i have schizoaffective disorder (BP1), and i wasn’t a mental health activist or anything, but it is a part of my life and i liked helping and supporting other people struggling with mental illness. 

however, some people in my life now can only see me as “that bipolar girl” and it’s so invalidating. aside from my diagnosis, im a naturally emotional and sensitive person. i cry just as easily as i laugh. im spontaneous and like to skip and pick flowers at the park. im fun weird. but these aforementioned people in my life want to pathologize my every quirk, mood swing, and idiosyncrasy i have. make a spontaneous and completely insignificant decision? “you’re manic.” slept like shit one night and slept in the next day? “are you depressed?” i make a choice they don’t think is good for me? now im mentally unstable and they know more about me than i do, apparently. i want to lower my medication dosage because of awful side effects? “i don’t know if you’re in the right mental state to make that decision.” feeling creative and make a bunch of cool and creative art? “were you manic/depressed/high?”

eugh. i ignore comments like that but im tired of the people around me thinking they’re my psychiatrist or are in my brain, im tired of people making my joy or regular human mood swings a clinical problem, or treating me like a child. has this or something similar happened to y’all?