I have this problem. People will really really like me and at some point, I have to tell them why I don't work. I call it dropping the "B" bomb. Saying I am bipolar. Those of you who know bipolars and know me personally, know I handle it better than a lot. I am very proactive. The state has never had to step in. I have always been compliant with treatment. I find when people find out my income is SSDI because I was a personal assistant for years and also alimony because I was with the same man nearly two decades, they see me as a leach. That is upsetting because I paid my taxes for years into SSDI and I did everything for that man and he does not begrudge me a dime so why does anyone else feel they have a right to?

Also those who know me and have paid attention know that my "dating" has pretty much come to a screeching halt. My divining rod has gotten better and I am not going for men not up to snuff.

So who needs to know and when do they need to know?

I wouldn't view it as a bad thing. It just helps you weed out those who are not compatible with you is all. From what I've seen you post, I would say you have come a long way in life, and you don't need to associate with those who judge what they do not understand.

Don't pay them no mind, keep doing you.

Thanks for the response

5% of what you feel about your situation is factual. The balance is perceptual. When you see your illness is truly a part of who you are for its strengths and weaknesses, it will become as commonplace for you to tell others as it would be to let someone know a booger is hanging off their nose.

Have you found the strengths that come with your illness? If not, explore..

Don't sweat the small minds Terrible Terri!

It's like people who freak when they find I have hallucinations. Sometimes life hands us situations to see how we handle them. You are doing okay and someone who hangs around long enough will realize this.

Lot of people ASSUME and I just let them because even though I tell them they may be making and As-out of U and Me it is really their loss.

People with various forms of Mental Illness or Disableing Physical impairments number in the billions. And any given one of them has a range from barely perceptible to profound some say as many as 1 in 4 somewhere along their lifespan. Most work and pay taxes for years. Often if they can recover they even return to work. Now if they want to cut out all those people from their life they are going to be very lonesome. And miss a lot of cool people.

Besides the FACT that NO-ONE can collect Social security disability unless they are so disable they can not do ANY work in which they are trained to do.

If folks want more people off disability then provide more training and force employers to stop writing trashcan job discriptions that say virtually every employee must have to do a multitude of job discriptions even though the scope of the jobs usually are much more limited.

As far as dogging anyone as to collecting their Entitlements I just think "Hey what goes around, comes around', and sometime they are going to find out just how hard it is to collect when they need it. Then they will have an attitude adjustment.

Anyone that wants to gripe about what anyone gets as a spousal entitlement I kind of have to figure are too darn mean for anyone to want them long enough to collect any and they are just jealous.