As far as I'm concerned, the only "gift" it gives you is the deepest understanding of the emotional pain of others, and to help such persons if your own condition has improved.

I accept that this is of great value when it is needed; they who are willing to share their experiences deserve great thanks. And I agree there are things, like the creative products of mania, that make things slightly less awful than they could be but to me, this is not sufficient grounds to say it's worth years of:
suffering without treatment,
multiple changes in diagnosis,
complications and side effects arising from trying so many different medications,
and the damage in terms of my treatment of others, my reputation, and job prospects.