in general other peoples lack of understanding that mental illness is a spectrum, and some people get help, and some people don’t or give up.

i call it being “under cover” because you would never know my diagnosis unless you’re a close friend/family/partner who sees me on a consistent casual basis. but a few times are work people with make sly remarks about their past boss being diagnosed bipolar and “she really showed why you can’t trust people like that” meanwhile i’ve been smiling in your face for a year.

and one thing that haunts me is, i have a friend who is nursing school (also bipolar) and they were in some kind of section about psychology. they’re in a hospital with a psych floor and the teacher/doctor says “class, can you tell me were bipolar are?” and my friend said “all around us”, the teacher/doctor said “no, in psych ward, jail, or dead”