Welcome back to the bin, my fellow freaks!
Before I get back to dispelling myths about bipolar disorder, I want to talk a little about words. As a writer, words are my bread and butter. Language can be very powerful. Words don`t just help us define reality, they shapes it. Poor, tiny Pluto is not a planet anymore. Why? We SAY it isn`t, that`s why.
Whacko. Nutcase. Lunatic. Psycho. Freak.
Those words can be particularly powerful when used with evil intention. A few of you reading this might be upset by me referring to people who suffer from bipolar disorder as whackos. This is understandable. Those words can seriously hurt, particularly when they come from a “friend.” Trust me. I know.
Just as words can make meaning, they can be meaningless. It depends on 2 things: the individual who’s speaking them and that person’s intent. Here’s an example:
As a writer I spend a large amount of time indoors. I am 1/8th Cherokee, so I’d tan well if I saw the sun more frequently than I do. The rest of my ancestry is Caucasian. In other words, my skin is as white as the driven snow. Now I’m going to say a word and then dive for cover.
Nigger.
Man… I feel like an asshole even typing that.
That word was used by white folk to oppress black folk for a very long time, and boy was it a powerful one. It was the neutron bomb of English for a particularly long time. That word was employed to cause shame, which is why I feel positively awful even saying it
However, the N-word (sorry I can’t bring myself to type it again) is only a weapon when it’s used like a weapon. Watch any movie, go to any club, walk down any street and you may hear black people kidding around and using it like a term of endearment. It’s OK for them to speak it, because they ARE it. For me to say it? Probably not OK. I can possibly get away with it this one time because my intention isn`t to harm, but to help. Or at least I’m hoping I can. If not, please accept my earnest apology.
Being bipolar, the character of our sickness guarantees that we are an emotional bunch, but let’s try to not be too sensitive about words. They can only harm us if we let them. Let’s begin with the one I dislike the most:
Freak.
Freak freak freak freak FREAK FREAK FREAK!!!
If I say that word repeatedly, it stars to sound like gibberish, something I just made up. The more that I use it, the less it means. The less it means the less harm it can do.
Try it for yourself. Pick the one word you detest the most and say it repeatedly. Make that word just as dead as the not-a-planet Pluto. Just don’t forget that your word isn’t dead to everyone . If that word bothers somebody else, don’t say it around them. It is all about kindness, people. It’s that easy.
Well, once more, I am over word count. And I haven’t even discussed one myth, but I may have just dispelled one.
Bipolar Parable 3: “Being bipolar makes you a bad person.”
I am bipolar. If I was a bad person, would I make such an effort as I did to avoid offending the black community? Nope. I’d be screaming the N-word from the roof without shame.
There are people out there who are scared of folks with bipolar disorder due to actions of a few select people.Yes, there are some who really are wicked, vicious people who are dangerous to others, but there are many, MANY most wicked people who DON`T have bipolar disorder. Most of us are rather like you. Some of us, and I am not naming names here, are gentle, loving dads who try to not let their children see them cry during Disney flicks.
OK. It’s me. I do that. Pathetic, right? Well this whole article has been about liberating yourself from shame, so I might as well come out of the closet. Disney pictures make me cry sometimes. That fact may actually make me a freak. Having bipolar disorder, however, does not.
Till next time, my fellow freaks keep fighting!
Read the original article ” Words as Weapons and another Bipolar Disorder Myth Dispelled ” on
Kurt Pedersen’s Blog about bipolar disorder, depression & anxiety.