Comments on: Coming out

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:14:35 +0000

[...] with information, draw a line between them and yourself and still keep them at ease. But I am not the only one who has been perplexed about the [...]

By: Back in a Bit » Blog Archive » Coming around

Back in a Bit » Blog Archive » Coming around — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:28:06 +0000

[...] year ago, I published a piece about bipolar disorder. It had been something I had wanted to do for a long time, and the act of doing so marked a [...]

By: Mo

Mo — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:16:10 +0000

I’m not sure about “coming out”. I mean as with your analogy of homosexuality why on earth would I want to make declarations about my personal life? Certainly not to strangers, e.g. someone I met at a party or on holiday, unless it was particularly relevant at the time. I suppose I’m “lucky” in that mood disorders are common in my family and my mother had previously been diagnosed bipolar. As for coming out to family and friends, it’s fairly easy when you are hospitalised and are given ill health retirement from work at 45. You simply tell them you are now mad, a certified loony. I tried telling them I was bipolar and gave them leaflets but I don’t think they really understood at all until I had lain in bed for 9 months then jumped up to perform 2 weeks incessant activity, talking at 100mph, starting new businesses, blowing loads of money and thinking I was a pop star. Then they got it.

Although “manic depression” does seem to conjure up negative images with some folks, many young people now actually find the term “bipolar” extremely glamorous and chic. It is commonly associated with much youth culture from Britney to Emos. So much so that people often proudly declare themselves bipolar now without ever consulting a doctor.

I wondered about the people in Fry’s documentary who wouldn’t want to be cured. I suppose none of us would like to lose the creative skills often associated with bipolar disorder but are these personality traits actually part of the illness or just coincidental? I wonder how many of these folks have spent years in abject misery despite being medicated and electrocuted. God I would love to be normal whatever that is and not slob around watching myself get fatter and fatter on antipsychotics. I wondered about Stephen Fry himself, how could someone have “secret” manic episodes? In my experience (and I used to be a psychiatric nurse) mania can’t usually be masked or hidden and often results in hospitalisation.

Anyway, thanks for posting this and I hope things are panning out well for you.

By: NP

NP — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:49:17 +0000

I wanted you to know, that I’m not gonna offer lines and lines of natter like I usually do. For once, I’ll be short, sweet, and to the point. I am, as always, incredibly proud of you.

By: Mr Mundane

Mr Mundane — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:20:13 +0000

I found this article very interesting.

By: Mo Morgan

Mo Morgan — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:41:46 +0000

There are apparently four million people with Bipolar Disorder in the UK. That equates to about one in fifteen. For context, that's approximately equal to the number of vegetarians.

According to a government report at the end of 2005, the number of homosexuals equates to one in sixteen.

By: graybo

graybo — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:01:40 +0000

Well said.
I suppose that "people" find things easier to understand if they are tangible, either by being physically obvious or by being related to their own experience. We can all understand a broken arm because we can see the cast. We can all understand a bad headache because we’ve had them. But, as someone who hasn’t (knowingly) experienced a mental illness or had someone close who has, it is hard to get a handle on things. Knowledge increases understanding and understanding increases acceptance (and, ironically, I’ve written on this very subject elsewhere this morning). It seems a shame that our society relies on people opening up and talking about their own situation for the rest of us to understand and accept. Thankfully, with the various media available to us today, it becomes easier to do that – which, I guess, is a good thing.

By: Mo Morgan

Mo Morgan — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:40:51 +0000

Afterword: In the above, the author has drawn parallels between Bipolar Disorder and homosexuality in five distinct areas. These parallels are:

the act of "coming out" and the state of "being out" about either being gay or having Bipolar Disorder;
the number of people in the public eye identified as being gay or having Bipolar Disorder;
the fact that the causes of neither homosexuality nor Bipolar Disorder are fully understood and, in all senses other than the academic, are not particularly relevant;
were it possible for homosexuals to be in some way converted to being heterosexual, most (in this author's opinion) would choose not to - theoretically similar to how most of those with Bipolar wouldn't accept a "cure" for their condition; and,
the fact that both homosexuality and mental illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder have carried a historical stigma that is still upheld (in varying degrees) today, mainly through lack of knowledge and/or public exposure.

These are the only connections that have been made. Homosexuality provides probably the best example of a phenomenon that has become more widely accepted in civilised cultures through wider acceptance and understanding. The author does not believe, nor has attempted to suggest, that homosexuality could be considered to be in any way connected to mental illness other than in relation to the sociological issues surrounding both phenomena in modern society. The author respectfully requests that readers note that what is published here is an opinion based on personal experience. Also, it is the opinion of a patient and not a doctor. Finally, it took over three years of procrastination to get this online. The relief is immeasurable.