‘There’s a societal push for conformity in all ways,’ he said, ‘there’s less tolerance of difference. And so maybe for some people having a label is better. It can confer a sense of hope and direction. “Previously I was laughed at, I was picked on, no one liked me, but now I can talk to fellow bipolar sufferers on the Internet and no longer feel alone.” ’ He paused. ‘In the old days some of them may have been given a more stigmatizing label like conduct disorder or personality disorder or oppositional defiant disorder. Childhood bipolar takes the edge of guilt away from parents that maybe they
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