I Am Not My Illness

by OklahomaRose

I am a person not a disorder

A unique individual with feelings and a
Mind of my own

Normal is an illusion--the only normal people are the
Ones that you don't know well
Think about that before you judge me

My illness does not define who I am
You say I overreact at times when

I have valid feelings
Legitimate, natural and normal for the situation
Little things do set me off at times
Nevertheless, please don't belittle me
Everything I say and do is not a
Symptom of my disorder
Special care must be taken not to confuse the person I am with the illness I have

OklahomaRose is a member of our Bipolar Disorder community, and originally posted this poem on our Forum.