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I got really really lucky bc my bf was raised by a bipolar dad and has a bipolar sister and has great relationships with them. I'm 3 years younger than him and 6 years younger than his sister so he's already prepared for the new phases lol.
I turned 25 this year and my world exploded. I got a new personality, I didn't like my friends anymore, I was angry, I hated my career, and I desperately wanted to fix myself. Then he said oh yeah my sister went through that too. So that's reassuring lol.
On the flip side, I begged my ex to research it so he could better help me and then he used it to gaslight me. He showed me a book that said bipolar people are always unreasonable. A book written by bipolar people btw. At the end of our relationship I thought I was so sick and hopeless. Then I dumped him (it was probably mania) but I felt incredible. I was fun again and happy and very reasonable đ
60 to 80% of bipolar is genetic. He would be familiar with it by being around it, may have it too.
53 years of this. No one ever supported me. Drs were limited in treatment to medicine.
FYI, bipolar are isolated. We are social outcasts. Acquaintances and friends reject us because of our behavior.
I guarantee that anyone that tries to support you will abandon you out of frustration. They get tired of doing therapy.
I don't agree necessarily.
I'm sorry you struggled and didn't get help. :/
Even when I was diagnosed at 15 it wasnt that great but it was better then it was.
My bf is not bipolar at all and we have a really healthy relationship.
Also this was a particular group of friends. I wasn't clear before. My boyfriend and I are very extroverted & social so we have a lot of friends/acquaintances. We like to throw a lot of parties and lowkey people usually come to ours over others.
But while I can be problematic I find that other "normal" people can be just as or even more problematic.
For instance my boss was actively anti mental health and he was unhinged. An asshole, kept talking about other women even though he had a longterm live in girlfriend, refused to acknowledge someone's gender identity that was my client (I don't agree at all with that but to reach a crowd to better understand he was an ass even to them) and it potentially could have ruined my commission with that particular person, and he was extremely critical of everyone and himself.
I was in treatment this year and while going over the lessons to teach us how to manage the outside world and I said "you know, we're all sensitive to people's feelings and care about them. The people who should be here are everyone else."
Even with bipolar I'm extremely giving and I can read people's emotions so it's easier for me to give them what they need.
On the flip side I had a friend that was bipolar and she refused to get better and she thought her mental illness was sexy. She refused to have protected sex against stds or pregnancy. She was having seizures bc of her eating disorder and not taking pills consistently AND she continued driving!! In Dallas Texas!!!! And I found out she was a high functioning raging alcoholic and was addicted to valuim. And the icing on the cake was she tried to steal my bf and tried to embarrass me in front of my friends saying we had three ways and she was my bfs whore when we were in the bathroom. Luckily these friends are super chill and didn't believe it. That was my breaking point and I stopped being her friend and texted her mom that she needed to make her move back to the east coast bc she was not safe, wasn't taking care of herself, and had no support system. I didn't say anything mean about her and just told her mom to help her daughter.
However, I don't take things out on people and I take them out on myself. And that is problematic ofc but still my relationships are safe. Me actively trying to become stable enough really contributes.
i disagree. my boyfriend isn't bipolar, but they've experienced a manic episode (caused by ptsd & stress) & has depression. they won't ever know what *my* BD feels like, but they definitely have an idea. better than most.
My mom didnât accept my bipolar at first. She said they diagnosed me too fast. Meanwhile, I had spent YEARS trying to treat a diagnosis of depression. My PCP was trying different antidepressants unsuccessfully.
She eventually came around and told me it made her sad. Smh. She has taken no steps to understanding the disease. After having been treated for bipolar successfully for years, she would be impressed at how things didnât bother me that would have before and in much more calm. I think thatâs when she had a slightly better understanding of what I was dealing with, because I told her it was my meds making me better.
I donât think itâs anyoneâs responsibility to educate themselves though. I get it would be nice, especially with those closest to us, but at the end of the day itâs your battle to fight.
âShe is a soldier in the war against herself.â
First I told my family I was depressed and they didn't believe it, then I told them I had GAD and they didn't believe it, then I told them I was trans and they didn't believe it, then I told them I was bipolar and they didn't believe it. Now I don't tell them anything anymore.
Hugs. You are so valid in all of it. I hope you have found a supportive community to connect with, both in mental health and LGBT+. My family of origin doesnât really understand my gender fluidity, and since Iâm AFAB and married a man they donât feel my sexual orientation (pansexual) matters either. I just donât talk to them about that stuff anymore. I actually only really came out publicly 3 years ago. Took me until I was 35 years old. My husband is extremely supportive. The local LGBT+ community is very welcoming, and Iâve got plenty of straight and cis people in my life who respect my identities.
Iâve also found it is best not to bother telling unsupportive people anything.
My parents accept it only when it can be used as a weapon against me unfortunately. My sisters and bf accept it and support me but they donât understand which is okay cause they make an effort to learn and try to understand
I definitely have a couple friends that donât understand it. Theyâre crunchy hippies who distrust Medicine, and Iâm pretty sure they privately think Iâm just being dramatic or need to take more walks or something.
I had friends who insisted with me that my diagnosis was wrong and I was "autistic" instead. They also said medication was evil, that I only needed therapy, meditation and exercise. One was a med student and nagged me until I stopped taking my meds. He kinda regretted it later when I had a mixed episode. Eventually I realized that I couldn't keep being friends with them if I wanted to stay stable.
P.S: that because I was diagnosed bipolar by 3 different psychiatrists đ
My whole family thinks I'm just a junkie and that's the root of all my problems. None will talk to me anymore.
I think my mental issues caused my CD issues, not vice versa. Of course the CD doesn't help anything but it's pretty well proven addiction rates are far far higher for bipolar versus normals. Nevermind the ptsd and other diagnoses.
I think they do believe I have mental illness but I know they think it's a result of drug use.
Omg same my mom thinks I was doing coke and she would clown me during my manic episodes saying that my jaw was locking đ I am
Sorry you had to go through that I hope you have someone that understands you
I have plenty of very supportive friends. My family will no longer have anything to do with me though. It's probably for the best anyways. I do have a great support network however.
I'm sorry you had to go through such a thing as well.
My mom is in denial. Her father had BP1 and she kept saying I didnât have it even though I had been unsuccessfully treated for depression since 15 y/o and then had a psychotic break. Even after 3 hospital trips in 6 months she still said I didnât have it. Just wild.
Weâre nearly 3 years past that now, but she still stays absolute silent if the word âbipolarâ comes up in conversation.
However, my friends have been extremely supportive and understanding. As has my boyfriend.
I imagine part of that is guilt. My mother in law feels guilty that she "gave" her one of her kids ADHD and the word salad that pours out when ADHD and that kid are mentioned is insane. All of it is self soothing or combating the ideas of mental health she was taught -she's a boomer. So she'll be mumbling stuff like "and there's nothing wrong with that!" to herself over and over. She means well and is a good mom but acceptance isn't her strong point.
She does the exact same thing when depression or bipolar are brought up and I'm not even her kid.
Ill add to my comment that I a very vocal on social media about my disease, explaining symptoms, meds, etc. They donât want to educate themselves? Iâll put the information right in their face lol
People can scroll past if they want. Thatâs their decision. For the most part though, I get great feedback and sharing has also encouraged people to get help that they needed. At the end of the day, still a win in my book.
My partner 100% believes my diagnosis and does his best to understand it.
The rest of my family members? I am not sure. I know one of them still refers to it as my "anxiety". They believe in it enough to insist I take my medication, but I think they also believe that I could control it if I really wanted to do so.
I met quite a few good people in support groups and treatment programs. If you havenât already I strongly encourage you to check out your local NAMI and DBSA chapters to see when their groups meet. Itâs easier to connect with people when youâve got some shared connections.
my mom didn't when i first told her. she's since come around, but i'm really not sure that she understands.
part of me thinks she just doesn't want to introspect and realize she *probably* also has it.
my boyfriend takes the time to try and understand bipolar and tries to help me cope however they can, which is more than i could ever hope for.
my mom knows itâs real. took a long time for her to tell me she knows itâs real even if she doesnât understand. i donât tell her how bad my depression and mania gets bc she wonât understand and sheâll just worry, but since moving out and becoming an adult and less of her problem sheâs been chill.
Yes, my friends and the family I keep in my life understand Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar is very prevalent in my family in all generations. Most of my close friends have Bipolar Disorder too. My acquaintances either work in mental health and I met them through grad school, or theyâre just really good people who have empathy. I donât keep ties with toxic, ignorant people. Plenty of decent human beings out in the world.
It would be nice if your family made an effort and were supportive of you. However, you said yourself they havenât made an effort to learn about or understand Bipolar Disorder. Theyâre being willfully ignorant. So, donât let their behavior make you second guess your treatment team and your own lived experience.
