Speaking of old people (Innerzone :-) I'm getting on in that direction, am retired and have a bunch of stupid chronic stuff that I'm trying to accept. Health is becoming, for me, a part of a lifetime continuum; the medicines I take now have to do with this particular body and how it functions in total. I'm beginning to see it's not the whole of me and that just as my thinking/feeling head and heart have changed over time and with good therapy, so my body is changing over time because of wear-and-tear and it's own genetic issues?

You said your mother is bipolar too, if I had to invent an excuse to take my meds, I'd "blame" it on my genes/ancestors :-) Then it would just be like any other medical inheritance such as high blood pressure, etc.? Think of it as a body or medical thing instead of a mental, head, brain problem. Most people aren't that invested in their bodies other than for "looks". Think of all the things your body does right/well; you're ambulatory aren't you? Think how useful that is :-) If you don't have breathing problems, I envy you there; I've had enough asthma issues to feel wary and anxious enough to not take breathing for granted.

But think about that; how absurd is it not to be able to breathe? It takes no thought, should be automatic and yet I sometimes fail at it :-) We like to think our moods and thoughts and feelings are under our control but they're all really like breathing or dreams; our body is doing its thing the best that it is able; and that's a good thing, that we can't control it, because we'd make a mess of it for sure?