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Telling Others

Unknown userMember02 Oct 2015, 5:45 pm AEST

Telling Others

Hello,

I was just wondering what it was like for some of you guys when you told people about your bipolar.

Did you tell people because you wanted them to understand you more or chose not to tell people because you feel like saying it will defin you and how people view you?

Did you find it easy to open up or hard? Did people react how you wanted them to or did you feel judged?

I'm just pondering if I should tell people and let them know that's the reason I disappear for months at a time and react to situations differently and get really flat. But then I don't want to see me different:

I told my best friend the other day and she reacted ok to that but when I started telling her about the medications the doctor was thinking to put me on she kinda freaked out.

13 replies

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In response to: Telling Others

AppleblossomSenior Contributor06 Oct 2015, 1:31 am AEDT

Re: Telling Others

When you are ready maybe it would be an idea to reach out to that friend .. and not cut yourself off. Maybe you can learn to balance feeling awkward with the positive aspects of the friendship. Good Luck

In response to: Telling Others

grubbytoesSenior Contributor17 Oct 2015, 8:28 am AEDT

Re: Telling Others

When I was diagnosed with Bipolar type 2, my family and friends and social circle were very understanding and interested in my lived experience. They never made me feel judged and they validated my experiences and struggles.

However, my boss was less understanding. She tried to keep telling me that she knew people with bipolar and that they had a serious illness but I clearly didn't have bipolar, and so it was not serious. While her intention was to be comforting I found this a constant frustration. Because I 'cope', my experiences with bipolar are not obvious, the internal day to day battles are not visible to others. In the case of my boss she did not understand if I needed to take a wellness day, or if I wasn't was super snappy social self, and I found myself having to constantly explain my experiences. Sometimes this made me feel like I was being over dramatic or a hyperchondriac (sp?)

In response to: Telling Others

BillambaSenior Contributor17 Oct 2015, 2:35 pm AEDT

Re: Telling Others

@grubbytoes your last sentence about feeling like you are being over dramatic or a hyperchondriac at times is exactly how I feel too.
Most people apart from an inner few see me as mostly a friendly, reasonably happy person but the truth is I'm not. The thing is most people don't see me often enough to know any different.
No one knows about the strong possibility of me having BPD (and only a few know the other 'official' diagnosis) but even sentences like 'I'm just struggling a bit at the moment' often get rejected with comments like 'Just smile, your be over melodramatic' which then makes me feel I guess invalidated and like I am being over dramatic and a hypochondriac...

No help to the original poster (who I'm really sorry I have forgot who it was and am on my phone so can't check) but it's certainly a very difficult thing.

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