beermethestrength

Holy cow, I'm from southside VA but now live in Central VA. My parents and my husband's parents both live in the 4th District. Unfortunately, they're both neocons and my parents are Tea Partiers. It's a tough district in which to be intelligent.

EDIT: Thanks saucefan. I was an English major, and I said it the correct way in my head and then mistyped. :)

Interesting to know that some people working in mental healthcare suffer from it was well. I totally agree with you about terminology.

Something else we've noticed - his medication bottle says "for manic depression" on it. You don't usually see the illness on the side of a medication bottle, which seems like it adds to the stigma.

Thanks for doing this AMA! My husband has bipolar II, and he manages it through medication and occasional therapy. He is a professional and works in management, and he has kept his diagnosis quiet in his professional and personal life.

He has experienced a lot of stigma when it comes to people's perception of people with mental illness. He has also experienced it with people that work in mental healthcare. Do you find that your colleagues view people with mental illness negatively? What do you think can be done to break the stigma?

Exactly! As the patient, you know what it's for. You don't need everyone else judging you when you pick it up.