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  Date / Time: 9/5/2008 9:30 AM UTC

  THE NAME GAME SHAME: Hiding Bipolarity
  

  The Name Shame Game: Admitting You Are Bipolar (1 hits)

  It is one of the most played games in America considering that over 2 million Americans have Bipolar! I have to admit I play it too most of the time and the grand prize is peace of mind. It works like this, do not reveal you are Bipolar. Then I can move freely at work and deal with the normal stuff as much as possible. I can shop at the same store and chit chat with the regular people I bump into. I can sit on my front porch with dirty gardening clothes on and enjoy nature and polite conversation with neighbors. I can throw on sweats and run to the store without make-up. I can even write and take on any disguise I want, too. But the minute I tell people I am Bipolar, something happens. I don't know if it is the name "Bipolar" or the illness of "Bipolar" that make people arch their eyebrows or flinch and quietly, but noticeably move away from me. That makes me feel very ashamed of a condition I had no decision about, but do everything to manage it. Hey, it's a stigma I can live with because I don't like too many people around me anyway. I work best when alone and I can focus on tasks without all the small talk. I enjoy solitude so I can meditate with God. There's one thing I want you all to know, though, I am not going to go postal in the grocery store or at work. I don't smell or look "crazy" either. In fact, I am a very productive citizen living a quality life with purpose trying to help my fellow citizens diagnosed with Bipolar to do the same thing. You do have to get diagnosed in order to receive treatment. Please stop asking me why folks go "postal." I have no idea any more than you. I can make an educated guess like the media reporters and say the individual did not take medicine. I have no idea what dual-diagnoses that individual may have any more than you. I am not the national spokesperson for every "postal" crime that comes across television dear friends, so don't call me with questions. Instead, I will be happy to tell you the facts about Bipolar because that is my diagnosis. My symptoms may not be exactly like somebody else's either. I take my medicine and exercise and feel no obligation to discuss it at work or at the grocery store any more than somebody with sugar diabetes. I do not believe I could ever go "postal" and I do what is necessary to remain stabilized and productive as much as possible. I also pick and choose who I do share my brain disorder with verrrrry carefully! Now, what I want to know is why are you or a family member showing the classic signs of Bipolar, but you will not seek mental healthcare? Agnes ~ Too Wise Not To Praise Him! Author of "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" ISBN 0975461206 Winter Release Pending - www.myspace.com/coolingwellwater

  
  
  
  
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