You're not the category...
I am not bipolar or schizoaffective
Wake up, Barnaby.
You’re not bipolar or schizoaffective, so don’t introduce yourself by telling them you’re bipolar or schizoaffective.
You’re a man of conviction, a writer, a poet, an autodidact, a philosopher, a theologian, and a high-caliber mind.
DO NOT reduce yourself to a category. Don’t allow people to simply define what a mental illness is.
The man writing this essay is the man redefining what mental illness looks like.
I am not manic. I am not depressed. I am not psychotic. I am not delusional. I am not crazy. I am not out of my mind.
Would any of those descriptors be able to write and think any of this now?
Or are you thinking it should be more like this:
AH let me shoot the moon as I spoon this cream of thought into the cone of knowledge telling you what a bipolar writer looks like yes these sentences will runnnnn and even sprint to the next idea
I write that as a med compliant man. I can write what bipolar looks like because I’ve been there, and I live with symptoms and clusters of high octane looks like. I remember writing like that, trying to rhyme words and describe a state of mind.
However, just because I can write like I’m bipolar doesn’t give you permission that I am bipolar because I am not.
The ability to describe an experience does not mean the experience owns my identity.
An actor can play a king on stage with flawless execution, but the moment the curtains close, he doesn't believe he's royalty.
I am Barnaby, a writer, a poet, a lover, a reader, a learner, and an observer.


Amen to that!