Back to the Doctor....again...

So it is no secret ( I have it posted in my etsy profile) that I have been recently diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. I have known for some time that something was amiss in my wee little head but I didn't want to be "branded" with this label. People seem to raise a brow and turn the other way when they hear that you are bi-polar. Am I a different person, less trustworthy, less loyal, perhaps less intelligent, just because some shrink said that I have a mental disorder? I am the same person that you have always known. I haven't changed. The only thing that has changed is this F*&^ing black cloud that seems to be attached to this new label that has been been assigned to me.

So now, I am told, I need to take lithium. So now I see the doctor every week to monitor my lithium levels and I have to have blood drawn weekly as well so this has turned into a very time consuming little experiment. I hope that this will help me to feel a little more level.

Why, you ask, am I choosing to be so open about this, given the risk that it will make you think less of me? That is the reason exactly. I am a capable, intelligent, mother and wife. I lead a productive life. I am a good person and I know many other good people who also happen to have various mental disorders. We are grossly misunderstood. We need to be more open and more present in the world so that people will gain a greater understanding of all that we are. Please don't let our disorders define who we are.