Unwanted Advice

During my recent manic episode my husband was so kind as to tell me I’m not bipolar, I just have really bad PMS. This made me feel both terrible and totally invalidated in a matter of seconds.

But, it made me think about the things people have told me over the years about my mental illness (or lack thereof), and how to ‘cure’ myself. Here are just a handful of misguided suggestions:

1. Essential Oils – Just sniff some lavender and your anxiety will go away. Put some bergamot on your feet before bed and you’ll wake up feeling normal as a jaybird.
2. CBD – Take pills of the not-fun parts of weed! It heals everything!
3. Exercise – Get outside and get that blood pumping. Who cares if you trained for and ran a half marathon and nothing changed, just a little walk will whisk those blues away.
4. St. John’s Wort – It’s nature’s antidepressant! It’s also extremely dangerous for a person with bipolar to take!
5. Vitamins – Get some vitamin D. Get some vitamin C. Spend $100 a month to have expensive pee.
6. Sleep – Regulate your sleep. YOU REGULATE MY SLEEP!
7. Light Therapy– Avoid blue light before bed. Don’t read an engaging book or watch tv. Sit in silent darkness until sleep overtakes you, which could be 4 days from now.
8. Meditate – While I actually do love meditation, it’s not curing shit.
9. Be Positive – It’s all in your head. Yes, yes it is.
10. Faith – God never gives you more than you can handle, sweetheart.

While I know people are well meaning when they recommend these things, they are ignorant of treatment, spreading dangerous information, and stigmatizing medication.

Also, please never buy me an “I hate being bipolar, it’s awesome!” t-shirt if you want to keep your thumbs.