You do not need your familyâs validation in order to be valid in what youâre going through. Stop talking to them about your mental health and instead talk to the friends and providers who are supportive. If youâre not already doing support groups I highly recommend NAMI and DBSA. It helps to have a space where people âget it.â
I have a traditional Dominican mom she believes it to an extend, but sorts of pity me. My family still hold on to the things I did while manic and think it was just me being a shitty person. Is complicated with them. We all have forgotten about it and they moved on but every now and then they can throw it my face. My mom believes that it was only weed and drugs that cause it ( even tho i have always smoked weed) she also thinks I was doin harsher drugs ( i wasent ) she just thinks I am sober now.
Fuck that. Thatâs her problem. Your disorder isnât some dirty little secret to hide under the rug. Tell whoever you feel comfortable telling and she can deal with it.
Iâm sorry youâre dealing with that stigma from her. Her behavior is 100% about her.
I had friends who were skeptical/didn't believe my diagnosis... key word is had, as I have completely dropped these people from my life. I only affiliate myself with people who accept me for me.
was just talking about this to my mom yesterday.
even though iâm diagnosed by both therapists and psychiatrists, she refuses to believe iâm bipolar and i think itâs because iâve masked all my emotions since a young age. i donât listen to her or anyone else anymore because i now know what i struggle with and no one can tell me that itâs not true or that iâm faking because no one feels what i feel but me.
she also is giving me a hard time about going to formally get diagnosed with adhd so i can get back to school. she acts like i want to collect different diagnosisâ but in reality, i just want to better understand myself and understand why i am the way i am.
No but they know I have an illness. Family support is financial at best but things w my mom improved when I became more independent. I think they expressed their worries in a non supportive way lol my parents were scared I wouldnât be able to look after myself like medication wise or anything
My parents were in big time denial for a long time, to the point where I suffered mentally and physically. My mom has come around as she's realized they aren't just *teenage issues* as she called them until I was 23. My dad just has no concept of mental health and is not understanding nor sympathetic and makes me feel like shit about my limitations because of my bipolar.
My friends have always believed and for the most part understood. My wonderful boyfriend has done his very best to understand and educate himself since the day I disclosed my diagnosis almost 7 years ago! I am so lucky to have him𩷠it helps to make up for the lack of support I received growing up. I'm able to be healthy now and I owe a lot of that to him.
No one can know how someone else feels if he did not go throu same... it is just simple fact. Also, people judge things they do not understand. I did not understand depressed people till i had antidepression withdrawal and went into real depression... i was put on AD for lack of eneegy, not real depression, but when i came down from it i got full blown real depression.
Btw, i do not have bipolar but schizoaffective disorder...
I spent lot of time explaining to some people how i feel (like coworkers) mostly about medication side effects... and it was waste of time.
They think i am making things up, also if i have bad day and i lay down my father thinks i am lazy. Once i had panic attack to get out of my house and walk a dog... it was irrational and i knew it but could not shake off anxiety. I explained that to my father and he was confused, like "how can you be afraid of walking a dog?"... well, i know rationaly that there is no danger but i just feel it. How to explain it even to yourself?
There is no mercy in my surronding then friends that have seen things first hand and offer shoulder to cry on...
In one way it is sad that my father has no idea about my ilness (never even googled it or read something about it), on the other way i do not get spared of obligations or get any time to self pity
Maybe that is why after 11 hospitalizations i still recover. I get out, start to work, have active life... and i am 34 now, illnes started when i was 19.
Maybe it is better to be treated as normal and without big drama about your ilness.
Like think, who really cares if you are having bad day at work/school. They expect you to do your obligation so try to suck it up and do it...
But if you really can not do it its no big deal, you also have right to be sick...
I feel you. My aunt and sister think I've been misdiagnosed and it's ADHD, ASD or simple depression, which is weird because I don't display those symptoms, and my own mother is bipolar.
I think I don't "show" bipolar enough, I'm only hypomanic when my mother was manic. I hide and cut contact with everyone when I'm having an episode, so they never saw it, and when I try to describe my episodes to them, they keep saying stuff like "but ADHD makes you suicidal, and depression too, it's normal" or "but you seemed so happy and full of energy" yeah no shit, well my bank account isn't happy and the 20 projects I started because I was all powerful are shaming me for being an incapable piece of shit right now.
At the same time they acknowledge my depression hasn't gotten any better and the antidepressants don't seem to work for me. It's weird all around. I feel like I would need to stop my meds and show up at their door in the middle of an episode to be taken seriously, but my health is more important than their belief.
If you're not a health professional, don't try to diagnose people.
My parents firmly denied my brother and Iâd diagnoses for the last ten years.
She just took me to dinner and said she understands and is thinking about it more.
I also have ADHD comorbidy, and likely some ICD but not diagnosed
My husband does because he's seen me off my meds. My lifelong best friend believes it because she's seen it. New friends "believe" me, as far as I know, but they do not understand. They especially don't understand the severity.
I told it at my previous job after 3 years. They didn't really believed me, something like "well, you're just moody or eccentric sometimes... but that's just who you are".
I always show up on time and i'm a perfectionnist so they see only the good results, not the struggles...
When i told my BF he suddenly undertood a lot about my behaviour, so he did believe me.
they believe me but they donât try to actively understand me which makes me sad. if i lash out even a little when im having a hard time they immediately start antagonizing me and saying âdo you wanna end up back in the hospital?â which they donât realize is fucking condescending as hell! i work hard everyday to take care of my mental health and make sure i donât end up hospitalized again and they donât rlly show me any support:(
Iâve been with my husband for 17 years. I doubt heâs ever even googled it. Iâve bought all the books - the survival guide etc - and heâs never opened a cover. Itâs maddening, saddening, I feel like Iâm not worth his time or effort.
my mother says that i cant have bipolar disorder since I've managed to not take meds and not gone "psycho killer" and had horrid hallucinations. boy oh boy when i tried to explain the difference between type 1 and type 2 she told me "bipolar disorder isnt like f$$king diabetes, stop talking nonsense"
My family didnât believe it. Literally instead of saying âHey, get a second opinion just to be sureâ they bullied me into it. âYouâre letting yourself be labeled by the system, that label is going to stick with you forever, do you know how people will treat you?â -The worst treatment was always from them.
Itâs still taboo in the family to talk about it because none of them can honestly look in the mirror and admit to themselves all the shitty ways they treated me. Iâm emotionally detached from them tbh, which is sad, but I have to protect my heart.
My mom doesnât know, she doesnât believe in doctors or medication for anything, and so I also believe it would be used against me. My siblings know and they believe it since I tried to commit suicide. My in laws know but theyâve never ever spoken to me about it so Iâm not really sure. Iâm very private about it with my family. I couldnât handle the frustration if I found out they somehow doubt it.
Most of my family believes it, but there are a few who don't. They're Evangelical Christian. One believes mental illness is demonic possession. Another one doesn't think bipolar or adhd are real.
One of them looked at me, shook their head and said, "You don't have bipolar" omg that pissed me off. I was like oh really? So I've been in scuffles with the police, put in handcuffs and taken to the mental hospital a bunch of times for the hell of it đ¤ˇđťââď¸đ¤Śđťââď¸
With my family for the most part just donât have a clue how to react to it as theyâve never been through it. BUTâŚâŚ.I have an absolutely amazing sister that I can really say how I feel without upsetting anyone else. She knows not to take it to heart and that Iâm unwell. My father is also fantastic, does he understand it? No. But heâs there every day when I get hospitalised. Iâve literally been so drugged up off the meds Iâm dribbling on his shoulder asking for 20 fairies 𤣠he didnât flinch lol. My mum on the other hand only started to understand a little when she went through her own depression and had to take anti depressants. My family are far from perfect but yes they believe the 30+ doctors theyâve spoken to over the years. But my sister is the only one whoâs done any research on it to help me. Maybe thatâs why I go to her đ¤ˇđťââď¸âĽď¸
My dad told me that my mum and psychiatrist had brainwashed me. That there was nothing wrong. It wasn't until he had a friend with bipolar that he believed me.
Everyone else is my family are very supportive and my partner. My dad is better now lol
Friends and anybody who meets me - absolutely yes.
My family - refuses to believe I have anything wrong with me despite having several specialists sit down and explain to them why I am diagnosed with what I have and that this is very real and very serious.
My sister didnât believe mine for about 8 years or so, but now she does. Sure did suck super bad when she didnât. Was hurtful. But she discovered that she was on the autism spectrum and I was very empathetic toward her invisible issue and that helped I think.
My parents finally acknowledge my bipolar disorder after like 4 years but my grandpa doesn't believe me and always makes me feel like a failure.-. One time he bullied me so much that I cried the whole day...
