Just Because I'm 'Unstable' Doesn't Mean I'm 'Off My Meds'

There is nothing more irritating when I hear on a movie or television show that the person is acting erratic because they are off their medications. It bugs me that one of my sisters assumes that I am not taking my meds when I am manic because I did that once over 20 years ago.

• What is Bipolar disorder?

Many people with bipolar disorder are medication resistant or are simply trying to find the right combinations of meds that work. For the unlucky ones, it can be years and years of visits with psychiatrists. I take my medication as prescribed and it is so frustrating that I can’t stay stable.

I am either manic or severely depressed and no medication seems to appease that. My close relatives that fight this fight with me every day know that I am doing everything in my power to stay healthy and that I am taking my meds as prescribed.What irritates me the most is when people who see someone in a state of mental illness at a hospital assume they are off their meds.  This is not true. The same goes for people portrayed in Hollywood.

Once I would like to see a storyline where someone is taking all their meds and they are still not working. There is enough stigma going around about mental illness that we don’t need to add that it is a choice for someone to get manic or go off their meds.