In response to a question about revealing a bipolar diagnosis....
I would like to someday expose it to "the world"... Probably just open up on Facebook and to whoever as appropriate while feeling confident about it. I want to do this when I'm ready to not give a shit about what they think or any possible consequences to my action. I'm hoping for supportive feedback and maybe contributing to a ripple effect if others opening up about their struggles with mental illness. I want it to be thought if my way as reducing the stigma and I would like to become more of an activist in that regard.
For now, I just tell select people. I'm not ready to open up completely for fear that it may somehow impact on future work opportunities. Although, I have a feeling it has already as I find that I do have to open up about it to prospective employers to explain past work-related issues that they will find out about anyway. I feel nervous and somewhat uncomfortable having to tell them, but hope for the best. (I recently had an interview and while waiting to hear back from them, I just don't know what to think!)
Opening up to friends and family has been both positive and somewhat negative. They have been supportive, but there are also issues of denial which comes from my immediate family. I find that difficult to deal with because they're so close to me, yet it feels like they're denying something that's a part of me and it's so frustrating. My mom is the one who set things up for me to start getting help when I was 14 or 15 years old... And yet she doesn't believe in my diagnoses (bipolar and ADHD) and tries to convince me that maybe I don't need meds as all my issues are related to stress and poorly made decisions. Although I can see where she's coming from, this is something real to me and I wish that others would see it as something real as well.