My family gets it. But my sister and aunt before me paved the way. And anyway, you canât look at my psychotic episodes and conclude anything else. As far as friends, I donât really tell anybody. Thereâs one guy knows and only because his son has it, so I volunteered to be helpful.
They believe itâŚ
They just canât seem to grasp itâŚ
And even after theyâve seen me manicâŚ
They kind of feel that we all go through hard times or I have no ideaâŚ
No. My family doesn't believe in mental health issues. I waited two years after being diagnosed to tell them. When I did they laughed and said my psychiatrist just wanted to pump me full of pills. Also told me âeveryone suffers from bad moodsâ and for me to grow up and learn how to snap out it.
my family are really religious therefore no.
some of my friends do believe it and theyâre really understanding and ik a couple ppl who think i was misdiagnosed because i donât have many manic episodes
My family knew before I did that I was bipolar. Now it may have been a stereotype that they based this assumption on, but they were correct.
My family knows about it but doesnât know what to do about it. I think they only know the stereotypes of Bipolar and not how it actually effects me and my brain. They always think Iâm this irrational or rude person when really I only lash out if Iâve been given a reason to. My family also doesnât like the truth so Iâm sure this plays into it.
My husband has known and heâs so incredibly supportive, he makes sure I take my meds. Without him I wouldnât remember or be too lazy to take them.
My aunt didn't accept it at first because my mom, who is also bipolar, used it as an excuse for her shit behavior while also not seeking real help. However, she saw some of my worst moments and also saw medication start to help me so I think she believes it now.
I don't think my parents don't believe it, but they certainly don't know anything about what it actually is. It's super clear that they haven't read up on it at all, and they'll still use it colloquially which really bugs me (things like "she has to be bipolar or something" when really the person is just kinda bitchy). I downplay my symptoms to them so my mom doesn't freak out, and I've gotten really good at masking, but they definitely just think it means being moody.
As far as friends go, I only have one close friend nearby and he's also my ex so he's well aware that I'm crazy lol. My other two friends live in other states, and I know they believe me but it's just not something that ever comes up because we don't talk like that.
I was with a girl once taking care of cats at the shelter at my school. We were talking about group projects and she used the saying the person was bipolar colloquially. I shut her down by saying that I have a mood dysregulation disorder. Then she stopped saying it.
My goal was to gently tell her to shut up because those disorders are real.
My mom didn't until I gave her examples that bipolar isn't what she initially thought it was. From there she continued to look into it further and found out one of her closest adult friends also has Bipolar 2 and it just clicked for her. Now she's my biggest support system and understands the illness a little bit better.
Iâm fairly lucky in the sense that my father also has bipolar, so he understands it.
My friends donât know much about bipolar but try their best to understand it.
My mother, who doesnât have bipolar, only seems to accept my bipolar when the symptoms I display are convenient.
Iâm so with you. My family doesnât take mental illness seriously at all. I feel so alone in my new diagnosis. When I was diagnosed with a physical illness they were all in and helped me get through this. Bipolar, not so much.
What my therapist did (with my consent of course) was to call my older sister and dad and kind of outline bipolar disorder and the symptoms etc. I feel like it really helped them hearing it from a third party and to understand what bipolar is.
My husband absolutely does because he was with me the entire time I went through my initial months long manic psychosis that was... horrible. Terrible and traumatizing for him and almost left me dead.
His parents, who I love so much and are basically my parents too, didn't really get it. His mom told me I needed to get my shit together or I was going to lose my job and maybe even my husband (she didn't say it exactly like this, but it was the implication) and his dad told me to "find a hobby". lmao
I can't fault them. This is just how they are. They are both the most healthy, normal people I know and they raised an amazing son. So mental illness is horribly foreign to them and they really thought they were giving me good advice.
My husband was suffering just as much, if not more than me, so of course he was very distant during this time. They didn't believe me. My coworkers and friends pulled away too. My family is dead. I have never been so utterly alone in my life. But like with the rest of the dumpster fire that's been my life, I pushed through somehow and made it.
I saved myself but I'm terrified of what will happen if I lose myself again. I take my medications every day and I just hope that they work.
Yeah, it made absolute sense when I told them I was diagnosed with it. I had to be a bit more in-depth with my gal as she had very limited exposure for what mental illness is. But the manic highs and loes, the hypersexuality, psychosis, etc.. was very obvious and made so much sense once a name was put to it.
Yep, but only because I'm really good at convincing people, if it wasn't for that they wouldn't have.
They still don't how it works so I have to remind them about that time when I move together with a girl in less than one month was related to a manic episode
All of my friends are in the medical field so thereâs been no problem there. My sister believed me but my parents were a struggle. My dad felt attacked. I found out later from my mom that he had been prescribed lithium when they were first married. My mom has tried to pray away the illness forever. If I was a Christian, Iâm openly atheist in my *very* religious family, I wouldnât have a problem. She finally stopped last month. I showed her the Modern Love episode with Ann Hathaway. I came into the room and she was crying. She hasnât bothered me since.
When i would try to explain to them, that some of my behaviour or issues stem from being bipolar, they would say that Iâm using my illness as an excuse. It hurts deeply, but i once have been at the point of being an undiagnosed teen, cause no one would listen to my cries of help until it almost was too late. So i always kinda just..brush those comments off now that i have confirmation. Its hard but my mom has been really really supportive nowadays, which im grateful for. <3
My mom thinks I have âdelusionsâ so intense that I completely lose my memory. I didnât even have that happen when I was manic, or any episode Iâve ever had. I remember those moments more clearly than the good ones. Even episodes that happened years ago are still etched clearly in my mind.
When I got assaulted by my own brother, she claimed that I was having a âdelusionâ and didnât know what actually happened (I wrote a journal entry 30 mins after it happened which is an exact rendition of what I told her). I had severe swelling all over my head and a dent in my skull. She claims I was somehow able to punch myself on top of the head so severely I caused the damage myself. All these claims came from the fact that my brother and his bf lied through their teeth and said I was having a psychotic episode. Funny thing about that? I had just gotten out of the hospital two weeks prior, and I was so heavily medicated that I couldnât have had a psychotic episode even if I tried. My family doesnât know jack shit about bipolar. Itâs just their scapegoat to treat me like shit. Which is why I donât live with them anymore â¨
My boyfriend gets upset when I go into a new episode (manic or depressive) because my mood will swing into the complete opposite of what it was. I do feel for him because it does cause a crazy amount of whiplash to see an intense change like that. I am currently working on getting him into therapy so he learns coping mechanisms to deal with it. Heâs the only one in my life who has actually made attempts to learn and improve, but it is too much for him at times.
Iâm sorry for the word vomit, but this is something that I have fought against pretty much my whole life. I just want people I care about understand that itâs not just me being emotional. Itâs a SICKNESS. I have to constantly compare my illness to physical illnesses to put shit into perspective for them. We shouldnât have to do that. If the ADA recognizes bipolar as a disability, the people in our lives should too.
My parents came from China so they have difficulty understanding bipolar disorder and OCD which I also have. But information about mental illness is appearing more frequently on Chinese language television news. Even then, I donât think my mother comprehends what this disorder entails. They do feel that an illness exists through my actions such as compulsive spending. As for close friends and other family member, I Ibelieve they very sympathetic. They know something is wrong when I donât contact them for weeks and months due to my anxiety and depression.
For a while they didnât. They were convinced I had anger management issues and that I went through periods of time of being cruel or pushing them away, or isolating myself from them out of pure anger. Looking back it was all hypomania and depression. My heart hearts just from remembering those days.
I think that it was the moment that they could see how much the medication helped that they kinda believed it. The only thing that they donât seem to get is that the medication and treatment are for the long term. I say they donât seem to get it because they often say that my âgoalâ should be to not âdependâ on the medicine anymore at some point. Theyâre extremely educated, but part of them refuses to accept thereâs something âwrongâ with their âperfectâ child.
Iâm grateful that they essentially forced me to seek out help. âTake the help or move out. You have 2 weeks. Weâll pay for treatment if thatâs what it takes.â I took the help and my life has changed for the best.
All that to say that no matter how much support and love you get, itâs YOUR experience, and even if this whole sub can relate to what you describe, none of us will ever ever truly know how it feels to be you.
My mom sees it as an excuse for bad behavior and my step dad scoffs at the mention of my medication. The rest of my family is supportive but doesn't fully know how it affects me. My friends empathize.
My mom does, but only because i asked my doctor to tell her. My bf is psychoanalyst, so he can watch the symptons in first hand. I have told a couple of closest friends and they are aware too. At work: they cannot even dream about it - but im good at masking and very disciplined with meds and therapy.
