Sometimes it is hard to be strong with bipolar disorder. We face so many obstacles every day that sometimes just getting out of bed is a big accomplishment for us, isn't it? But we do it, because we have to. And we do much more than that, because we have to. We have to, because we cannot let bipolar disorder defeat us. We just cannot let it win!
We are better than our disorder! This isn't our fault. We did nothing to deserve it, and there is nothing we could have done to prevent it. It just IS. We are just a couple of the millions of people who happened to get bipolar disorder. We have no choice but to deal with it the best we can.
We can go to our doctors, psychiatrists, and therapists regularly. We can take our medication religiously. We can go to our support groups whenever we can. We can read all the literature and books on the disorder that we can get our hands on and become as educated as we possibly can. We can become our own best self-advocate. But if we do not stand strong against our own bipolar disorder, we will still lose.
Yes, sometimes it's hard to be strong with bipolar disorder. But we still have to be. Sometimes it takes all the courage we have within us, but we can do it. We have that strength. We have that courage.
We have to remember that we are NOT our disorder! Bipolar disorder is something we HAVE, not something we ARE! It is an entity outside of ourselves, not a part of our identity. It is something we fight on a daily basis, so that it doesn't take us over. "There is still a ME inside here," is our battle cry! We fight to maintain our identities in spite of the mood swings, in spite of the medication, in spite of the bipolar disorder itself.
We have had to overcome overwhelming odds to reach any sense of stability. Any time we have gained between bipolar episodes has been hard fought for. And we should be proud of ourselves for it! The longer we go between episodes, the more stable we become. The more stable we become, the more high functioning we can be. And the more high functioning we can be, the more of our lives we can re-take!
Remember, you are strong. You are courageous. You are a bipolar SURVIVOR!
Wishing you peace and stability,
Remember God loves you and so do I,
Michele
ps. Check out my new bipolar book at www.brokenroseministries.com
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Hi Michele...great post. Very strong, positive and inspiring! Thankyou for sharing. "We have no choice but to deal with it the best we can...it just is". I came to that realisation last week. I was diagnosed with bipolar 17 years ago, but refused to accept it, lived in denial up until recently. My sister was diagnosed with BP last year, and my dad suffered from depression, so bipolar is genetic for us. Nothing I can do about it as you say.
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