My family has always been pretty supportive, but it took them a while to figure out that my bipolar was different from my parents' depressions. Sometimes the trigger was not an external event or the cognitive response to it and sometimes I didn't have a clue what triggered (that one took a long time to convey and pdoc had to help.) I didn't talk to my brother about it for years and I know he doesn't understand it, but loves me anyway. With friends, they're supportive but I generally only mention it in passing i.e. depression is high today. With people who I've met recently, they often say I don't look bipolar. "That's because my meds work!" is my reply.