Beyond Bipolar

Raizy can handle everything about her bipolar condition except for the stigma

Raizy is 25 years old. She works as a bookkeeper in a small firm close to her home. Raizy is well-liked by her colleagues and her many friends, and she’s a beloved daughter, sibling, aunt, and cousin. Apart from her mother, no one knows that Raizy has bipolar disorder.

“I was diagnosed when I was 14 years old and I’ve been on medication ever since. My mom warned me from the beginning to keep the diagnosis between us. I didn’t really understand why that was necessary or even what it was that I had exactly. But I trusted my mom and did what she asked.

“As I got older, I heard people talking about ‘crazy people’ and ‘bipolar’ people in derogatory ways and I began to learn that this thing that I had was somehow bad. I began to understand why no one — not even my siblings — was to find out about it. I didn’t know why it was so bad, but the older I got, the clearer it became that bipolar people are believed to be ‘mental,’ dangerous, and shameful.

“ I knew that I carried this dark secret that I was defective, and as my friends started dating, I became more and more alarmed. Would I have to hide this condition my whole life? Even from my husband?”