Hello...My Name is Bipolar #7

I was going to write about my last stay in a psych ward but i feel that what I'm about to hit on instead is much more important.

Where were you 10 years ago? Are you the same person today that you were then? Would you want to be judged today as the person you were then? Can i judge you? Even if i don't know you?

That's a lot of questions and i hope you really considered each of them because i hope besides the first question you answered no. This is elementary age logic that us adults just can't seem to grasp and it's the honestly a huge problem in this country. We have become quick to form an opinion without all the facts at hand yet preach it like it's the gospel truth. One of those very things that's getting spread is the stigma on mental illness.

I expected some backlash on myself from being open and honest with the struggles I've had dealing with my diagnosis but I'm going to tell you my motives were entirely selfish at the beginning. I expected such low response and negativity (see even i formed an opinion to judge others by so I'm not blameless) that i strictly wanted this to be therapeutic for me to put it into words and put it out there as a way of letting some of my garbage go. Never in my wildest dreams did i expect such a positive response. Private messages of encouragement, texts saying thank you because i suffer from _____ and now i know I'm not alone...the list goes on.

The thing about positivity is it had it's polar opposite that likes to show up and his name is negativity. There's always going to be those that can't stand to see a person get ahead or pull themselves out of the hell they're suffering from but I'm here to tell you right now that they aren't worth dwelling upon and here's why...miserable people love company. It makes them self-reflect and heaven forbid they might see something they can relate to in us 'crazy' people. But do you want a little insight? That's on them. It has absolutely nothing to do with you as a person and let that shit go. I can say this as a person that finally decided to do exactly that and i wish i had done it years ago.

I haven't been in a psych ward in about 10 years. 10 years...let that sink in because it really needs to. Think about 10 years ago, where you were then and now fast forward to where you are now and tell me you didn't have a slight shudder thinking about the past and thank goodness nobody holds 10 years ago against you. So why is mental illness different? It isn't. It really isn't. So if someone is trying to do exactly that...reread the paragraph above. I'm not ashamed of my past anymore because it has helped me get to this point of my life. I wish the same for you.

I'm not bipolar-I have bipolar
R. M. Sully