This reminds me of last year when I was thinking about adopting a foster kid and I realized if I sought treatment for my depression it could some how be used against me. Now I figure I'm really too messed up to be a parent...although I always was. It would be nice to be a mentor, but that's probably also out of the question unless no one finds out I'm bipolar. Having a chemical imbalance that is fully treatable doesn't mean we'd ever do anything to harm a child. That's just dumb. Now, if we were say, hallucinating 24-7 it might be difficult to even cross the street by ourselves, let alone with a kid, but really. I think bipolar people are some of the most sensitive and kind on the planet. It's probably our sensitivity that makes us more prone to being triggered by really sad or happy things. Our emotions are not totally dulled and denied like "normal" people. In that sense we'd probably be better mentors or parents to kids who have been through trauma. After all, most of us have too and know what it's like to feel lost and helpless in this often scary world.