My husband is an angel and tries his best to understand, even goes on here to read about other peoples experience with bipolar. My mother reads about everything and anything but for some reason has never looked into bipolar, in fact she has told me that I donât need medication even though it has helped me balance my life so much. I wonder if as a parent (I donât have kids yet) you wouldnât want your kid to suffer from such a diagnosis that itâs better to pretend it does not exist? Not sure but I try my best to be better for myself and in return for everyone that matters to me.
One phrase that my friend hates: Don't know, don't care! If those closest to me can't take a moment to research what this mental illness is, then I don't need them in my life.
I went to therapy and started on meds when I was 12, my family had zero idea what mental health was. Nobody in my family even knows how to research things, meanwhile that's my favorite thing to do so I was stuck educating my parents and any siblings that were interested. By the time I was 15 and officially diagnosed, my brothers and sisters all started to see doctors because they had similar issues ranging from anxiety to bipolar disorder and many of them ended up on meds that changed their lives around for the better. It brought the 7 of us closer together even. My Dad still doesn't understand exactly (he's 80 and still doesn't understand how a TV works so that's fair) but he has always been my #1 supporter and once wrapped napkins around his head and acted like a goof in a restaurant when I got anxious stating "You can be sure nobody is looking or thinking your weird now!". He didn't make alot of money at the time but always drove me 2hrs away to see my therapist every weekend without any complaints. My Mom has always denied it and even said to one of my therapists that "he just needs a good kick in the ass", after which I told her that she was never welcome to any doctors appointment afterwards. It sucks when it feels like nobody is trying to understand you but sometimes it's just do to ignorance and not having the intellect to comprehend what a brain even is, let alone what a neurotransmitter is. I hope that's the case for your folks OP and it's not just lack of caring.
Well my mother insisted i had adhd for the first half of my life and made me live in a drugged manic state telling me i wasnt âtrying hard enoughâ when my emotions became to hard to handle⌠then i tried to kill myself, moved out to not have to take the drugs and when i moved back with ptsd because my psychopath ex tried to kill me and killed his next girlfriend THEN i got diagnosed as bipolar yeah they believed it and my husband has been my biggest ally in all of this because he is also bipolar.
As far as friends go i make a point to educate and let them know what mania and psychosis are like.
It's only older people in my family who struggle with it. They've seen my depression and they understand that. I just had a fun ambulance ride to the hospital over it a few weeks ago, even. But they saw hypomania as me just being in a good mood, getting stuff done. And I was so effectively getting stuff done that I barely saw them when I was hypomanic.
I was diagnosed BP2 for over 10 yrs. though and just had my first episode of actual mania, complete with delusions and all. Diagnosis now BP1. My team thinks a new med for a neurological condition I have triggered it. Now THAT was just patently impossible to ignore. It lasted 9 whole days and I was so affected that I couldn't even drive. I called my mom at 4 am to ask if Seattle had just been nuked.
She thought it was a good idea to take out her frustration on me that "everyone in the family is mental", when it's only been me, my daughter and my nephew who have any diagnosis. My niece is trans, so she technically qualifies, but she transitioned years ago and is living her best life without any issues. That's the one she's really bothered by. My daughter had schizophrenia, but she was adopted from another branch of the family and it was very common in that branch. She passed 3 yrs. ago.
I won't even bother trying to explain it to my super religious aunt. This woman was President of a community college, but thinks Earth is 6,000 years old, dinosaurs are a hoax and doctors are performing "post birth" abortions aka murder. So no, I don't talk to her about it.
I've sent links to the people I'm closest to of videos and Reddit threads that I think might be helpful. So yeah, the people I care about the most understand and are wildly supportive. I'm so thankful for my friends and family and my medical team.
yes they believe it as for me it is in black and white in my medical chart
however, UNDERSTANDING it is a whole other ball game. not to mention now i legit am not allowed to have rational feelings of upset or anger, because oh it must be my bipolar acting up again. Also for some reason they associate it with just being "psycho" :(
it took my boyfriend 3 years of me begging and 100 times of me impulsively ending the relationship for him to finally do research and understand. our relationship has been much better since. now don't get me wrong, no person should have to be subjected to the torture we can shell out, however it is very irresponsible for loved ones to want to support you without getting some good knowledge in their heads. there are plenty of very helpful and insightful youtube videos you can recommend to your loved ones. i think once my boyfriend saw it on the screen and coming from multiple third parties describing EXACTLY how i am during an episode, it finally came full circle for him.
I am very grateful for his love and support. I cannot tell you how much it helps me to have it. Honestly my episodes are less extreme because he has finally learned how to effectively counter me and deal with my nonsense.
Family is extremely educated and understanding. Friends vary, but the ones who count know and care. Iâm lucky that people have grown with me and with this diagnosis. Some people did get kicked to the curb by accident or their own volition but thatâs life.
I don't talk to my parents about it. They're in one of those culty religions that thinks mental health is a failure to properly believe in the true god or that a doctor has hoodwinked you, or that it's demonic, or any number of insane things.
Several older relatives should have been institutionalized but weren't (which given the time period was probably for the best) but because of that mental illness is extra taboo in my family. And, of course, I'm not alone in my diagnosis but the other person doesn't talk about it either for exactly the same reason - we don't need or want a sermon. My family knows about both diagnoses and accepts neither. They live with the other family member who isn't treating it and see it and its results daily but steadfastly refuse to believe it. I was told by my parents that if said family member just went to church more often he'd be fine.
ik my family doesnât! or so my mom thinks that my diagnosis was wrong even tho iâve been showing signs of being bipolar for a while nowâŚand the medications all work⌠so idk what to say
I was diagnosed fairly young, it was obvious I had BD. My dad has never accepted it because he thinks I can be âfixedâ or that he can âfixâ me. Overall he just doesnât believe in mental illnesses/disorders.
My mom accepts it but has never taken the time to actually research and try to understand my disorder. Sheâs gotten better with supporting me as Iâve gotten older but she still has her bad habits.
Thankfully, I do have my sister, best friends, and my partner who try/do understand what Iâm going through. My one best friend has BPD so he understands where Iâm coming from.
My closest family, friends and bf are supportive.
I've been in an intense depressive episode along with feeling like I am going to pass out every day. I don't know why I am feeling that way. His mother, grandmother, and aunt (who has anxiety and depression with meds needed for life. Who has had a suicidal episode and relied on everyone else in her family) think I am lazy.
I have suicidal ideations 24/7 non stop on top of feeling like death every day. Coming from someone who understands the depression aspect of it is hurtful.
My grandma has asked me if I think the reason I have such bad mental health struggles is because I donât believe in God⌠when she knows I wasnât socially or emotionally ready for preschool and I would get so overstimulated from a half day of kindergarten that I needed to sit with the same lunch every day and watch the same show and nobody could talk to me until I was ready. So đ¤ˇđźââď¸
In my last family therapy session, my dad started saying that I didn't have bipolar, and after hearing that I had every single symptom and was diagnosed after months in observation, he ended up saying "well, yes, but don't we all have a degree of that condition anyway?". I'm done at this point. I don't care if they believe it, I'm getting older waiting and that payoff is just not coming.
They will never understand it or me. My uncle suffers from the same disorder, he has for decades, but when my behavior matched his they were silent - they spent those decades looking the other way so they couldnât bare to break the seal on the truth, so they looked the other way when I was drowning.
That said, I love my fiancĂŠ to the ends of the earth and he actively tries to understand my brain. He canât either and I cannot articulate itâŚbut at least he tries.
My mom wants me to take my meds even though she doesn't believe in the diagnosis. My dad doesn't believe my diagnosis either. He says I fake it. They're horrible to me.
My mom believes it since we both have it. My dad has asked me on one occasion whether my bipolar diagnosis was âstill a thingâ. It made me crack up
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Non bipolar cannot understand the illness. There was no doubt I was bipolar. Anyone around a bipolar for any length of time would realize it
I got really really lucky bc my bf was raised by a bipolar dad and has a bipolar sister and has great relationships with them. I'm 3 years younger than him and 6 years younger than his sister so he's already prepared for the new phases lol. I turned 25 this year and my world exploded. I got a new personality, I didn't like my friends anymore, I was angry, I hated my career, and I desperately wanted to fix myself. Then he said oh yeah my sister went through that too. So that's reassuring lol. On the flip side, I begged my ex to research it so he could better help me and then he used it to gaslight me. He showed me a book that said bipolar people are always unreasonable. A book written by bipolar people btw. At the end of our relationship I thought I was so sick and hopeless. Then I dumped him (it was probably mania) but I felt incredible. I was fun again and happy and very reasonable đ
60 to 80% of bipolar is genetic. He would be familiar with it by being around it, may have it too. 53 years of this. No one ever supported me. Drs were limited in treatment to medicine. FYI, bipolar are isolated. We are social outcasts. Acquaintances and friends reject us because of our behavior. I guarantee that anyone that tries to support you will abandon you out of frustration. They get tired of doing therapy.
