You see a vibrant, fun and clever woman with style in front of you. She must be a CEO or an executive. She has an amazing life, family and yearly holidays. I have none of this.

When I am low, people still expect me to move mountains. “You can’t be that depressed, you seem fine!” So, my outside doesn’t match my inside and that’s how I survive. I’ve learned to do these years before I got diagnosed, I knew I was very different, and I adapted to try and fit in.

Stigma for me is the lack of compassion. The inconsistency of my illness, its bipolarity, makes it hard for people to understand that I can no longer move mountains.

Bipolar Disorder is a very serious complex mental illness and much is not known, still today.

I need to tread carefully with my treating professionals, it’s a question of survival at times.

Getting help when not in an acute state is a long and difficult process.

It is difficult to connect with others, makes it difficult to be honest. It creates an emotional load that is exhausting. When I do manage to physically leave my home, I have found solace in others like me. Other bipolar sufferers who won’t judge or doubt. I connect with them because they understand, they’ve all been through similar.

We pool our shared experiences, and I discover new resources. With their compassion, I get to remove my mask and feel normal in my illness. I am not alone