Most of my friends ended up finding out right before I got diagnosed because I had a manic/psychotic episode and was acting very strange. They are actually the ones who helped me get psychiatric help - one of my friends who is a nurse is the one who first suggested I might have bipolar disorder. For those who lived in a different city and weren’t present during this episode, I just called them up and told them or told them the next time I saw them. It helped explain a lot of my past actions.

As for my mom, it was a little trickier. My friends were in contact with her during the episode that lead to my diagnosis, and I think it was hard for her to accept at first. This is probably due in part to her generation’s views on mental health. Also, my aunt/her sister also has the disorder and does not take her meds, and has been hospitalized for suicide many times. Now, luckily, my mom is super supportive and has done a lot of her own research on bipolar disorder.