I agree with a good bit of what others have said, to an extent. And I've had some physical condtions (Sleep Apnea/Anemia), that have been awful. But, if I wasn't mentally ill, I don't know it would have been as hard.

My mother is diabetic, has regular, hard-to-treat physical problems, yet I've never seen her fall into a depression or even get angry. My grandfather (her father) had severe chronic illnesses from the time I was born until he died (I was 16). He did get down and often wondered, "Why me?" But ultimately his disposition was amazingly positive and good humored. Common factor between the two of them? No mental illness.

Obviously I'm not trying to speak for others. But for me, being mentally ill on its own makes EVERYthing worse, no matter what it is.

But, in reading your posts, Dan, what kept popping up in my mind is, there is an underlying component--I believe--to what you and I and many feel in regards to wondering if "normal" is better. And that is that mental illness continues to carry a tremendous stigma. People understand and sympathize with physical illness much much more; they can SEE it... they can see someone with cancer, having seizures, having multiple sclerosis. They can't see our mental illness.

I know of many ppl--myself included--that have essentially been vilified merely because they can't see our maladies....."gotta see it to believe it."

In that way, I can see why you would want to feel normal in the traditional sense. Hell, I often feel that way. I'm not like others here: I can't say I would choose Bipolar over something else. People with diabetes can drive themselves anywhere they want. Even those w/migraines--w/proper treatment--can have normal, everyday jobs. Those with allergies don't have raging moods over the course of days, or hours. Bipolar ppl lose their jobs with ease, become homeless, spend $1000's of dollars, lose friends and family, endure debilitating anxiety/suicidal feelings and hallucinations. I don't hear a lot of physically ill ppl dealing with that stuff often.

Just the way I feel.