Monday

 On Monday I played in the roles of the different part of me. Katie gave an impromptu random speech on Bipolar in a shopping centre. It began as a chat to one person about homelessness who mentioned the way that mental health can be a factor and I commented that I had Bipolar Disorder. 

He was an opinionated man who admitted he knew nothing about BP aside from what he had seen on TV but was interested and willing to listen, I felt a surge of passion engulf me as I educated him on the finer points of mania & depression, I was watching myself from a distance as the words flowed from my mouth of their own accord. The man asked a bunch of stereotypical questions but absorbed the new information and thanked me for giving it to him. He said he would go home tonight and tell his wife about this young lady with bipolar who talked too fast

 I looked up at one point and realised I must have also been speaking too loudly as we had gathered a little crowd. This ended in my first real hug from a complete stranger and filled a void in me with a rather euphoric contentment and a sense of achievement as though I had finally stood up for myself and made a difference. 

I left the shop and headed over to finally see my friend who I have been meaning to catch up with, she also happens to be a hairdresser and dyed half of my hair purple for me. I drove home on cloud 9, singing loudly with the music up and the windows down, finally expressing the carefree ‘Kate’ part of myself on the outside for the world to see.