]

Most people at work know and I crack jokes as well. It used to be awkward, I think they didn't know how to react. They are getting better about it. I just want to lighten up the mood and I don't want them to feel like they can't ask me questions about it, I'm here to educate. It also makes me feel better to just laugh at it.

[Harley326]

Originally Posted by Eva_Star

Agree! You have earned the right to laugh at it. In my experience other people with bipolar react the worst to my bipolar humor. One person said, "It's a DISEASE, not something to laugh at." Well, laughing and finding humor in my situation is what gets me through so yeah...they can bite me. lol

Other people, without knowledge or experience with bipolar, usually don't "get it" so blank stares are the norm...that's ok, I'm glad they don't get it. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

I say be yourself...joke away if it helps.

Lol, it may be a disease, but that doesn't mean it has to be the death of your sense of humor. My dad is bipolar, too, so if he around, I'll usually get a snort out of him, but everyone else in the family just thinks I'm crazy or has the same reaction you got - "it's not a joking matter."

I wouldn't wish it on anyone either, I just wish it would segway into a conversation if they're that clueless about it. Oh well, one can hope.

[Harley326]

Originally Posted by BlackSheep79

Most people at work know and I crack jokes as well. It used to be awkward, I think they didn't know how to react. They are getting better about it. I just want to lighten up the mood and I don't want them to feel like they can't ask me questions about it, I'm here to educate. It also makes me feel better to just laugh at it.

Exactly, I'm tired of it being this secret that everyone knows, but pretends like they don't. When I first came back to myself, not knowing who knew what and who had no clue about anything was the hardest part. I felt like I had to keep it a secret because nobody wants to know about your "crazy". This is something that happened and ignoring it isn't going to make it any less real. Hopefully, they'll come around and everyone will be able to laugh eventually.

[Turtlesoup]

Yeah I get a lot of those blank stares-usually makes me crack up even more but I have a dark sense of humor anyway. I find that so many people today are so uptight-laugh a little it won't kill you. Seems like so many have no sense of humor at all & people are so freaking angry-I may have my multitude of issues but at least my funny bone is intact.

My family has been really good about it. They crack up too about some of the crazy things I've done in a mania. I guess I should be grateful for that. But I mean come on, we do some funny ****, lol.

[cashart10]

Originally Posted by Stargazer_1110

My family has been really good about it. They crack up too about some of the crazy things I've done in a mania. I guess I should be grateful for that. But I mean come on, we do some funny ****, lol.

Yeah...my family laughs about it as well. Sometimes they even crack jokes about me. I really appreciate that...makes for good belly laughs.

Yeah, others may not find this funny but one time I was really hypo. Well I love big cats. I ordered a whole bunch of big cat pics online. Some were really great and I have them hanging up, but some were huge, like poster huge.

My idea was I was gonna buy all these cool plants and make my apt like a jungle. Get pics of monkeys etc and have it dark in here like a jungle. Lol. Idk they always laugh at that one.

Or the time I went into this sauna shop bc the owner had pictures of a politician I didn't like hanging up in his window. It was at the bus stop I waited at. Well I was manic as hell and went in there in front of everyone in there and gave him a peice of my mind, lol. How embarrassing, I would never do those things out of episodes...

After i changed the batteries in my game timer it wouldn't work so i asked a technically inclined friend of mine about it. He asked if i got the polarity right. I said, "I hope so -- i have bipolar!" We laughed. He's a friend in my support group, tho. I've never tried to joke with regular folk.

[Harley326]

Originally Posted by Turtlesoup

Yeah I get a lot of those blank stares-usually makes me crack up even more but I have a dark sense of humor anyway.

Yeah, my humor tends to be on the self-deprecating/black side, but it's still pretty funny in my book. Unfortunately, I'm usually the only one laughing while everyone else becomes shocked that I would say such a thing.

[Harley326]

Originally Posted by apfei

After i changed the batteries in my game timer it wouldn't work so i asked a technically inclined friend of mine about it. He asked if i got the polarity right. I said, "I hope so -- i have bipolar!" We laughed. He's a friend in my support group, tho. I've never tried to joke with regular folk.

Ha! My go to response to anyone calling my crazy is to reply "certifiably". It's the only thing I've said that will get a chuckle out of some people who are 'in the know'. For such a tame joke, some still give me 'what the hell did you say that for' look. Oh, well. They'll come around (or at least get used to it) eventually.

[LettinG0]

Very nice to see people with a sense of humor! My family and I all have a kind of warped sense of humor so we make jokes about EVERYTHING....but even my kids kinda balk at my bipolar humor.....think they think I'm putting myself down.....but hey.....I always say....choose to laugh......and yes, we do some crazy ****

[Homeira]

I sometimes make a joke about my BP, but it seems people don`t find it funny. I think they find it too serious an issue to joke about. But then again, they have had some experiences with me that are not funny at all, and they are concerned about me. My illness scares them a bit I think. It means that they care, but sometimes I wish they could lighten up about it a bit. The only people I can joke about being BP with is my brother and his girlfriend. My brother has BP as well. They have been together for about ten years, live together, and have a family together, so she has been through some really hard times with him. We joke about it, it is a way for us to lighten the load I think.

We're the ones dealing with this illness, and I choose to deal with it through humor when I can. Laugh along or don't laugh at all. Who cares? I care. I'm the one that matters.

Having a sense of humor about oneself helps establishing a good attitude about the whole debacle.

[Homeira]

So true.

[Turtlesoup]

Originally Posted by Stargazer_1110

Yeah, others may not find this funny but one time I was really hypo. Well I love big cats. I ordered a whole bunch of big cat pics online. Some were really great and I have them hanging up, but some were huge, like poster huge.
My idea was I was gonna buy all these cool plants and make my apt like a jungle. Get pics of monkeys etc and have it dark in here like a jungle. Lol. Idk they always laugh at that one.

That is so funny & sounds like something I would do-when my daughter was like 5 the 101 Dalmations movie came out & she won a really cool movie poster-this set off movie poster mania for me-I was on ebay morning, noon & night & bought like 50 posters-I was gonna frame them all nice & everything-WTH is anybody gonna do with 50 giant movie posters lol. I found them in the attic when we moved & I donated them to goodwill-oh how I love decorating mania.