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Hey everyone :))
First time posting here - though I sought out a mental health group (chose this one) because of a recent experience I had when I told someone my mental health diagnosis. I wanted to share and get some feedback - it made me think.
Some background on myself, I'm diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and Bipolar 2 (there are more, but they aren't significant to this story). I'm very comfortable with my diagnosis, I've been struggling with mental illness for years. In fact, I think of a diagnosis more like a personality trait - they come as go as you age and everyone has something at some point. So, it's not a big deal for me to casually share what I'm diagnosed with (assuming it's relevant to the conversation). I have an individual therapist I see regularly, but recently I've also been talking to a drug court counselor because of some stupid things I did.
This past week I was talking to the court counselor about a few things I had been struggling with (because I've been involved in a legal case for a few months now, this isn't the first time he and I have talked. In fact we talk damn-near on a daily basis, per the judge's request [insert eye roll]). I mentioned my diagnoses and he was visibly caught off guard.
He said "I see, people with borderline are extremely violent, I'll have to remember that about you". I was genuinely offended. I corrected him, "Actually it's more of an intense emotional response. Every emotion we feel is felt to the extreme. Some people are violent because that's how they express that intense emotion." I explained to him that I internalize all of that emotion - I've never been an externally violent person.
So, my question to everyone is: How have y'all dealt with people's responses to your diagnosis? Do you tell people? Do you not tell people, possibly because you're afraid of their reaction? Maybe you've had a good experience when sharing that information with someone?
Let me know :)
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