At this point in my life, I have decided to be open about my bipolar disorder. This doesn’t mean that I walk around telling everyone I meet that I’m bipolar, and I don’t wear a sign saying ‘Bipolar 1’, but I don’t hide my diagnosis. However, I have no problem telling people my diagnosis and explaining to them what it’s like for me. I feel like sometimes I’m educating people who know nothing about mental health. Other times, I end up meeting some people who also deal with mental health themselves or through a loved one.
There will always be people in the world who don’t understand mental health. There are still some people who do not believe in mental health. It’s really hard to talk to someone who believes that. Instead of arguing with them, I’ve found that I’m not going to change their minds, so I just let them believe what they want to believe.
I used to try to hide my diagnosis; I was always afraid what others would think of me. Hiding it took so much work, it was exhausting. At some point, and I’m not sure when, I finally accepted my bipolar disorder diagnosis. Once I accepted it, I no longer felt as if I needed to hide it. Plus, once I became open about my diagnosis, I realized that there are a lot more people out there that deal with mental health issues as well.
So many people are afraid to talk about mental health, but there’s no need to avoid the subject. The only way people can learn about it is by discussing it. Talking about mental health will help get rid of or reduce the stigmas that we deal with on a regular basis. If someone has a problem with my mental health, then that is their problem, not mine.
My Side of the Pole 
Well said. Excellent post.
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Thank you. I appreciate the compliment.
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Everyone has different situations so each individual has to decide for themselves whether to come out or not. As for me, coming out of the bipolar closet was one of the best actions I’ve taken. It was freeing and I received nothing but love. Those who didn’t understand asked me questions in a nice manner to help give them some clarity. Sure, I have some friends and acquaintances who still don’t understand, but they all treat me with respect.
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I agree with you that everyone has to choose for themselves if they want to be open about their mental health status. I can only speak for myself based on my own experiences. It’s great that opening up about your diagnosis was beneficial for you.
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That’s wonderful! What a huge step. It’s amazing when you talk to people, either they themselves or a relative suffers with some sort of mental illness. The ones that make me laugh ( only recently, as before I would have been offended) are the ones that say, “‘ I would never have known” I try to say thank you. I myself know how hard I work on myself and am learning to take these compliments. These are about the only compliments I can take.
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Thank you
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