In having bipolar disorder, there is an important person that I have lost. Occasionally, I meet him in my imagination, especially in my disappointments. This person is the “me” that I might have been if I had never had bipolar disorder, and he has been with me in my imagination for a long time.

I first encountered this concept when researching social rhythm therapy. I won’t discuss the details of that therapy in this post (there’s more information here), but one of its important concepts is that we go through stages of coping with bipolar disorder. One of these stages is “mourning,” the stage in which we come to terms with the negative ways in which bipolar disorder has impacted our lives. Continue reading →