On Being Bipolar
Interesting article. I&#x27;ve been diagnosed with bipolar type 1 myself. I still struggle with accepting having that particular mental illness for two reasons; the way it is depicted in media and popular culture, and it being seen as a lifelong thing you can&#x27;t possible get rid of. This despite having a psychotic episode twice. You&#x27;d think these things are clear cut. But they&#x27;re not.<p>The first part of the article is spot on, really. Even medical professionals have strong biases that are pretty visible even when you&#x27;re institutionalized. Mentioning drug use is almost guaranteed to put you in a certain classification bucket. What&#x27;s more, once a history is taken, while being psychotic or (hypo)manic, you are once again put into some kind of classification bucket, despite not being well enough to frame things properly.<p>I don&#x27;t mean to be 
completely negative here. 
Once you are institutionalized, this is needed to get things back on track, start some kind of medication or figure out some first line treatment. However, the stigma afterwards is very real. GP&#x27;s, psychologists, even surgeons take in this information after the fact, and its almost factual. 
And the effects the author mentions are very much there; imagined or not, they are there for the ill person. Being extra careful not to seem overly rash, overly emotional, too impulsive around doctors. Just because they have your best interests at heart, doesn&#x27;t mean they&#x27;re free from bias.