Bipolar : A Manic Depressive illness
I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. What do I tell my family and friends?
Although there is a greater understanding in society about both bipolar disorder and unipolar depression, stigmatization continues to exist and there can be concern about what to share about the condition with your family and friends.
The decision as to sharing information about your diagnosis can be fraught with more worries as to how others will perceive you than, say, if you had to inform them of an infectious disease, a heart condition, diabetes, or even cancer. As with any other illness, you have a right to your privacy in terms of disclosure. Certainly, the more you can open up about your bipolar disorder, as with any illness, to people close to you, the more support you will have in your time of need. It is reasonable to use discretion in sharing anything about you that is personal; the same holds true regarding bipolar disorder. Yet if you don’t discuss it with people closest to you, you may be more apt to feel shame about it, and you will be inhibited in obtaining help and remaining on the treatment plan you need.
Stigmatization results when people hide shamefully behind what ails them. It is easier for people to hold on to their biases if they believe they do not know anyone with bipolar disorder, or any other mental illness. Close family and friends are more apt to be supportive than you may believe. In addition, given the chronic nature of bipolar disorder, it may become difficult to “hide” the ongoing treatment that is required. Sub syndrome symptoms may appear that can confuse your friends and family if they do not know what you are suffering from. Friends and family may need to be enlisted as well to help you monitor your symptoms, as it is often difficult for a person to self-identify the onset of mania.
Scott’s comments:
I chose not to participate in this book under a pen name. I feel that I have no more to hide than if I were diabetic or had some other condition. My grandfather was bipolar, and I’m bipolar. I take medication to stabilize my mood swings, and I’m not at all ashamed of this condition. I look at it as simply a biological reality that I have to deal with. I hope that whatever stigma is associated with bipolar disorder is quickly eliminated, as it’s less a sign of weakness than strength to be willing to understand what is making us behave the way we do, particularly when that behavior doesn’t serve us. I tell anyone that asks-I’m bipolar. I’m medicated. Big deal.
Leslie’s comments:
Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder came as a relief because I finally had a reason for all of the mood swings I had experienced since I was a teenager. However, along with the relief came a feeling of being stigmatized; both within myself as well as in society’s perception of those struggling with mental illness.
I had to come to terms with these feelings before I was able to share my diagnosis with my friends and family. When I was finally able to discuss the issue, I felt very vulnerable to their reactions and was probably less open than I could have been because of this. To me, it was most important for my partner to understand what I had been going through; all of the emotional ups and downs and strain that I had put on the relationship could finally be explained, however not erased.
Unfortunately, I still feel shame when I discuss my bipolar disorder with my friends and family because I believe that they look at it as just an excuse rather than a viable explanation for my erratic behavior over the years
Terms:
Subsyndromal – exhibiting symptoms that are not severe enough to be characterized as a syndrome.
