5 Things I Wish I Knew When Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder

The day of diagnosis is intimidating and scary for most. Personally? I was pretty relieved when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder because there was a reason that my life was a train wreck of a flaming dumpster fire. Confusion, however, is common whether you feel intimidated, scared, or relieved.

A bipolar diagnosis can be scary and confusing

Usually, people are going through a hard time when they're diagnosed. It makes sense. I can't imagine a whole lot of people say to themselves, "You know what? My life is going great. I'm going to go get screened for mental illness!" Diagnosis often comes at a bad time in your life which makes it all the more scary and confusing.

So, in this article, I want to share with you 5 things I wish I had known on my first day of diagnosis that will hopefully reduce some of that confusion and dispel some of that fear.

My 5 pieces of advice for the newly diagnosed

1. Be wary of mental health support communities.

The majority of people in support communities are people who are having a hard time. Online support communities can be incredibly negative, toxic, or even unhealthy if poorly ran. Additionally, you don't want to listen to all of these problems you're hearing about and assume that will be your experience, too. It won't be.

We're all on our own road, trying to journey to wellness, stability, and a good life. But what's good for you may not be good for me, and vice versa whether it's treatment or life.

2. Be wary of opinions about how to manage your bipolar disorder.

Everyone has an opinion about everything, and a lot of them are bad, ill-informed, or just stupid. The big issue is that if you've just been diagnosed and you're new to this, then you don't have the context to understand what are truths, half-truths, and stupidity. For example...

You share with your bipolar friend that you've just been diagnosed. Surely, they know what's going on, right? They then tell you, "Don't take 'example med.' I took it and it had terrible side effects."

That sounds reasonable, but it isn't. Them having bad side effects means absolutely nothing for you. If you decide not to try that medication because of what your friend told you, you may have just cut off something that could have worked perfectly.

3. Be wary of anyone claiming to have all the answers.

As an addition to number 2, I've been diagnosed for 15 years and I've witnessed a lot from people who claim to have all the answers. In my experience, anyone who claims to know exactly what you need falls neatly into one of 3 categories: they're ignorant of the complicated nature of mental illness, they're trying to take advantage of you (like selling you something), or they aren't connected with reality.

That last one may sound like a joke but it's not. Psychosis, delusion, and hallucinations can make people believe some wild things, such as faeries visiting them while in-patient and curing their mental illness so make sure you build faerie circles and houses so they feel welcome at your home.

4. Seek out talk therapy if accessible.

Talk therapy is exceptionally helpful while you're navigating a new diagnosis. They can help you better learn about your mental illness, provide a neutral sounding board and feedback.

People tend to try to include friends and family in all of this because they are people they trust. The issue there is that, in a best case scenario, your friends and family see you suffering. They don't want to add to that so they may not tell you what you need to hear as opposed to what they think you want to hear. Plus, they probably don't know much about dealing with mental illness. I mean, do you go to your uncle for heart health advice?

5. Ask questions. Ask all the questions.

I find that one of the easiest ways to separate good mental health professionals from the rest is that they will take the time to make sure you understand things. Ask until you understand. If you don't understand, you can say something like, "I don't quite understand. Can you rephrase it a different way?"

If your memory sucks, write things down if it's safe to. Keep a journal or a list of questions you have between appointments so you don't have to try to remember them when you're at your appointment. Personally, my brain blanks when I cross the threshold into their office. It's annoying to say the least.

Be well. And remember – take your meds as directed. If you're having a hard time on them, want to quit or change them, talk to your doctor before you do anything.