MsSunflower's recent thread sparked a slightly different thread idea in my mind. It made me think of the times when people clearly noticed my bipolar disorder symptoms/behavior and either showed concern, or wanted to rectify/change it in various ways. I guess my thoughts about this are mostly "pre" diagnosis (or before my acceptance of the dx). I'd be curious to know about such concerns and/or reprimands others received or heard about during such times?

There were more than I can possibly remember. It's amazing, too, how many I simply brushed off. Not long ago, I told my therapist that I had a "Teflon shoulder", in a sense. Friends got angry or even stopped being friends with me. Strangers stared or even made stern statements about my behavior in public. I got let go from some jobs (though quit many, too). I was reprimanded by several past bosses. Some of the primary complaints were about me being "loud", "out of control", "aggressive", being "disruptive in public" (a mild word sometimes), occasionally "violent" (though always to things and not people", "unhinged"...

A couple of years ago, my husband told me that early in our marriage, he called my mother without my knowledge. He told her that he was deeply concerned about my behavior, including anger outbursts. [Irritability is, frankly, often too mild of a word.] Of course my mother had seen such behavior countless times, including from my sister and father. She sort of laughed it off and asked "Is BirdDancer shoving her chin out and roaring?" My husband said "Well, yes". In response, she said "Ohhh, give it a little time and she'll be OK." To that, he just let it go.

In addition to having periods when I was extremely loud, over energetic, motor-mouthed, and generally outrageous, I also had major issues with impulsivity, disinhibition, talking over people, and when they did talk, not being able to pay attention to them...because I was only concentrating on my own racing thoughts. That really annoyed my husband, who would often get angry about it and tell me. But again, I'd either say "OK, I'm sorry" and then soon after repeat the behavior. Or get angry in response. Either way, I was unable to learn from this feedback. Most of the time, because I felt justified in the behavior. Other times, impulsivity was an issue.

Unfortunately, to this day I still have breakthrough episodes and hear concern/reprimands. But I know its source and usually try to rectify it with prns, communication to my pdoc/tdoc, or other strategies.

How about some of your feedback or stories about others expressing concern, that you're willing to share?