The day I sat in my psychiatrist’s windowless office and was told I had bipolar disorder, I’d already been in the mental health system for 25 years. It was my sixth diagnosis. Starting at age 12, I’d also been told I had anorexia, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit disorder.
Sitting on my psychiatrist’s gray, puffy couch, I knew quite a bit about bipolar disorder — not just from my time in and out of doctors’ offices, partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs, but from the world around me.
Much of my education came from public awareness campaigns such as Mental Health Awareness Month, which just happened in May. The intentions are good: promote mental health, facilitate access to treatment and spread awareness to combat stigma.
