Only bipolars can have bipolars listen to them.

This could be my first “controversial” post.

I have two major problems; one is with celebrities coming forward and stating that they suffer from bipolarity and the other is a Bipolar Foundation in North America.

.What you will read is my opinion and my opinion only, and not a blanket statement in the name of the bipolar community

I believe that it is fair to say that we all agree on two goals:

1. Break the stigmas and the misconceptions about bipolarity.
2. Integrating ourselves in the working community on a level playing field.

Some famous people state suffering from bipolarity but the illness doesn’t define them.

The second part of the sentence (in bold) is probably the statement that gets my blood boiling the most.

Go tell anyone of us who are suffering from bipolarity, battling daily with their demons, losing their family, losing their job, going through hell with the day to day and having to choose whether to eat or pay some bills, suffering from the drugs’ side effects, fighting addiction(s).

Please, go ahead and tell us that bipolarity doesn’t define us.

One of my shrinks told me, a while back, “You create the life you have”, that pissed me off so badly that I walked out of his office, went to a bar and got drunk. Needless to say, that I rejected it for a long time as I was using my bipolarity as an excuse for the mess I had created. His answer was; “It’s YOU that did it, nobody else”. Yes, it was harsh but I came to realize that it was true.

We are accountable for the emotional and financial chaos we create. So how can we say that it doesn’t define us since it had affected all the decisions we have made. We cannot hide behind it and use it as an excuse, it is part of who we are and has a massive weight on the decisions we take.

Once I had accepted this fact, things changed. I became more disciplined with my medication, started to exercise, meditate, etc. This raw and rough encounter made me realize that I had some power in me to try to change my state of mind, behaviors, and decisions since the illness is a part of me and I can have some ways to control it.

We are all working hard to try to break the stigmas. To be treated equally as others. We are all working hard to not be discriminated. We are all working very hard to have society accept us within its workforce.

We have celebrities coming forward mentioning that they suffer from bipolarity because they want to raise awareness? They probably have their hearts in the right place but to raise awareness for what? Nothing good has come out of it for us!

They are rich and have something to fall back on, unlike me who is totally broke, and probably like lots of us. This illness is a deterrent for us getting us hired.

By coming, celebrities are probably unconsciously adding another layer in between us and the rest of society. As such it seems that we are part of a special elitist club. A segment of society where money, fame, and intelligence are key ingredients needed in order to be part of it.

This is clearly not helping as we are trying to break the stigmas in order to blend in.

The only people who will have an impact on breaking the stigmas are regular bipolar people. The blogs are a great vector. I’m currently working with the Head Psychiatrist of a large region in France to go to people’s home and try to help them out with their problems. My doctor’s reasoning is that only bipolars can have bipolars listen to them, this is the most effective approach. For some reason, bipolars have difficulties listening to professionals.

In France, companies are required to have 10 percent of their staff comprised of physically or mentally handicap persons. Hopefully with the support of my doctor next on my list will be a visit to the World Health Organization. In hopes that the WHO will impose on the European Union the same criteria as in France and the rest of the world if possible. Before I tackle this issue I need to have a more “solid” blog to enhance my credibility.

The point that annoys me tremendously is the North American Foundation. They claim they are fighting for our cause and they want to break the stigmas.

I offered to write for them (benevolently) on their site to have a bipolar point of view but they snubbed me twice. They just don’t give a damn. All they want is high profile shrinks, PhDs, psychologists etc. They have their frequent webinars which are for the most part mental masturbation. They absolutely do nothing for us. Nothing tangible. They are doing more harm to us than the celebrities. And the most beautiful thing about this is that, to them, the world consists only of North America. The rest of world has no importance. So much for helping a cause. I’m sure they do very well for themselves “fighting for a cause” that they have no clue about since they disregard bipolars opinions or interventions.

Peace and serenity

Lawrence