losing the stigma

The past two Wednesday nights there has been a television program that I made sure not to miss: Stephen Fry's 'The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive'. I'm very grateful that someone like Stephen has been able to talk about his condition, and talk with other people who are dealing with bipolar disorder in different ways.

I'm also very grateful that the program didn't push the medication aspect of treatment, because this is something I am very uncomfortable with.In fact, one of the things he did with each person was to ask them whether they would choose to push a button that would make them perfectly 'normal', given the option. And almost every person said no. I certainly wouldn't. The 'up' times are amazing, and absolutely worth the bad days. The program did talk about cognitive behavioural therapy this evening, and I'm fine with that, and talking through strategies for getting through the more extreme times, but lithium for someone like me? No thanks. I can kind of understand it if you were uninhibited to the point of being dangerous, but generally once you're on it, you're on it for life, from what I've heard and read. I have trouble taking aspirin for a headache until I'm at the point where I can't function because of the pain, so medication for life? I can't imagine it.

But I am glad these things are talked about more these days, and that the stigma is is slowly disappearing. It's not something I talk about all the time, and I'm certainly not affected enough that it rules my whole life - it's just part of who I am, and I'm fine with that and wouldn't choose otherwise.