Thank you for shedding the stigma, thank you for being brave enough to step out and tell us what that disease behind door number three is. All too often it seems that we rely upon the celebrity confessionals for our impressions and understanding of the disorders that dog our mental health, like bipolar disorder. But today you stepped out from behind the curtain and called it what it is and revealed yourself to anyone who reads, or cares to read.

But mostly, thank you for finding the resolve to stay alive even in the face of overwhelming darkness — the fire, the depression, the nightmares, the ’seeing’.

You say,

But if the choice is, woo, approval of people I’d sneer at on the street (or in high school), or “I got help and I’m alive, thanks.” Which do you think I’d pick? That I’d pick any day of the week? Because nothing stops me from making comics and sharing them, and nothing is stopping me from doing my part to normalize a misunderstood disease by saying,

“It’s not just you. Remember, the sick people are the ones who don’t get help.”

I say, right on, sister. If the comic folks are smart, they’ll pay you a heckuva lot of money to write a comic based on your experiences, your truth.

Here’s a shout-out to all of the thoughtful people who have visited my post about Britney Spears and the possibility that bipolar disorder is at the bottom of her behavior: Come and support Lea. Read what she writes, because she drew her curtain away for you, and for those you love.

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