You are much more than your bipolar disorder. You don't need to let it define you. You can attain success, happiness, fulfillment, achievement, and more in life despite having bipolar disorder. But at the same time, the bipolar experience is one that often sits at your core—in your brain, in your emotions, and consequently very much in your sense of who you are. It’s not in an elbow or a foot. Generally speaking, the experience of the disorder feels more like "being," as opposed to "having," yet you will hear people in normal conversation speak of both being bipolar and of having bipolar disorder.

When you’ve sprained an ankle, it typically doesn’t feel central to your sense of self. It’s something you have, not something you are. But think of times you’ve been sad or depressed. In those moments, you say, "I am sad," as opposed to "I have sadness." In other words, feeling is being. So the reality is that many people with bipolar disorder often think of themselves as "being bipolar," because that’s how they feel it. When we use that common expression in this book, it’s because we want to reflect that feeling, which is a part of their experience.

It’s important for you to know that you, not the disorder, define and create your future. This awareness is important to hold on to; otherwise you might feel that life with bipolar disorder is like river rafting without any oars, where you’re simply being carried along and tossed about by the river’s currents, eddies, and occasional rapids. While the expression "being bipolar" does mean that you have an ongoing mental disorder, it is not meant in any way to minimize or detract from your sense of individuality or power, or the possibilities for your life.

excerpt from Facing Bipolar: The Young Adult's Guide to Dealing with Bipolar Disorder by Russ Federman, Ph.D., and J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD