I agree about the whole "sane" vs. "insane" argument. In the book I've been trying to read, they mention that so many historians have tried to argue that their heroes of literature, painting, and music were not "insane" or "sick" but just eccentric and had nothing wrong with them at all. Kay R. Jamison argues that none of these people were insane, they just probably had bipolar because they had periods of creativity followed by periods of inactivity and extreme depression. And they also had neutral/normal periods in between. So it's not all or nothing. Your brain chemistry can be tripped by something sending you either direction, but with the right meds and therapy we can lead pretty decent lives.

Most bipolar people, until about 60 years ago only had the option of being locked up to keep from hurting themselves or others when on either end of the spectrum. Then they'd get to a neutral period and they and/or their doctors would think they were cured. But we know better the cycles of this disease today. We're not bad people. Despite the way the media portrays our condition, bipolar people are typically gentle, sensitive, responsible, well accomplished, and hard working to the point of being perfectionists. Then we crash and feel deplorable because we were doing so well by anyone's standards. It's just dumb neural receptors/chemicals. And it's not our fault and it doesn't have to be deadly if treated properly.

Stay safe and well Bridgie.