Everyone who has bipolar disorder has lost many friendships because of the illness. In my case, this has happened because my psychotic episodes have made people afraid of me. Ironically, I am scared that I am being chased by agencies like the CIA when I am psychotic, so I am afraid of everyone. The media’s appetite for stories that pair mental health issues with violence and politicians perpetuating the erroneous belief that gun violence is a mental health issue does not help. Mentally ill people are no more likely to be violent than the general population.

I had my last full blown manic episode in 2010. Once it was over I lost all of my friends save one individual I saw regularly. Since then, I have battled hard to rebuild my life. An integral part of this process was attending a peer support group. This led to friendships with people with bipolar disorder who were successfully managing their illness and it gave me the confidence to seek out other friendships.

My new friends are extraordinary people. They are some of the most caring people I have ever met. My friend Monica (not her real name) introduced me to the group. It was Monica’s birthday on the weekend. It was a grand event. We set up a party for her in one of the local gorgeous parks we have in Calgary. Fish Creek provincial park is a 13 square km (5.2 sq miles) right in the middle of the city. It’s a forested area with fire pits and clearings to do activities. We played badminton, bocce ball and threw around a frisbee.

We ate several types of chicken that was cooked on an open flame. My friend from Hong Kong brought her Chinese style chicken and our Bengali friend brought her Bengali flavoured chicken. I am sure there are many different types of Chinese and Bengali style chicken but unfortunately, I didn’t ask the exact name of the dishes.  

This weekend’s event had a friend group of seven people and I have other groups of friends too. I have not had a full-blown manic episode since 2010 and I am grateful to have so many people who care for me and are a joy to be around. There was a time when I thought that would never be possible and I am grateful that today I have so many friends.