Hello, I hope things are going well for you today.<\/p>\n
I wanted to discuss something that is a difficult aspect of living with bipolar disorder. Many people that are bipolar have difficulty telling those around them of their condition. They are afraid they will be judged, or that others will not quite understand what being bipolar means.<\/p>\n
Telling others about your disorder is purely a personal choice. I have seen that many people are able to relax and be themselves once they let others know they are bipolar, and no longer feel like they are \u2018hiding\u2019 something from their friends.<\/p>\n
Once those you are surrounded by know that you have bipolar disorder, they can often understand you much better and do not wonder why you are acting a certain way. It is common for those who are bipolar to feel that others do not notice their illness, when in fact their behaviors suggest other wise. Once they let others know they are bipolar, they are often told that others \u201cjust knew something was not right\u201d and that they now understand their actions a bit better than before.<\/p>\n
Of course there is always a right time and place to tell others about your bipolar disorder. A first date or job interview are probably two times where it would be best to not discuss your disorder. The most important thing about telling others about your disorder is waiting until you feel comfortable with another person to tell them.<\/p>\n
A friend of mine was having a particularly bad manic episode and people at her job knew something was amiss. She was consistently late for work, and seemed to be very scattered and disorganized when at work. She finally confided in a close coworker that she was bipolar. Once she told her close coworker, she allowed her coworker to let others know of her condition (since she did not feel 100% comfortable speaking to everyone).<\/p>\n
Once her coworkers knew of her condition they were much more understanding of things and she was able to relax more at work. Of course there was one coworker in particular who was rude to her and judged her, but she realized what was important was that 99% of her coworkers supporter her and were there for her.<\/p>\n
Again, it really is a personal choice, but often confiding in others about your disorder can educate others and make thing a lot easier on yourself.<\/p>\n
Hope you have a great day.<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hello, I hope things are going well for you today.<\/p>\n
I wanted to discuss something that is a difficult aspect of living with bipolar disorder. Many people that are bipolar have difficulty telling those around them of their condition. They are afraid they will be judged, or that others will not quite understand what being bipolar means.<\/p>\n
Telling others about your disorder is purely a personal choice. I have seen that many people are able to relax and be themselves once they let others know they are bipolar,<\/p>\n