I read your post again and want to be clear: Those swings have nothing to do with my bipolar disorder. That is just me having fun posting on a message board. Totally different than real mania, hypomania, and suicidal depression. All three of which I've been managing with medication and therapy for a few years now. You haven't "seen my swings."
Well, it's hard to explain the illness to people who don't have it. It's not everyday mood swings. It's more than that. It is a very painful HELL. Even the highs and the manias are tougeh because they're imposed on you. They're distortions of reality. Real flying up and down is just awful. Painful, painful, painful. It's not like "oh, I feel badly today" or "I'm upset the Blazers lost." The feelings are more akin to what you would feel if the worst tragedy befell you. For instance, I once scratched my car pulling out of a parking lot. It was a very small scratch. I didn't just "overreact." I experienced the pain that was akin to that of someone whose family all died in a plane crash. It was a horrible, I want to kill myself pain. All because of a little scratch. That scratch is still there and it's so ridiculously small. But it was the illness that sent me out of proportion. Man, the suicidal feelings were so awful. Over and over and over. Thankfully, that is all in the past now. So to answer your question, I don't think it should be tossed around lightly. But calling someone "bipolar" in a sports forum I guess is the same thing as calling a player a "cancer." Unless the person is bipolar. Just like it would be in bad taste to call a player with cancer a "cancer."
I disagree...at times bi polar and cancer are perfect terms to desribe fans or players...its obvious nobody is trying to insult anyone who actually have those two things Its not like calling something "gay'...that I can understand since that is insulting somebody when being gay isnt a bad thing....I think we can all agree that having cancer or being bipolar sucks, therefore not insensitive
That's what I'm saying. It's fine to "call out" someone as bipolar or a cancer unless the person actually is bipolar or has cancer. Then, it's just mean.
My uncle has been battling it all his life. It's a hard, hard battle. Brave of you to bring it up, KingSpeed. PBF
You've got to feel for a guy who we all know, even if just through posting, who has to deal with something like this. You have to give KingSpeed credit for being open and honest about his problem, and it's a good thing to be able to share life's ups and downs with people you consider friends. I find it hard to fathom that people stoop to bringing in his problem as a means of putting him down. MP showed a lot of class by realizing how hurtful his post was, apologized, and deleted his own post. I hope people who feel likewise inclined to make something out of KingSpeed's medical issue think twice about it and have that same kind of class. Here's to you, KingSpeed.
