Should I tell my friends I have BP?

Your decision to tell others you have BP is exactly that, your decision. No one else can/should make it for you. No one should be forced into telling someone they have BP. Every person suffering from BP has to make the decision of wether or not to tell their friends at some point in there life. Its especially hard for teens to tell their friends they have BP. I guarentee every teen has asked themselves at one time or another "Should i tell my friends i have bipolar disorder?" i know i did. Many many times. Sometimes many times in one week alone. I was very self conscious about it, to the point where i would have anxiety attacks. In fact the first time i told a friend from school i had BP was after she wittnessed a minor melt down and asked me what was wrong. I broke down and told her everything which to my delight did not make her laugh or make fun of me, which had been my fear of what might happen, instead it made her more supportive and understanding. Ironically my brother was the complete opposite. He didn't care if everyone in the world knew. Which wasn't always good for me because he also didn't care if everyone in the world knew his sister had BP too. Thankfully my mother told him something which i think applys very well here. She said its great that your comfortable enought to let people know that you have BP, but that's how you feel. Your sister doesn't want anyone to know. If she wants to tell someone she has BP then she will, but she'll tell them herself. What i brought away from that experience is everyone is different. Some teens will have no problem telling their friends, while others may not want to tell them at all. Also, the way you feel may change as you grow older (or as your mood swings change). My brother and i switched places as we got older. Now he isn't as willing to tell just anyone he has BP, and now i obviously feel way more comfortable about it. To the point of wanting to tell other people instead of wanting to keep it to myself. It wasn't until i was older that i realized if the person i told was a true friend then i had nothing to worry about. If the person your calling a friend is a true friend then they will support you no matter what, and if their not and they do react negatively then it's their loss, not yours. But no matter what one thing never changes. The choice is yours.