EXCERPT: “Having bipolar depression doesn’t define my personality or anyone else’s, but according to Dr. Yvonne Thomas, Ph.D, a Los Angeles-based psychologist whose specialties include relationships, “A person with a mental illness can be misread as not caring, being insensitive, or being aloof, which can affect even being able to start a relationship with a new person.” When I asked Matt* how he felt about potentially dating a woman with bipolar depression, he was skeptical. “It really depends on how it is. I do think it’s part of your identity but I hope you don’t let it define you. If you are really mean, that would make it hard. If you’re a mean person already, I think it adds to it then. So if that’s your situation that would be difficult for me.” …People with mental health concerns can, and often do, lead healthy, fulfilling romantic lives. But Dr. Thomas said that forming new relationships requires extra sensitivity and awareness of how to avoid misunderstandings and confusion.
Dr. Yvonne Thomas is a relationship therapist in Los Angeles. To read the full article “I made a tinder profile that was brutally honest about my mental health” visit vice.com