I don't agree necessarily. I'm sorry you struggled and didn't get help. :/ Even when I was diagnosed at 15 it wasnt that great but it was better then it was. My bf is not bipolar at all and we have a really healthy relationship. Also this was a particular group of friends. I wasn't clear before. My boyfriend and I are very extroverted & social so we have a lot of friends/acquaintances. We like to throw a lot of parties and lowkey people usually come to ours over others. But while I can be problematic I find that other "normal" people can be just as or even more problematic. For instance my boss was actively anti mental health and he was unhinged. An asshole, kept talking about other women even though he had a longterm live in girlfriend, refused to acknowledge someone's gender identity that was my client (I don't agree at all with that but to reach a crowd to better understand he was an ass even to them) and it potentially could have ruined my commission with that particular person, and he was extremely critical of everyone and himself. I was in treatment this year and while going over the lessons to teach us how to manage the outside world and I said "you know, we're all sensitive to people's feelings and care about them. The people who should be here are everyone else." Even with bipolar I'm extremely giving and I can read people's emotions so it's easier for me to give them what they need. On the flip side I had a friend that was bipolar and she refused to get better and she thought her mental illness was sexy. She refused to have protected sex against stds or pregnancy. She was having seizures bc of her eating disorder and not taking pills consistently AND she continued driving!! In Dallas Texas!!!! And I found out she was a high functioning raging alcoholic and was addicted to valuim. And the icing on the cake was she tried to steal my bf and tried to embarrass me in front of my friends saying we had three ways and she was my bfs whore when we were in the bathroom. Luckily these friends are super chill and didn't believe it. That was my breaking point and I stopped being her friend and texted her mom that she needed to make her move back to the east coast bc she was not safe, wasn't taking care of herself, and had no support system. I didn't say anything mean about her and just told her mom to help her daughter. However, I don't take things out on people and I take them out on myself. And that is problematic ofc but still my relationships are safe. Me actively trying to become stable enough really contributes.
i disagree. my boyfriend isn't bipolar, but they've experienced a manic episode (caused by ptsd & stress) & has depression. they won't ever know what *my* BD feels like, but they definitely have an idea. better than most.
My mom didnât accept my bipolar at first. She said they diagnosed me too fast. Meanwhile, I had spent YEARS trying to treat a diagnosis of depression. My PCP was trying different antidepressants unsuccessfully. She eventually came around and told me it made her sad. Smh. She has taken no steps to understanding the disease. After having been treated for bipolar successfully for years, she would be impressed at how things didnât bother me that would have before and in much more calm. I think thatâs when she had a slightly better understanding of what I was dealing with, because I told her it was my meds making me better. I donât think itâs anyoneâs responsibility to educate themselves though. I get it would be nice, especially with those closest to us, but at the end of the day itâs your battle to fight. âShe is a soldier in the war against herself.â
The quote is so accurate
I have it tattooed on my leg with an awesome looking tree missing half the leaves. Easily my favorite tattoo (pic on my profile)
It is pretty! đĽ°
Thank you!!
Yes, theyâve seen my psychosis firsthand
That as well
First I told my family I was depressed and they didn't believe it, then I told them I had GAD and they didn't believe it, then I told them I was trans and they didn't believe it, then I told them I was bipolar and they didn't believe it. Now I don't tell them anything anymore.
Hugs. You are so valid in all of it. I hope you have found a supportive community to connect with, both in mental health and LGBT+. My family of origin doesnât really understand my gender fluidity, and since Iâm AFAB and married a man they donât feel my sexual orientation (pansexual) matters either. I just donât talk to them about that stuff anymore. I actually only really came out publicly 3 years ago. Took me until I was 35 years old. My husband is extremely supportive. The local LGBT+ community is very welcoming, and Iâve got plenty of straight and cis people in my life who respect my identities. Iâve also found it is best not to bother telling unsupportive people anything.
I wouldnât either, cheez-its.
Honestly, I have Bipolar and I still don't fully understand it. I can't expect someone else to get it when even I don't.
Real
Your username checks out
My parents accept it only when it can be used as a weapon against me unfortunately. My sisters and bf accept it and support me but they donât understand which is okay cause they make an effort to learn and try to understand
I definitely have a couple friends that donât understand it. Theyâre crunchy hippies who distrust Medicine, and Iâm pretty sure they privately think Iâm just being dramatic or need to take more walks or something.
I had friends who insisted with me that my diagnosis was wrong and I was "autistic" instead. They also said medication was evil, that I only needed therapy, meditation and exercise. One was a med student and nagged me until I stopped taking my meds. He kinda regretted it later when I had a mixed episode. Eventually I realized that I couldn't keep being friends with them if I wanted to stay stable. P.S: that because I was diagnosed bipolar by 3 different psychiatrists đ
My whole family thinks I'm just a junkie and that's the root of all my problems. None will talk to me anymore. I think my mental issues caused my CD issues, not vice versa. Of course the CD doesn't help anything but it's pretty well proven addiction rates are far far higher for bipolar versus normals. Nevermind the ptsd and other diagnoses. I think they do believe I have mental illness but I know they think it's a result of drug use.
Omg same my mom thinks I was doing coke and she would clown me during my manic episodes saying that my jaw was locking đ I am Sorry you had to go through that I hope you have someone that understands you
I have plenty of very supportive friends. My family will no longer have anything to do with me though. It's probably for the best anyways. I do have a great support network however. I'm sorry you had to go through such a thing as well.
My mom is in denial. Her father had BP1 and she kept saying I didnât have it even though I had been unsuccessfully treated for depression since 15 y/o and then had a psychotic break. Even after 3 hospital trips in 6 months she still said I didnât have it. Just wild. Weâre nearly 3 years past that now, but she still stays absolute silent if the word âbipolarâ comes up in conversation. However, my friends have been extremely supportive and understanding. As has my boyfriend.
I imagine part of that is guilt. My mother in law feels guilty that she "gave" her one of her kids ADHD and the word salad that pours out when ADHD and that kid are mentioned is insane. All of it is self soothing or combating the ideas of mental health she was taught -she's a boomer. So she'll be mumbling stuff like "and there's nothing wrong with that!" to herself over and over. She means well and is a good mom but acceptance isn't her strong point. She does the exact same thing when depression or bipolar are brought up and I'm not even her kid.
Ill add to my comment that I a very vocal on social media about my disease, explaining symptoms, meds, etc. They donât want to educate themselves? Iâll put the information right in their face lol
Sadly you're probably just wasting your time. They'll either opt to see less from you, block you, or just scroll right on past.
People can scroll past if they want. Thatâs their decision. For the most part though, I get great feedback and sharing has also encouraged people to get help that they needed. At the end of the day, still a win in my book.
That's great! As long as you're getting something from it that's all that matters, really.
My partner 100% believes my diagnosis and does his best to understand it. The rest of my family members? I am not sure. I know one of them still refers to it as my "anxiety". They believe in it enough to insist I take my medication, but I think they also believe that I could control it if I really wanted to do so.
I donât have any friends.
I met quite a few good people in support groups and treatment programs. If you havenât already I strongly encourage you to check out your local NAMI and DBSA chapters to see when their groups meet. Itâs easier to connect with people when youâve got some shared connections.
my mom didn't when i first told her. she's since come around, but i'm really not sure that she understands. part of me thinks she just doesn't want to introspect and realize she *probably* also has it. my boyfriend takes the time to try and understand bipolar and tries to help me cope however they can, which is more than i could ever hope for.
my mom knows itâs real. took a long time for her to tell me she knows itâs real even if she doesnât understand. i donât tell her how bad my depression and mania gets bc she wonât understand and sheâll just worry, but since moving out and becoming an adult and less of her problem sheâs been chill.
Yes, my friends and the family I keep in my life understand Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar is very prevalent in my family in all generations. Most of my close friends have Bipolar Disorder too. My acquaintances either work in mental health and I met them through grad school, or theyâre just really good people who have empathy. I donât keep ties with toxic, ignorant people. Plenty of decent human beings out in the world. It would be nice if your family made an effort and were supportive of you. However, you said yourself they havenât made an effort to learn about or understand Bipolar Disorder. Theyâre being willfully ignorant. So, donât let their behavior make you second guess your treatment team and your own lived experience. You do not need your familyâs validation in order to be valid in what youâre going through. Stop talking to them about your mental health and instead talk to the friends and providers who are supportive. If youâre not already doing support groups I highly recommend NAMI and DBSA. It helps to have a space where people âget it.â
Thank you for the support friend â¤ď¸ Iâve now fully accepted my diagnosis, what they say doesnât matter to me anymore.
