A few days ago, my partner told one of their coworkers about me making cookies at night, and the coworker immediately asked if I was manic. I decided to look into it and while I don't get highly manic or depressed, my behavior does match the symptoms pretty well. On top of that, about half of people with MS have a mood disorder.
I guess I don't want my partner to think of me as a normal person with a layer of personality on top due to BPD. And I really don't want them to be scared of my hurting them due to stereotypes about it. But there is a really good chance I have it (I will seek a diagnosis) and they have a right to know.
Edit: I sort of soft launched it by asking if they would think of me different or be scared of me if I had bipolar disorder, and they just straight up said yes, at least for a while. I'm hoping that at worst it's Cyclothymia.
I appreciate this. I get my labs done very often (upside of MS?) so I can safely rule out thyroid issues on my own. I didn't want to go into my own behavior for opsec, but there are certainly behaviors that line up with manic and depressive episodes, along with some history of mood disorders in my family, though like you said I'm aware there are other explanations.
Thanks for your kind words