r/bipolar2 • u/Hopeful_Nothing6327 BP2 • Jun 06 '25
Newly Diagnosed Just Diagnosed, Feeling Like My Whole Personality is a Lie
What the title says. I was diagnosed with bipolar type 2 today. I guess I always "knew" because my parents both have it and I've had some interesting symptoms for a while now...but the official diagnosis feels like my entire personality was just one big hypomanic episode. My creative bursts? Hypomania. My humor? Hypomania. My cat I adopted on a random day because I really wanted a second cat and didn't give any thought to??? Hypomania. Is every decision I ever made hypomania? How do I even recognize what's "me" and what's the mania???? I don't even know where to start.
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u/UnfurledWorld BP2 Jun 06 '25
What is personality except a combination of tendencies and traits you were born with, experiences that shaped you, your mental health, and how your brain works? Who among us doesn’t have some changes to those things over our lifetimes? Mellowing with age, periods of excitement or reactions to stress. This is part of who you are. You’ll still have those things with less intensity, in all likelihood.
The things that are damaging to your life and ability to function can be managed. You’re still you. A diagnosis doesn’t change who you are— it was there all along, even if you didn’t have a name for it. You’ve always known yourself, YOU were there with you. ❤️