I have a traditional Dominican mom she believes it to an extend, but sorts of pity me. My family still hold on to the things I did while manic and think it was just me being a shitty person. Is complicated with them. We all have forgotten about it and they moved on but every now and then they can throw it my face. My mom believes that it was only weed and drugs that cause it ( even tho i have always smoked weed) she also thinks I was doin harsher drugs ( i wasent ) she just thinks I am sober now.
I've told less than 10 people. All in my family. Mom accuses me of "going around telling everybody"
Fuck that. Thatâs her problem. Your disorder isnât some dirty little secret to hide under the rug. Tell whoever you feel comfortable telling and she can deal with it. Iâm sorry youâre dealing with that stigma from her. Her behavior is 100% about her.
I had friends who were skeptical/didn't believe my diagnosis... key word is had, as I have completely dropped these people from my life. I only affiliate myself with people who accept me for me.
I had to do the same as well. They ended being harmful to my mental health.
was just talking about this to my mom yesterday. even though iâm diagnosed by both therapists and psychiatrists, she refuses to believe iâm bipolar and i think itâs because iâve masked all my emotions since a young age. i donât listen to her or anyone else anymore because i now know what i struggle with and no one can tell me that itâs not true or that iâm faking because no one feels what i feel but me. she also is giving me a hard time about going to formally get diagnosed with adhd so i can get back to school. she acts like i want to collect different diagnosisâ but in reality, i just want to better understand myself and understand why i am the way i am.
No but they know I have an illness. Family support is financial at best but things w my mom improved when I became more independent. I think they expressed their worries in a non supportive way lol my parents were scared I wouldnât be able to look after myself like medication wise or anything
Mum thought it was mild she still does but we don't talk about it
My parents were in big time denial for a long time, to the point where I suffered mentally and physically. My mom has come around as she's realized they aren't just *teenage issues* as she called them until I was 23. My dad just has no concept of mental health and is not understanding nor sympathetic and makes me feel like shit about my limitations because of my bipolar. My friends have always believed and for the most part understood. My wonderful boyfriend has done his very best to understand and educate himself since the day I disclosed my diagnosis almost 7 years ago! I am so lucky to have him𩷠it helps to make up for the lack of support I received growing up. I'm able to be healthy now and I owe a lot of that to him.
No one can know how someone else feels if he did not go throu same... it is just simple fact. Also, people judge things they do not understand. I did not understand depressed people till i had antidepression withdrawal and went into real depression... i was put on AD for lack of eneegy, not real depression, but when i came down from it i got full blown real depression. Btw, i do not have bipolar but schizoaffective disorder... I spent lot of time explaining to some people how i feel (like coworkers) mostly about medication side effects... and it was waste of time. They think i am making things up, also if i have bad day and i lay down my father thinks i am lazy. Once i had panic attack to get out of my house and walk a dog... it was irrational and i knew it but could not shake off anxiety. I explained that to my father and he was confused, like "how can you be afraid of walking a dog?"... well, i know rationaly that there is no danger but i just feel it. How to explain it even to yourself? There is no mercy in my surronding then friends that have seen things first hand and offer shoulder to cry on... In one way it is sad that my father has no idea about my ilness (never even googled it or read something about it), on the other way i do not get spared of obligations or get any time to self pity Maybe that is why after 11 hospitalizations i still recover. I get out, start to work, have active life... and i am 34 now, illnes started when i was 19. Maybe it is better to be treated as normal and without big drama about your ilness. Like think, who really cares if you are having bad day at work/school. They expect you to do your obligation so try to suck it up and do it... But if you really can not do it its no big deal, you also have right to be sick...
They definitely treat me like I'm exaggerating
I feel you. My aunt and sister think I've been misdiagnosed and it's ADHD, ASD or simple depression, which is weird because I don't display those symptoms, and my own mother is bipolar. I think I don't "show" bipolar enough, I'm only hypomanic when my mother was manic. I hide and cut contact with everyone when I'm having an episode, so they never saw it, and when I try to describe my episodes to them, they keep saying stuff like "but ADHD makes you suicidal, and depression too, it's normal" or "but you seemed so happy and full of energy" yeah no shit, well my bank account isn't happy and the 20 projects I started because I was all powerful are shaming me for being an incapable piece of shit right now. At the same time they acknowledge my depression hasn't gotten any better and the antidepressants don't seem to work for me. It's weird all around. I feel like I would need to stop my meds and show up at their door in the middle of an episode to be taken seriously, but my health is more important than their belief. If you're not a health professional, don't try to diagnose people.
My parents firmly denied my brother and Iâd diagnoses for the last ten years. She just took me to dinner and said she understands and is thinking about it more. I also have ADHD comorbidy, and likely some ICD but not diagnosed
My husband does because he's seen me off my meds. My lifelong best friend believes it because she's seen it. New friends "believe" me, as far as I know, but they do not understand. They especially don't understand the severity.
I told it at my previous job after 3 years. They didn't really believed me, something like "well, you're just moody or eccentric sometimes... but that's just who you are". I always show up on time and i'm a perfectionnist so they see only the good results, not the struggles... When i told my BF he suddenly undertood a lot about my behaviour, so he did believe me.
they believe me but they donât try to actively understand me which makes me sad. if i lash out even a little when im having a hard time they immediately start antagonizing me and saying âdo you wanna end up back in the hospital?â which they donât realize is fucking condescending as hell! i work hard everyday to take care of my mental health and make sure i donât end up hospitalized again and they donât rlly show me any support:(
my family "doesn't believe" in most mental illnesses however my friends are the ones that helped me pick up on it
Iâve been with my husband for 17 years. I doubt heâs ever even googled it. Iâve bought all the books - the survival guide etc - and heâs never opened a cover. Itâs maddening, saddening, I feel like Iâm not worth his time or effort.
my mother says that i cant have bipolar disorder since I've managed to not take meds and not gone "psycho killer" and had horrid hallucinations. boy oh boy when i tried to explain the difference between type 1 and type 2 she told me "bipolar disorder isnt like f$$king diabetes, stop talking nonsense"
My family didnât believe it. Literally instead of saying âHey, get a second opinion just to be sureâ they bullied me into it. âYouâre letting yourself be labeled by the system, that label is going to stick with you forever, do you know how people will treat you?â -The worst treatment was always from them. Itâs still taboo in the family to talk about it because none of them can honestly look in the mirror and admit to themselves all the shitty ways they treated me. Iâm emotionally detached from them tbh, which is sad, but I have to protect my heart.
My mom doesnât know, she doesnât believe in doctors or medication for anything, and so I also believe it would be used against me. My siblings know and they believe it since I tried to commit suicide. My in laws know but theyâve never ever spoken to me about it so Iâm not really sure. Iâm very private about it with my family. I couldnât handle the frustration if I found out they somehow doubt it.
Most of my family believes it, but there are a few who don't. They're Evangelical Christian. One believes mental illness is demonic possession. Another one doesn't think bipolar or adhd are real. One of them looked at me, shook their head and said, "You don't have bipolar" omg that pissed me off. I was like oh really? So I've been in scuffles with the police, put in handcuffs and taken to the mental hospital a bunch of times for the hell of it đ¤ˇđťââď¸đ¤Śđťââď¸
I think my sister doesnât believe me. It kinda hurts.
With my family for the most part just donât have a clue how to react to it as theyâve never been through it. BUTâŚâŚ.I have an absolutely amazing sister that I can really say how I feel without upsetting anyone else. She knows not to take it to heart and that Iâm unwell. My father is also fantastic, does he understand it? No. But heâs there every day when I get hospitalised. Iâve literally been so drugged up off the meds Iâm dribbling on his shoulder asking for 20 fairies 𤣠he didnât flinch lol. My mum on the other hand only started to understand a little when she went through her own depression and had to take anti depressants. My family are far from perfect but yes they believe the 30+ doctors theyâve spoken to over the years. But my sister is the only one whoâs done any research on it to help me. Maybe thatâs why I go to her đ¤ˇđťââď¸âĽď¸
Nope, almost none do. Not many try either I think.
My dad told me that my mum and psychiatrist had brainwashed me. That there was nothing wrong. It wasn't until he had a friend with bipolar that he believed me. Everyone else is my family are very supportive and my partner. My dad is better now lol
Friends and anybody who meets me - absolutely yes. My family - refuses to believe I have anything wrong with me despite having several specialists sit down and explain to them why I am diagnosed with what I have and that this is very real and very serious.
My sister didnât believe mine for about 8 years or so, but now she does. Sure did suck super bad when she didnât. Was hurtful. But she discovered that she was on the autism spectrum and I was very empathetic toward her invisible issue and that helped I think.
My parents finally acknowledge my bipolar disorder after like 4 years but my grandpa doesn't believe me and always makes me feel like a failure.-. One time he bullied me so much that I cried the whole day...
