Because of my bipolar, I often fall into this trap of men who "want to take care of me and protect me". I know those of you who know me well, know full well this is not necessary.

And if I have an opposing opinion, it's not that I just disagree, it must be something wrong with my bipolar. This can be anything from who I think should be president next or if Michelle Obama should be dictating children's lunches or if a Catholic college should be forced to pass out birth control. If I disagree with them, it's the disability.

Those of you who know me, know I disagree on things with people openly and often. It has nothing to do with the bipolar.

If you found me one day agreeing WITH everyone, THEN you know something is wrong with me as those of you who know me well would agree.

Does anyone else get put through this?

I never really considered someone with Bipolar as being disabled. I'm not saying it's not, nor am I saying it's not difficult to deal with and overcome. Please note that I'm not mocking or saying you're wrong about it. I don't know what it's like for you and it's not for me to say it is or it isn't a disability for you. I just personally never looked at it as disabling a person.
I do get what you're saying though. For various reasons I've encountered people that are so certain they are correct and I am in the wrong on something that I can't even grasp the higher level of reality they are on than I am lol I just walk away Some battles are just not worth fighting.

I do not know everything there is to know about being bipolar. But you said it best, having an opposing opinion from someone has nothing to do with being bipolar. And the next time someone tells you that, you should quietly tell them that differing opinions and bipolar are not the same thing. And that it was a cop-out that they used that as an excuse to sway your opinion to their way of thinking.

Well, it's a chemical imbalance in the brain. It's very real. I have to take medication for life and it does affect me greatly in that I can no longer work BUT it is not like I cannot think for myself. I do everything a normal person does. I do have problems such as getting manic which for me is super hyper and I do have anxiety attacks but that does not mean I need to coddled in a shoebox or guarded like the Hope diamond.

I mean those who know and have known me my whole life well before I was diagnosed know I was an opinionated 6 year old. I have always been "Very Terri". My year books all are signed, "You are so wild and crazy and I love it. Never change". There are plenty of boring non-opinated persons with bipolar. I just happen not to be one. I mean I am a member of PETA and the NRA. I tell people I need the guys to shoot people who abuse animals. That has nothing to do with the bipolar. I just love animals and the 2nd ammendmnet (spell check is insisting that is correct but it looks wrong to me).

Do you think it's the actual Bipolar in you that makes you so opinionated? Or do you think maybe that part is just you, how you are, and maybe you really just are a fun, wild, & crazy person and maybe you really shouldn't change?
I know that some people simply don't know how to talk or deal with someone with any kind of disorder or disability. People get uncomfortable when they are around things and people they don't understand, rather than just asking questions to try to understand it more. Or they just dismiss you as being crazy because a "normal" person of course would agree with them.

It has nothing to do with the bipolar. They just blame it on that. I have always been opinionated. I have always been wild. I do not dance naked on medians but I have heated debates with people over politics and such. I had one friend who was into conspiracies. I am not and I would say "okay give me one to study and then we will discuss" and we would. I would find some twisted and weird way to look at it. Play the "if it were true" game. I mean I have all sorts of weird games like I will not date you if you fail at the "You could be my fetus if....." game or if you lose at "Terri Scrabble" which means writing letters using words with 5 or more separate letters of the alphabet in one word. If you write the word, Cos or Cuz as 'cause or because is too long, I will bang my head against the keyboard as a reply (that's a joke but I seriously hate that).