"End The Stigma"

When my mother was 15 years old she ran away from home. She hitchhiked all the way from Michigan to California. She ran away from home more than once but that's all I really know.
It got so bad that when she returned home she was hospitalized and diagnosed with Severe Bipolar Disorder.When I was 8 years old I walked into the kitchen. She had pills spread out all over the counter. Being 8 years old and clueless as to what was happening I said "Mom what are you doing?" She took a handful of the pills and called an ambulance. Before my eyes they took her away and I watched until the ambulance was no longer in sight. Luckily there were friends over to watch over me. She tried to commit suicide but Luckily was unsuccessful. A few days later I was placed in foster care for 6 months until my parents re gained custody over me. Throughout her life I've seen her go through med changes. I've experienced her being hospitalized in the middle of the night because she heard voices.I've witnessed her in psychosis when the medicine perscribed was not working effectively. When I was 12 years old my sister had to sign papers to commit her. When I was 15 my sisters and I had to commit her again. The last time she was committed I had to sign the paperwork I was 19 years old. She was threatening to call the cops on me while she was in the hospital. She threw coins down the hallway and kept coming out of the room they had put her in insulting the staff of the emergency waiting room. She was hospitalized for about 3 weeks and she has been stabilized since 2013. I can't possibly imagine the trama that was going through her mind at the time but I can tell you one thing. She felt as if the world was out to get her every time someone admitted her.  Bipolar Disorder is not a state of mind where one second you're in a bad mood and the next second your joyful. Bipolar Disorder is not pretending to be in a bad or upset mood just to gain attention. Bipolar Disorder is a serious illness that I grew up learning about my entire life. My mother is one of the most kind hearted people you will ever meet. I admire her strength greatly. She has friends who share similar illnesses and have struggled with the same trama of having a mental illness. They only see each other every once in a great while and they are the happiest group of friends I have ever seen together. They all uplift and encourage each other. None of them let their illness stop them from living their life. The simple state of being alive and well is what brings them gratitude and joy. There are times when they feel unwell but it never keeps them bitter. At least not for too long! Throwing around severe mental illness terms to define a bad day or a bad attitude is not okay. I'm tired of people throwing terms around loosely just to draw attention to themselves. It is one thing to know the definition from a term in a book and another to experience suffering or watching a loved one suffer.