Ever since I was a teenager I have struggled with the mental illness of bipolar disorder. I would cycle through high-energy manic phases where I would feel energized, powerful and creative and often go several weeks with only one or two hours of sleep per night and often several days in a row with no sleep at all. This would be followed by many weeks to months of severe dark depression where I would totally lose the will to live. I would completely withdraw from friends, family, work and responsibility and slowly watch my world collapse around me. This would eventually be followed by another manic phase where I would "kick it in gear" and work round-the-clock to try to fix all the problems I caused during my dark depression.