@Iona-RO Sorry took me a while to get back to this! I will honestly say that for me as someone who is managing their illness really well with medication, the worst part of the diagnosis is the stigma. When people hear bipolar they think "crazy" and "helpless" and even "dangerous". I'm always scared that if I publicise the fact I have bipolar people will think that I'm somehow 'unsafe' or unpredictable to work with despite the fact that I'm a very successful person honestly.
The most frustrating part outside that is the constant self-awareness of any mood shifts I have. I've been told by professionals that I've come into a habit of pathologising my feelings and assuming that they need to be treated and are abnormal when they're natural for the situation, which is honestly pretty sad compared to someone without the condition. I also have GAD which isn't really helped by my bipolar medication so that's something that I need to deal with, but I'm reluctant to medicate myself any more because it's expensive and I've been pretty lucky with my side effects so far.
However I do have strategies in place! One of the main things that I've been doing is being very picky with who and what I include in my life. As soon as someone or something begins to bring me down, I begin to question whether I want someone in my life who affects my mood in that way. I also try to do things that I know lift my mood regularly: for me this is exercise, getting enough sleep (this is essential!), making little victories and being productive, and hobbies (which I have been neglecting at the moment oops). I mentioned this in my weekly wellbeing, but I've also found that giving myself small rewards and self care when things are difficult really boosts my mood. At the end of the day I just have to be more accountable to my self-care than maybe the average person is. With that in mind, I have come to where I am WITH my mental illness, not in spite of it. I hope that expression makes sense to others!
