Because I Look 'Normal' Doesn't Mean I'm Not Mentally Ill

I've been getting some recurring comments about how I look 'normal' and it seems I don't have a mental illness.

Wrong.

Being mentally ill has nothing to do with looking normal. I can have my moments, and have my mania and depressive episodes and still look 'normal'. I've been told I look like there's still life in me, and which makes me 'normal'. 

If anything, I take these comments quite offensively. Or I could take it another way - don't give a f*** what they think. Whether or not I have life in me, I still have a chronic illness. 

Mind you, there have been times I have been iller than before, to the point I couldn't bathe myself and feed myself. That was a long time ago.

I still acknowledge that I have a mental illness, and although I may be 'better' now, I am managing this illness better - than IT managing me. I learnt to have a safety plan installed when something is going wrong. To be insightful of my triggers and side effects, and now a right action plan to solve problems to problems.

Photo by Nina Timonen of Smile And Keep