Grieving the Identity You Lose After Bipolar Diagnosis

About this episode

A bipolar diagnosis can change how you see yourself, how your family sees you, and what you believe is possible. But is it mentally healthy to grieve the person you thought you were? In this episode, Gabe Howard (who lives with bipolar disorder) and Dr. Nicole Washington explore the complicated relationship between grief, denial, acceptance, identity, and recovery after receiving a bipolar disorder diagnosis. They discuss why some people need time to question a diagnosis, why learning about bipolar disorder is essential to understanding what you're actually accepting, and how stereotypes about mental illness can quietly become part of your identity. Listeners will learn: how diagnosis can change your identity why grief isn’t the same as denial when questioning a diagnosis can be useful how stereotypes can limit recovery Throughout the episode, Gabe shares what happened after his own diagnosis in 2003, including the loss of his home, marriage, career stability, and how he was treated by the people around him. They also examine what happens when bipolar disorder gets blamed for everything that goes wrong, why some losses may simply be part of life, and why a diagnosi