I agree with Kay Jamison that Bipolar is both a euphemism and a misnomer. At least when you have Bipolar I. So, like her, I prefer the old name, Manic Depressive Psychosis, because it reflects reality. Likewise, a manic attack is just that to me - an attack; it is a not a sterile "episode" or "mood episode". So I prefer to call a spade a spade.

On the other hand, there is still stigma around us, and using words that are precise yet non-scary and non-judgmental is kinda nice. So when I happened upon the newest coinage, "brain-based diseases", to cover BP, schizophrenia, etc., I liked it. It reflects the biological origin, the locus of the problem, and passes no judgment at all. Not "mental illness" (overloaded with judgment and unclear), not "psychiatric disease" (scary), but simply "brain-based".

I like that.