Filled with fear and confusion, a mother states, “You would not know my son has bipolar disorder, he doesn’t look like one.” What I hear this mother saying is “I have all of these preconceived ideas about mental illness.”

Preconceived ideas can be devastating to a person who has just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It creates fear, which leads to isolation. So for a moment, let us look at the truth about bipolar disorder.

The truth is, you have probably come into contact with an individual who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder today. They are of all ages, every walk of life, male and female alike.

Can you determine who has bipolar disorder in this picture?
Most of the time you would not be able to distinguish between someone with bipolar disorder and anyone else.

Individuals with bipolar disorder may have great challenges, but then again, whose to say when any of us get up in the morning, ready to face the day, that our challenges are not as great; they are just different.