{"id":13054,"date":"2020-04-11T16:48:04","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T23:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/?p=13054"},"modified":"2020-04-07T16:51:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T23:51:37","slug":"my-thoughts-on-acceptance-of-the-bipolar-disorder-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/my-thoughts-on-acceptance-of-the-bipolar-disorder-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"My Thoughts on Acceptance of the Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This article was originally published on the Bp Magazine webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Acceptance comes and goes. I roll with it….<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Degrees of Doubt<\/h3>\n

Never completely accepting that I have bipolar doesn\u2019t mean that I don\u2019t work hard to manage the illness daily.\u00a0I work on this management\u00a0despite\u00a0<\/em>my inability to calmly accept that this bipolar is in my brain for life.<\/p>\n

There is no magic date that I can look to where I changed so profoundly that having bipolar became easier. I don\u2019t have a specific number of days\u2014or even years\u2014I can use to measure success. Bipolar management is usually three steps forward and two steps back. I then have to count the one step I did manage to stick to.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay if your acceptance comes and goes. One day, you\u2019re open to having bipolar; the next, you feel that it\u2019s impossible your diagnosis is true. This is the struggle. We can\u2019t see this illness.\u00a0 There is no genetic test. There is no blood test. It doesn\u2019t show up on a brain scan. It\u2019s diagnosed by examining behaviors and thinking.<\/p>\n

It makes total sense we would doubt what is going on even when we\u2019re the ones with the symptoms!<\/p>\n

– Embrace the doubt.
\n– Embrace the up-and-down nature of believing and then not believing.
\n– Embrace not fully accepting that this illness is real.<\/p>\n

Just say yes to getting help with your moods and behaviors. That is all that matters.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Point of \u201cAccepting\u201d a Diagnosis?<\/h3>\n

If you have mania and depression that you can chart, you have bipolar.<\/p>\n

Acceptance doesn\u2019t affect whether or not you have the illness.\u00a0You either have bipolar or you don\u2019t. It\u2019s like diabetes. Acceptance just makes life easier. It\u2019s a calmer life when we say, \u201cI\u2019m not happy about this, but I know that I have bipolar and have to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re here because you don\u2019t think you have bipolar, and you\u2019re upset that others say you do: First, I commend you for reading this. Second, why not figure this out and then do something to find peace?<\/p>\n

Start with this question:\u00a0What do the people around you think about your behavior?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n