I have a situation that I would like some feedback on.  Especially since you understand/experience the what I battle daily, Bipolar Disorder.I was hired by a corporation in July 2011 just after graduating college. I am very qualified for the position and never had any problems complaints about my work, performance etc.  Of course when I was hired I did not inform them of my disorder for fear of consequences.Around the middle of September 2011, I had a severe panic attack at the office and had to leave.  I was out the 2 days following.  Since then I had not had any major episodes that affected my work.  Well, until the beginning of February 2012.  Prior to that in January my daughter was very sick and I had to be home with her, which management had no problem with.  So in February I had a very extreme episode and had [...]

I’m a sixteen year old girl, going on 17 on the 15th of May. I’ve been diagnosed early bipolar, I thought I could handle the world, especially high school and university, however, I couldn’t handle sophomore year. My moods flared, my anxiety got me sent home by the counselors and nurse. I was tired of trying, so I stopped going. I even caused fighting between my closest school friends and myself, one of which no longer wants anything to do with me.I yelled and got violent in school, after having her male friends shove me. The point is, I let my mood and my anxiety win my life. I really wanted to graduate next year and now I’d never be able to catch up, I start to do so good, all A’s and one B and then the streak ends out of nowhere. Anyway, my question is, is it still [...]

I want to get one things straight before I begin … I am NOT trying to offend ANYONE, exclude anyone, upset anyone, disqualify anyone’s feelings, and/or share my feelings out of a need to act superior or condescending. My words are not said with a bitter tone or a snotty attitude. My words are simply a way of explaining my reasons for choosing to keep the site name, Ask a Bipolar. Nothing more … nothing less. *Puts away the Caps lock and takes a deep breath* I think because I am the founder of this website, people often forget some of the key things about me … 1. I suffer from bipolar disorder. which means 2. I have a mental illness. and because of that 3. I get depressed, hypomanic, and sometimes I feel nothing at all. I also 4. Have sensitivity issues and can be easily offended when my [...]

So, here’s the deal peeps.  *puts glitter back in pocket*  While I am not the founder of the website, I am Marybeth’s partner here.  (Ok, I know I have been slacking a bit because of my current situation, but I’m still her partner)  I can’t even begin to count the number of times the name of our website gets questioned by others in the field/industry.  One of the major concerns is the stigma and the name of the site promoting the stigma.  YES, we all want to eliminate stigma related to bipolar disorder and mental illness.  YES, we want to be known as having bipolar disorder and NOT  as “a bipolar” which is defining who we are as a person.  We do understand that very clearly here at Ask A Bipolar.  We are NOT trying to perpetuate any type of stigma with our name. That said, lets go back to [...]

I want to get help for my bipolar that my boyfriend and i have self diagnosed me with. He is the only one who knows. I have been suffering with sadness and depression since i was 14. And at 16 more manic symptoms came and now I’m 18 and had the worst manic outbreak ever. I don’t know how to tell my mom i need help. I don’t want her disappointed or to think I’m lying. Nobody else in my family has bipolar. Thank you for writing to us about your concerns.  From what you have described you very well could have bipolar disorder.  However you cannot really conclude that what you are suffering from is bipolar disorder unless a trained psychiatrist has actually diagnosed you with it.  It may be that you are inflicted with something entirely different and/or you could have “multiple disorders” which are causing you your [...]