how do you tell people in the family? i mean i have spent all my life hiding this, i really need to support of my family, at least then they might be able to understand me more, but how do you tell them?

I just told mine in casual conversation and then explained it as simple as I could.They still don't understand everything,but I just do the best I can.My mother goes through something similar but she is in denial and she denies anything being wrong with me,too.That's kind of hard.

Do you have a brother or a sister, an aunt or an uncle or a cousin or anyone that you are particularly close to and can especially trust? If so, start there. Judgmental family members are very hard to deal with. My mother is the most judgmental person in the world, but one day I just had to break down and tell her that I was crazy and that's exactly how I put it. I told her I had been to see a doctor and was diagnosed as bipolar II and borderline personality and that explained my instability and my suicide attempts (which she was fully aware of) and told her I was on medication and in therapy. She took it much better than I could have expected


Sometimes you just have to hold your nose, close your eyes and jump into the deep end of the pool.

Good luck to you sweetie.

I just came out and told, although I waited until I got home from school for a break to do so. They didn't fully understand at first, and I'll admit it got a little frustrating at first. However, it's vastly improved my relationship with my family over the long run, as now they understand the limits of what I will and will not discuss. If they ask questions, I try to answer them truthfully, but if I don't want to I just won't do it.

I'm lucky in that my parents and I are quite close, so when I told them they were understanding. There's always a hard step in trying to explain to someone else exactly what you are going through, and how traumatic it really is.

I found that using some small examples, things like being open about the suicidal feelings I had one day and then the euphoria I felt the next helped them to understand, as it gave them some extremes that they could then begin to understand.

If you have a therapist or doctor who you have a good rapport with, it might be worth asking them for advice too.

In the end, I personally think its all about honesty, and laying yourself as open as possible to your family. It can be hard, but quite often it feels alot better afterwards. Just be careful to explain that they don't suddenly need to call you 10 times a day to see if you're all right!!!

Good luck!
Hircon

Just a thought....I printed off information from a website regarding bipolar disorder (google "bipolar info for family" ) It's good to have some information on hand, because there will probably be a lot of questions.

Good Luck!!


Best Wishes, L

Hircon, my family dynamics are similar to yours: I'm very close to my parents and my sister, and ordinarily I would feel OK telling them.

But here's the kicker: my dad has been sick over the past year. He had a heart attack in '06, then a number of strokes in a row in '07 that left him very weak and almost at death's door. My mother and sister (I live far from home) are under tremendous stress dealing with my dad's illness, plus a bunch of debt he racked up over the past few years (he's in his 80s).

So I've been very reluctant to tell them that I was diagnosed in '07, that I'm on medication and in therapy, because I think they have so much on their plate already that I would just be adding to their burdens. Also, my dad's illness was one of the triggers, and I don't want them to know. Finally, I'm scared that my dad will worry about me, stress out and that this somehow will bring about another stroke or heart attack or something.

My therapist and psych have pushed me and pushed me to tell them, but I just can't. It sucks, because I could use their support.

I'm glad you can take advantage of the closeness of your family...I wish I could.