[Gabyunbound]

What do you guys think the average person thinks BP is about? I think some people think we're just really 'moody' and go from one mood to another every other minute. Others may think in terms of psychosis, but I'm not sure about that because I think most people relate that to sz and not to BP. So what do you think? What have your experiences been, maybe in telling people your dx, or hearing others talking about it, its portrayal in the media, etc.?

ETA: I don't mean to say we can't be very moody as part of BP, just that I feel like a lot of people think this is the only manifestation or that it just stops there.

[Hdb19855]

My mother is very manic right. She is in the stages of psychosis and very bad delusions and she's been in the psych ward for 15 days now... She went off her meds 5 months ago... Yes she was very moody before she became full blown manic, then it was that euphoria high she loves and didn't want to take her meds. She got to the point as to where she knew how much sleep she needed to keep that high... She is very bad off.. But I'm just praying the doctor who is helping her now can bring her back down to baseline... It's a very stressful disorder especially when she is blaming it all on me .

[Standup2me]

I do think that some people just think that we are moody or over-emotional.
I cannot even begin to count the times I've been told "snap out of it", "get over yourself", "everyone gets sad"...etc

[LadyShadow]

People don't understand it. And hence they fear what they don't understand. So they say things like "oh she texts too much she's bipolar" or "that person is crazy she be actin all bipolar"

Its a negative stigma and it upsets me. There are so many wanna be psychiatrists out there giving their two cents on what bipolar is, when they don't have a dam clue.

But usually I am careful who I tell I am bipolar to. I find that knowing someone a good amount of time and establishing trust is the way to go. I don't want to be feared. I just want to be loved

[annielovesbacon]

I can't speak for other people but years ago, before any noticeable BP symptoms surfaced and I just had depression, and didn't know anything about BP, I would've thought it was having severe mood swings, like being happy one minute and angry the next. Also would've thought of people like Demi Lovato and the episode that was well publicized of her punching her back up dancer. So maybe thinking people with BP are violent or can't control themselves. I never would of thought of psychosis, I think you're right, people would think of schizophrenia.

[~Christina]

I think the vast majority of people think its a shave your head and post 831334 selfies and tweets.. Well that the celebrities giving what I think is a bad rap to people with Bipolar ... as far as the average Joe?

I wasnt diagnosed until I was 43 .. of course I was Bipolar for decades ... So what I thought way back then as I was clueless.... " People get moody and sometimes make no sense at all in any way shape or form, often. Maybe its for attention? Maybe its the " cool" thing to have? Looking back now... I can actually see that I worked with quite a few Bipolar people and at the time I thought there were a bit quirky or dealt with more depression than I thought was average.

So literally seeing things on both sides of the fence.. I can see why people often get the wrong idea about the average person with Bipolar...

Just wanted to add.... I really don't give a ratsass what people think or don't think of me and my Bipolar

[Pflaumenkeks]

My mothers first reaction was: "bipolar? The manic thing?"
Most people I talked to said that it's "about ups and downs in an intense way" but most of them were like "but don't we all? why is it different on you?", and the majority thought it was something that happens several times a day or at least in a very high frequency and there is no way you could have a baseline.

[raspberrytorte]

I have a friend who calls everyone who acts like an unstable nut job as bipolar. No mood swings on the parts of these people either... and she knows of my situation. "Oh, he's sooooo bipolar." Eventually I told her to stop.

[scatterbrained04]

I encounter people a lot that speak of bipolar people as being nut jobs with moods that shift at the drop of hat.

Uh tell that to my year long depressions.

I have a neighbor that talks s*** like that constantly to me. She doesn't know I'm bipolar. It's irritating and comical at the same time.

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[raspberrytorte]

And it's annoying because she talks to me about the behavior of these people and it never sounds like bipolar to me. I advised her to look up bipolar symptoms. And then I asked her if I seem like these people.

[Nammu]

Thanks to the media I think many folks out there now thinks BP means you are dangerous and likely to shoot people.

Thanks to movies and tv many folks think BP means you have mindless sex with anyone and do drugs nonstop.

Thanks to none funny jokes people think BP switches from happy, to rage and back in a minute all day long. The think we can't hold jobs, or drive. ( yeah I met someone who asked me how I could drive if I switched moods!)

My take on what other people think

[eeyore1234]

I had a family member who said: "Oh, but we all have ups and downs in life."

Most people I know just don't really know what bipolar is and what the symptoms are and are open to hear what I feel and experince.
My Uncle though, thinks that I'm not ill, that I'm just a normal young girl and that it's normal to suffer from depression for over 14 months!? And he also thinks I'm "faking" to be ill, just to get out of University!? (He's having mental issues too, so you should think he'd understand!)
I'm so angry and sad... and I've decided not to tell anyone else about my diagnosis. I'm afraid what people might say, or judge me. There's so many misunderstandings and stigma!

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[Victoria'smom]

That we get violently angry at a drop of a hat.

[Row Jimmy]

IMO a lot of people think BP is a spook story, something that's made up to accommodate people who "can't handle life". America is cynical utopia and it gets worse by the day. At least the federal government recognizes it as a disability.

Of course, that comment was cynical too but I'm on a roll today so work with me, people.

I don't want to be bipolar on the street. It's hard enough being bipolar in my house .

[cincidak]

I think most people equate bipolar with manic psychosis, rather than with hypo mania and depression. Like others have said they don't understand that there can be a baseline, and there can be times of stability.

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