Please don't call us "ill".

Sick of the "Sick" Label

I am sick and tired of being labeled as mentally "ill".

Many bipolars, after treatment, are symptom-free. At what point can they stop thinking of themselves as "ill" and get on with their lives?

I just read Lisa PT's beautiful article in Manic's Dance. She says, "If we can't accept, love and value ourselves, then we are lost." Yes!

You can accept yourself as having a psychiatric disorder, just as you can accept yourself as having the flu. But how can you value yourself? If you say, "I have the flu," you can still think of yourself very highly. But if you say that your mind is sick -- well, your mind is you; your mind is permanent.

Dr. Kay Jamison, in many books and articles, explains it much better than I do. Bipolars are born with more than just a psychiatric disorder. Bipolars also get a bonus package consisting of one or more of the following:

extraordinary creativity
the ability to make anybody laugh (well, just about anybody)
unusual musical and/or artistic talents
the ability to develop great charisma
the inner strength you get from conquering any illness
and on and on

(OK, so I added a few traits Dr. Jamison didn't mention.)

Once most of your symptoms are gone, you are left holding this big bag of fantastic personality traits. The phrase "bipolar disorder" does not apply to you any more; if you keep using it you won't be able to learn to value yourself.

So I am going to have to coin a new term: the bipolar complex: both the negative and positive potential symptoms and personality traits that bipolars are born with.

You had bipolar disorder, but now you have pretty much recovered from it. On the other hand, the bipolar complex is a basic part of your personality. It makes you an exceptionally strong, gifted person.

(Please don't say, "Jane Doe has bipolar complex," because that makes it sound like just another disorder. Please say, "Jane Doe was born with THE bipolar complex," or, "THE bipolar complex makes up a large part of Jane Doe's personality.)

Definitions:

Bipolar (Affective) Disorder = a painful disorder that has been diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

The Bipolar Complex = a particular, inherited set of positive and negative personality traits and physical (chemical) attributes of which bipolar disorder is a part. Once you have recovered from bipolar disorder, the positive aspects of the bipolar complex are left. (But What is Recovery?)

Bipolar = person born with the bipolar complex.

"Manic Depressive" (an old term) = person suffering (no, let's say "not recovered yet") from bipolar disorder. (Let's not call recovered bipolars manic depressives any more. And let's not use the word "suffering" for people who aren't suffering.)

For a story about the incredible power of bipolars, click on The Predecessors.

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