Can I control this
 

so I was talking to my friend about my mental illness and bipolarness and she said to me " but you can control it" " you can stop being like that if you wanted to"

and I was like I don't think i can I don't think it works like that.
am I right? would it really be possible to control yourself? it really got me thinking like is it my fault I'm like this is it because i choose to be like this or is it all out of my control?

While there may be certain aspects you can learn to get more control over, there are parts of the illness you cannot, and it certainly isn't your fault

Nobody chooses to have an illness

x

You can manage the symptoms, like impulsiveness or irritability or self harming.
But you cannot control your brain chemistry. That's why we have meds, to help stabilise things inside that can cause the chaos outside.

I have depression, PTSD and borderline symptoms, and I certainly cannot control all aspects of my illness. However I can become more aware of how it effects me, the internal dynamics, as well as potential triggers.

I agree with what has already been posted, you can have control over management of the symptoms but not of the actual illness. If you had the flu, you could take cough medicines etc but you couldn't make the flu go away.

You can have control over the symptoms by making sure you take your medication, taking regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, doing relaxation. These things help me to manage my anxiety and BPD.