Dec 16 2008
Being Bipolar: Reduce the stigma!
Why is there so much stigma surrounding bipolar disorder? It’s no longer a big deal to have depression, but when people talk about bipolar disorder it is never in a positive light.
I’m not asking for anyone to view bipolar disorder as some kind of blessing bestowed upon us fortunate people, because those of us who have it certainly don’t feel that way. It would be nice if people didn’t insinuate that people with bipolar disorder are truly crazy people.
Several times, I have heard others say negative things about people with bipolar disorder. This was, of course, before they knew that I have this illness. If someone is violent and abusive, people say they must be bipolar. Why in the world should abusive behavior be tied to bipolar disorder? Please stop labeling people who abuse their spouse as bipolar! They indeed have some sort of problem, but the rest of us will soon be labeled abusive spouses as well if this continues.
People see bipolar disorder as being really crazy. They also think that it can’t be treated. I had one person say people with bipolar disorder should be locked up in mental institutions.
Please, read up on this disorder and learn more about it. Stop labeling people as being bipolar when they are destructive or abusive. Those of us who have this disorder would sincerely appreciate it if you educated people about the illness rather than added to the stigma associated with it.
I agree! Good on YoU!! Regarding mental institutions: Institutions make us Krazzzy… There’s a reason why community living facilities were created. Those who weren’t crazy when they were admitted were crazy when they left
Amen! lol My mother works at a state run mental institution. She says it is okay for the lifers (people abandoned by society and their families doomed to live their entire lives institutionalized), but it is no place for short term care. The short term care facilities near me are known for handing out tons of prescriptions. That wouldn’t help me, either.
Not to get away from your important point about bipolar, but labeling any group of people is unfair.
I certainly agree. I’m wondering if maybe you mean my reference to “lifers’. Unfortunately, there are many people who were abandoned by their families and relinquished to permanent state care. My mom’s great aunt was one of them. Back in the 1940’s, she suffered from postpartum depression. Her husband had her committed and she was left in the state’s care until the day she died. (Just for postpartum depression!) The people that I am referring to are residents of the facility for the remainder of their lives, and some of them do not even have a mental illness. They were simply abandoned. It’s very sad, and unfortunately very common.
Yes, I agree. I could never take meds as an option. This is just a personal choice I’ve made for me. I live with ADHD (Yes, for a female it is unusual for the hyperactive component but I am not in the norm on most things:P), and I have not yet taken any meds of any kind, and I likely never will. Just on a side note: I am NOT criminal on any level altho for many decades it was a stigma attached to adhd, and I likely would have been admitted maybe into a ward or ward for the criminally insane had I been born earlier. Who knows?)
The topic of institutions is my hobby, don’t get me going…lol… You got me thinking: Like why didn’t I make my today blog centred on my hobby? (Gosh….) Yes, the abandoned ones…Very fitting… Maybe my vision around these institutions is skewed by the past visions of them due to my preoccupation with the remnants of those left behind… I’m sure short term care is more enlightened these days. Like for instance, ET, once EST, I believe. The (shock) was removed from the procedure making for a more humane and dignified therapy. In the past, twas not so humane….