Many people aren't good at relationships, particularly at the beginning.  What might be a time of excitement and optimism for the average person can turn to anxiety and depression for someone with bipolar.  In this blog post, I compare the feelings I experience during the beginning of a relationship - in this case, with Erik, a new love interest - with the mood fluctuations of bipolar disorder.

Everyone has a story about a couple they know who've argued openly on Facebook.  Or the person who was ostracized by their followers on Twitter.  Online social networks can bring out the worst in public behavior for some people, spurred on by anonymity and groupthink.  The average person might be plagued by the public nature of social networks.  However, when you have a mental illness, particularly one with a component of anxiety, tools like Twitter and Facebook can become breeding grounds for obsessive behavior.

I’ve always thought I was a good employee: I do good work, on time, and people generally like working with me. I say “generally” because at times in the past I’ve been a moody procrastinator who resists being told what to do. I’ve also burst into tears when given negative feedback from a boss and cursed at a coworker in front of several of our colleagues. Am I losing credibility here?

Many times I've complained that my family doesn't really understand mental illness.  They don't see the difference between depression and being sad, and even those who visited me in the hospital separated my condition from the severity of my surroundings. As hard as I've tried to get my relations to understand my illness, it's even more difficult to get them to see the signs of severe depression in others.

My last boyfriend had no clue that I suffered from depression. Some people may find that difficult to believe, but it's actually very easy to mask your feelings and symptoms. In my case, it was very easy to choose a partner from whom I could hide the truth and, therefore, to prevent myself from having a healthy and successful relationship.

Maintaining all relationships is difficult.  Dating is even harder.  But I think it takes a special kind of person to begin a relationship with a person who has a mental illness.  This fact hit home for me this weekend when I adopted a cat.   You might not immediately see the parallel between getting a pet and, say, dating someone with bipolar.  However, I adopted a cat who may have heart disease and it was a gut-wrenching decision.

This week I might see my ex-boyfriend, Grant. Everyone has an ex like Grant, you know, the guy you thought would be The One, who just turned out to be The One That Got Away.