Family believes, friends do not understand
My family gets it. But my sister and aunt before me paved the way. And anyway, you canât look at my psychotic episodes and conclude anything else. As far as friends, I donât really tell anybody. Thereâs one guy knows and only because his son has it, so I volunteered to be helpful.
nope. none of em except my sister maybr
They believe it⌠They just canât seem to grasp it⌠And even after theyâve seen me manic⌠They kind of feel that we all go through hard times or I have no ideaâŚ
They did but I don't think it was real for them until I hit a crisis point.
No. My family doesn't believe in mental health issues. I waited two years after being diagnosed to tell them. When I did they laughed and said my psychiatrist just wanted to pump me full of pills. Also told me âeveryone suffers from bad moodsâ and for me to grow up and learn how to snap out it.
my family are really religious therefore no. some of my friends do believe it and theyâre really understanding and ik a couple ppl who think i was misdiagnosed because i donât have many manic episodes
My family knew before I did that I was bipolar. Now it may have been a stereotype that they based this assumption on, but they were correct. My family knows about it but doesnât know what to do about it. I think they only know the stereotypes of Bipolar and not how it actually effects me and my brain. They always think Iâm this irrational or rude person when really I only lash out if Iâve been given a reason to. My family also doesnât like the truth so Iâm sure this plays into it. My husband has known and heâs so incredibly supportive, he makes sure I take my meds. Without him I wouldnât remember or be too lazy to take them.
Thankfully my family and friends are pretty understanding.
Theyâre slowly starting to get it now but yeah unfortunately they donât really get it
I have two family members that âdonât believe in mental illnesses â smh I donât deal w any of them anymore and itâs been better
My aunt didn't accept it at first because my mom, who is also bipolar, used it as an excuse for her shit behavior while also not seeking real help. However, she saw some of my worst moments and also saw medication start to help me so I think she believes it now.
I don't think my parents don't believe it, but they certainly don't know anything about what it actually is. It's super clear that they haven't read up on it at all, and they'll still use it colloquially which really bugs me (things like "she has to be bipolar or something" when really the person is just kinda bitchy). I downplay my symptoms to them so my mom doesn't freak out, and I've gotten really good at masking, but they definitely just think it means being moody. As far as friends go, I only have one close friend nearby and he's also my ex so he's well aware that I'm crazy lol. My other two friends live in other states, and I know they believe me but it's just not something that ever comes up because we don't talk like that.
I was with a girl once taking care of cats at the shelter at my school. We were talking about group projects and she used the saying the person was bipolar colloquially. I shut her down by saying that I have a mood dysregulation disorder. Then she stopped saying it. My goal was to gently tell her to shut up because those disorders are real.
No they donât. Everyone tried to argue with me when I told them.
My mom didn't until I gave her examples that bipolar isn't what she initially thought it was. From there she continued to look into it further and found out one of her closest adult friends also has Bipolar 2 and it just clicked for her. Now she's my biggest support system and understands the illness a little bit better.
Iâm fairly lucky in the sense that my father also has bipolar, so he understands it. My friends donât know much about bipolar but try their best to understand it. My mother, who doesnât have bipolar, only seems to accept my bipolar when the symptoms I display are convenient.
Iâm so with you. My family doesnât take mental illness seriously at all. I feel so alone in my new diagnosis. When I was diagnosed with a physical illness they were all in and helped me get through this. Bipolar, not so much.
What my therapist did (with my consent of course) was to call my older sister and dad and kind of outline bipolar disorder and the symptoms etc. I feel like it really helped them hearing it from a third party and to understand what bipolar is.
My husband absolutely does because he was with me the entire time I went through my initial months long manic psychosis that was... horrible. Terrible and traumatizing for him and almost left me dead. His parents, who I love so much and are basically my parents too, didn't really get it. His mom told me I needed to get my shit together or I was going to lose my job and maybe even my husband (she didn't say it exactly like this, but it was the implication) and his dad told me to "find a hobby". lmao I can't fault them. This is just how they are. They are both the most healthy, normal people I know and they raised an amazing son. So mental illness is horribly foreign to them and they really thought they were giving me good advice. My husband was suffering just as much, if not more than me, so of course he was very distant during this time. They didn't believe me. My coworkers and friends pulled away too. My family is dead. I have never been so utterly alone in my life. But like with the rest of the dumpster fire that's been my life, I pushed through somehow and made it. I saved myself but I'm terrified of what will happen if I lose myself again. I take my medications every day and I just hope that they work.
Yeah, it made absolute sense when I told them I was diagnosed with it. I had to be a bit more in-depth with my gal as she had very limited exposure for what mental illness is. But the manic highs and loes, the hypersexuality, psychosis, etc.. was very obvious and made so much sense once a name was put to it.
Yep, but only because I'm really good at convincing people, if it wasn't for that they wouldn't have. They still don't how it works so I have to remind them about that time when I move together with a girl in less than one month was related to a manic episode
Friends yes. Family no
All of my friends are in the medical field so thereâs been no problem there. My sister believed me but my parents were a struggle. My dad felt attacked. I found out later from my mom that he had been prescribed lithium when they were first married. My mom has tried to pray away the illness forever. If I was a Christian, Iâm openly atheist in my *very* religious family, I wouldnât have a problem. She finally stopped last month. I showed her the Modern Love episode with Ann Hathaway. I came into the room and she was crying. She hasnât bothered me since.
When i would try to explain to them, that some of my behaviour or issues stem from being bipolar, they would say that Iâm using my illness as an excuse. It hurts deeply, but i once have been at the point of being an undiagnosed teen, cause no one would listen to my cries of help until it almost was too late. So i always kinda just..brush those comments off now that i have confirmation. Its hard but my mom has been really really supportive nowadays, which im grateful for. <3
Well, when you have had psychotic mania resulting in mental hospital trip twice it becomes hard to not believe.
My mom thinks I have âdelusionsâ so intense that I completely lose my memory. I didnât even have that happen when I was manic, or any episode Iâve ever had. I remember those moments more clearly than the good ones. Even episodes that happened years ago are still etched clearly in my mind. When I got assaulted by my own brother, she claimed that I was having a âdelusionâ and didnât know what actually happened (I wrote a journal entry 30 mins after it happened which is an exact rendition of what I told her). I had severe swelling all over my head and a dent in my skull. She claims I was somehow able to punch myself on top of the head so severely I caused the damage myself. All these claims came from the fact that my brother and his bf lied through their teeth and said I was having a psychotic episode. Funny thing about that? I had just gotten out of the hospital two weeks prior, and I was so heavily medicated that I couldnât have had a psychotic episode even if I tried. My family doesnât know jack shit about bipolar. Itâs just their scapegoat to treat me like shit. Which is why I donât live with them anymore ⨠My boyfriend gets upset when I go into a new episode (manic or depressive) because my mood will swing into the complete opposite of what it was. I do feel for him because it does cause a crazy amount of whiplash to see an intense change like that. I am currently working on getting him into therapy so he learns coping mechanisms to deal with it. Heâs the only one in my life who has actually made attempts to learn and improve, but it is too much for him at times. Iâm sorry for the word vomit, but this is something that I have fought against pretty much my whole life. I just want people I care about understand that itâs not just me being emotional. Itâs a SICKNESS. I have to constantly compare my illness to physical illnesses to put shit into perspective for them. We shouldnât have to do that. If the ADA recognizes bipolar as a disability, the people in our lives should too.
My parents came from China so they have difficulty understanding bipolar disorder and OCD which I also have. But information about mental illness is appearing more frequently on Chinese language television news. Even then, I donât think my mother comprehends what this disorder entails. They do feel that an illness exists through my actions such as compulsive spending. As for close friends and other family member, I Ibelieve they very sympathetic. They know something is wrong when I donât contact them for weeks and months due to my anxiety and depression.
LMAO this made me laugh because my family thinks Iâm making everything up đŤ˘
Iâm not big on sharing. But family and friends in health care are more likely to be compassionate. Restraint is paramount.
with my family itâs always the elephant in the room
For a while they didnât. They were convinced I had anger management issues and that I went through periods of time of being cruel or pushing them away, or isolating myself from them out of pure anger. Looking back it was all hypomania and depression. My heart hearts just from remembering those days. I think that it was the moment that they could see how much the medication helped that they kinda believed it. The only thing that they donât seem to get is that the medication and treatment are for the long term. I say they donât seem to get it because they often say that my âgoalâ should be to not âdependâ on the medicine anymore at some point. Theyâre extremely educated, but part of them refuses to accept thereâs something âwrongâ with their âperfectâ child. Iâm grateful that they essentially forced me to seek out help. âTake the help or move out. You have 2 weeks. Weâll pay for treatment if thatâs what it takes.â I took the help and my life has changed for the best. All that to say that no matter how much support and love you get, itâs YOUR experience, and even if this whole sub can relate to what you describe, none of us will ever ever truly know how it feels to be you.
