Tell or Not Results

Hey, y'all--
Well, it seems that there is pretty much evenly divided opinion on whether to tell people you have bipolar or not. Some have experienced misunderstanding and stigma, while others have experienced the opposite, and feel they have had a part in educating people about the disorder. I guess I feel I am in the latter category, however difficult that category is.

Y'all know I have been on that date line. Well, inevitably, I get asked what I do. I thought about just saying I am on disability, or that I am a stay-at-home single mom, or something like that, and leaving it at that. I know that telling people we have bipolar is a personal choice. But as some of you pointed out, it can be good to get it out in the open right away, and I decided to test that theory on this date line, figuring I had nothing to lose but a phone call's worth of time.

When asked what I do, I tell someone I am a writer. They usually say, "Oh, what type of writing do you do?" I answer, "I write for a website on the internet." If they say, "That's interesting," or something along those lines, and leave it at that, fine. But if they continue that line of questioning (serves them right! LOL), I will say, "I write for a website for people with bipolar disorder," which, of course, leads to disclosing the fact that I have it myself. At that point, I have found, I either get a short or a long pause in the conversation, and I can sort of tell the degree of knowledge the person has of bipolar, the degree of stigma, the degree of understanding or misunderstanding. But I've got to tell y'all, at least in my limited experience over the past several weeks--even with those who know nothing about bipolar, they are willing to listen to me tell them about it, without seeming to judge me.

However, I will concede two points. Number one: These are virtual strangers, who have nothing invested in me emotionally, and have no past experience with bipolar, so they have no prejudice from having had to go through a bad manic episode with someone. Number two: These are single men who, admittedly, are lonely and/or desperate and are trying to get to the point where they can ask me out for a date, so I would guess they would play the understanding card even if I said I were some green monster from outer space, as long as I said I had dark hair, dark eyes, was about five foot tall, and wore a size 8! LOL

Anyway, the main point is, telling people we have bipolar or not is still a personal choice, as is when to tell them. It's unfortunate that we survivors have to be the primary source of educating the public about the disorder, but we can hope that other sources will catch up eventually, can't we? Although the wait can be frustrating as well. Sometimes I do get frustrated with people who have no knowledge of bipolar, or of mental illness in general, and react to me as if they could "catch it" like a cold, don't you?