I just wanted to say that having a physical ailment really affects the quality of life. Take my ex with debilitating pain and no mental illness - I would not want to trade places with him; he is very stoic about the pain and I would have been at the end of my rope with it. I also would not want to be asthmatic; back when I still got upper respiratory infections I would get into almost a state of panic when I could not breathe through the nose - I would be frightened as hell if I had asthma. I prefer bipolar. I would not want to be morbidly obese - I'd rather be bipolar. Same with diabetes, lupus, RA, MS, cancer, TB, and what not. I'd rather be bipolar. I know it is easy for me to say this because I have found medications and wellness strategies that work very well - my bp is well managed - but I still want to say this. I'd rather be bipolar.