Bipolar happens

Just a note that I'm starting a new blog--not to replace this one--detailing what is happening with me regards to my health. It is mybipolarfamily.blogspot.com. I guess this is my attempt to come out of the proverbial "closet" so to speak.

Unfortunately, bipolar disorder has a lot of stigma associated with it which makes it even more difficult to recover from episodes, etc. In an effort to reduce some of that stigma and show that this is an illness similar to diabetes or cancer or... I am recording my experiences with the disorder.

Regarding the name, I called it Bipolar Family partly because mental illness has hit my family so hard. Both my brothers are largely incapacitated by mental illness. They are still great, wonderful, loving people but they are not going to amass a wonderful resume or head a large happy family. What they offer the world is very different from what we unfortunately call success.

The other reason I call the blog Bipolar Family is that in a way those of us who suffer in whatever way from the effects of mental illness are all in this together. I love what the actor Glenn Close and her sister Jesse are doing with their newly launched foundation, Bring Change 2 Mind.

Part of me wants to apologize for being open about having bipolar disorder. It isn't a pleasant subject. I read recently about Sandy Naiman, an award-winning journalist who suffers from schizoaffective disorder and has been successful in battling the stigma of mental illness in her environment. She indicated that fifty years ago cancer had a similar stigma. It was not something you talked about and was referred to as the "C-word." People with cancer feared that if employers found out about their illness they would lose their jobs or never work again. Those who suffer from mental illness face that same level of stigma. They worry about losing their jobs, their families and their friends.

But those with mental illness are more than their mental illness. The illness is something they have. It is not who they are.

I'm hoping that in our era of rapid change that it won't take decades to overcome the stigma of mental illness.

As Glenn Close's sister Jessie mentions in one of the videos, it's uncomfortable at times wearing the "bipolar" t-shirt. But I'm hoping that it will be worth it.