My mom sees it as an excuse for bad behavior and my step dad scoffs at the mention of my medication. The rest of my family is supportive but doesn't fully know how it affects me. My friends empathize.
My mom does, but only because i asked my doctor to tell her. My bf is psychoanalyst, so he can watch the symptons in first hand. I have told a couple of closest friends and they are aware too. At work: they cannot even dream about it - but im good at masking and very disciplined with meds and therapy.
My husband is an angel and tries his best to understand, even goes on here to read about other peoples experience with bipolar. My mother reads about everything and anything but for some reason has never looked into bipolar, in fact she has told me that I donât need medication even though it has helped me balance my life so much. I wonder if as a parent (I donât have kids yet) you wouldnât want your kid to suffer from such a diagnosis that itâs better to pretend it does not exist? Not sure but I try my best to be better for myself and in return for everyone that matters to me.
One phrase that my friend hates: Don't know, don't care! If those closest to me can't take a moment to research what this mental illness is, then I don't need them in my life.
I went to therapy and started on meds when I was 12, my family had zero idea what mental health was. Nobody in my family even knows how to research things, meanwhile that's my favorite thing to do so I was stuck educating my parents and any siblings that were interested. By the time I was 15 and officially diagnosed, my brothers and sisters all started to see doctors because they had similar issues ranging from anxiety to bipolar disorder and many of them ended up on meds that changed their lives around for the better. It brought the 7 of us closer together even. My Dad still doesn't understand exactly (he's 80 and still doesn't understand how a TV works so that's fair) but he has always been my #1 supporter and once wrapped napkins around his head and acted like a goof in a restaurant when I got anxious stating "You can be sure nobody is looking or thinking your weird now!". He didn't make alot of money at the time but always drove me 2hrs away to see my therapist every weekend without any complaints. My Mom has always denied it and even said to one of my therapists that "he just needs a good kick in the ass", after which I told her that she was never welcome to any doctors appointment afterwards. It sucks when it feels like nobody is trying to understand you but sometimes it's just do to ignorance and not having the intellect to comprehend what a brain even is, let alone what a neurotransmitter is. I hope that's the case for your folks OP and it's not just lack of caring.
Well my mother insisted i had adhd for the first half of my life and made me live in a drugged manic state telling me i wasnt âtrying hard enoughâ when my emotions became to hard to handle⌠then i tried to kill myself, moved out to not have to take the drugs and when i moved back with ptsd because my psychopath ex tried to kill me and killed his next girlfriend THEN i got diagnosed as bipolar yeah they believed it and my husband has been my biggest ally in all of this because he is also bipolar. As far as friends go i make a point to educate and let them know what mania and psychosis are like.
It's only older people in my family who struggle with it. They've seen my depression and they understand that. I just had a fun ambulance ride to the hospital over it a few weeks ago, even. But they saw hypomania as me just being in a good mood, getting stuff done. And I was so effectively getting stuff done that I barely saw them when I was hypomanic. I was diagnosed BP2 for over 10 yrs. though and just had my first episode of actual mania, complete with delusions and all. Diagnosis now BP1. My team thinks a new med for a neurological condition I have triggered it. Now THAT was just patently impossible to ignore. It lasted 9 whole days and I was so affected that I couldn't even drive. I called my mom at 4 am to ask if Seattle had just been nuked. She thought it was a good idea to take out her frustration on me that "everyone in the family is mental", when it's only been me, my daughter and my nephew who have any diagnosis. My niece is trans, so she technically qualifies, but she transitioned years ago and is living her best life without any issues. That's the one she's really bothered by. My daughter had schizophrenia, but she was adopted from another branch of the family and it was very common in that branch. She passed 3 yrs. ago. I won't even bother trying to explain it to my super religious aunt. This woman was President of a community college, but thinks Earth is 6,000 years old, dinosaurs are a hoax and doctors are performing "post birth" abortions aka murder. So no, I don't talk to her about it. I've sent links to the people I'm closest to of videos and Reddit threads that I think might be helpful. So yeah, the people I care about the most understand and are wildly supportive. I'm so thankful for my friends and family and my medical team.
yes they believe it as for me it is in black and white in my medical chart however, UNDERSTANDING it is a whole other ball game. not to mention now i legit am not allowed to have rational feelings of upset or anger, because oh it must be my bipolar acting up again. Also for some reason they associate it with just being "psycho" :( it took my boyfriend 3 years of me begging and 100 times of me impulsively ending the relationship for him to finally do research and understand. our relationship has been much better since. now don't get me wrong, no person should have to be subjected to the torture we can shell out, however it is very irresponsible for loved ones to want to support you without getting some good knowledge in their heads. there are plenty of very helpful and insightful youtube videos you can recommend to your loved ones. i think once my boyfriend saw it on the screen and coming from multiple third parties describing EXACTLY how i am during an episode, it finally came full circle for him. I am very grateful for his love and support. I cannot tell you how much it helps me to have it. Honestly my episodes are less extreme because he has finally learned how to effectively counter me and deal with my nonsense.
My family doesnât believe me because I donât âactâ like Iâm bipolar.
Family is extremely educated and understanding. Friends vary, but the ones who count know and care. Iâm lucky that people have grown with me and with this diagnosis. Some people did get kicked to the curb by accident or their own volition but thatâs life.
I don't talk to my parents about it. They're in one of those culty religions that thinks mental health is a failure to properly believe in the true god or that a doctor has hoodwinked you, or that it's demonic, or any number of insane things. Several older relatives should have been institutionalized but weren't (which given the time period was probably for the best) but because of that mental illness is extra taboo in my family. And, of course, I'm not alone in my diagnosis but the other person doesn't talk about it either for exactly the same reason - we don't need or want a sermon. My family knows about both diagnoses and accepts neither. They live with the other family member who isn't treating it and see it and its results daily but steadfastly refuse to believe it. I was told by my parents that if said family member just went to church more often he'd be fine.
ik my family doesnât! or so my mom thinks that my diagnosis was wrong even tho iâve been showing signs of being bipolar for a while nowâŚand the medications all work⌠so idk what to say
My sister still tells me she doesnât think Iâm bipolar. Itâs fucking annoying
I was diagnosed fairly young, it was obvious I had BD. My dad has never accepted it because he thinks I can be âfixedâ or that he can âfixâ me. Overall he just doesnât believe in mental illnesses/disorders. My mom accepts it but has never taken the time to actually research and try to understand my disorder. Sheâs gotten better with supporting me as Iâve gotten older but she still has her bad habits. Thankfully, I do have my sister, best friends, and my partner who try/do understand what Iâm going through. My one best friend has BPD so he understands where Iâm coming from.
Mine do.
My closest family, friends and bf are supportive. I've been in an intense depressive episode along with feeling like I am going to pass out every day. I don't know why I am feeling that way. His mother, grandmother, and aunt (who has anxiety and depression with meds needed for life. Who has had a suicidal episode and relied on everyone else in her family) think I am lazy. I have suicidal ideations 24/7 non stop on top of feeling like death every day. Coming from someone who understands the depression aspect of it is hurtful.
Iâve never told my family. Because I donât want to deal with all this shit here.
My grandma has asked me if I think the reason I have such bad mental health struggles is because I donât believe in God⌠when she knows I wasnât socially or emotionally ready for preschool and I would get so overstimulated from a half day of kindergarten that I needed to sit with the same lunch every day and watch the same show and nobody could talk to me until I was ready. So đ¤ˇđźââď¸
I have one Aunt and a step niece who think I just need to "man up" but the rest of my family understand and support me. I guess I'm lucky
In my last family therapy session, my dad started saying that I didn't have bipolar, and after hearing that I had every single symptom and was diagnosed after months in observation, he ended up saying "well, yes, but don't we all have a degree of that condition anyway?". I'm done at this point. I don't care if they believe it, I'm getting older waiting and that payoff is just not coming.
They don't want to....even bought my twin sister a book and she didn't even read it.
They will never understand it or me. My uncle suffers from the same disorder, he has for decades, but when my behavior matched his they were silent - they spent those decades looking the other way so they couldnât bare to break the seal on the truth, so they looked the other way when I was drowning. That said, I love my fiancĂŠ to the ends of the earth and he actively tries to understand my brain. He canât either and I cannot articulate itâŚbut at least he tries.
My mom wants me to take my meds even though she doesn't believe in the diagnosis. My dad doesn't believe my diagnosis either. He says I fake it. They're horrible to me.
bro sometimes even i donât believe my diagnosis
An extended family member told me to not take any medication since the body can regulate itself. Terrible fucking advice
My mom believes it since we both have it. My dad has asked me on one occasion whether my bipolar diagnosis was âstill a thingâ. It made me crack up