In my post called “The Martian” I had said I knew what it felt like to be alone, abandoned, injured, basically what Matt Damon’s character felt when he was left behind on Mars. Yes I know what that feels like but only from the times I’m not feeling well. That is what this illness called bipolar disorder feels like. That is not the real me, that is the ill me. The real me does not feel abandoned or alone or injured. The real me is strong, happy, capable, helpful to others and in control of my life. That is the real me. Unfortunately, the real me sometimes gets drowned by my illness. But the true me is always there, whether camouflaged by my illness or not.  And it is with this real me, the true me, not my illness, it is with the real me that I live my life. The ill parts are simply short voyages into hell from which I do emerge often stronger and wiser than before. As so aptly said in the comments section by my friend Laura Schulman, I am not my illness and my illness is not me, categorically! Just a clarification.