Well made point there, ultramar.

And its one lesson I had to learn the hard way: not playing the "bipolar card." As in, not blaming my problems and actions on the disorder. Sure there is a chemical imbalance in the brain that ellicits itself in ways that produce different moods, but its how we react to and cope with those moods and impulses that is shown outwardly.

For example, a person with bipolar disorder might have the impulse to punch someone while in an agitated state. However, an impulse doesn't not throw your first. At some point you must make the conscious decision to launch the attack. So in that case and all other cases like it, "the bipolar made me do it" is not a valid excuse.

Just like when I was in the p-ER and asked the p-doc if I could have a doctor's slip to get out of my underage drinking violation since I now knew I had bp. He said, "Absolutely not. The bipolar may have contributed to the impulsiveness of what you did, but you made the decision to put the alcohol in your body that helped bring about the behavior."

I've also learned that many of my behaviors have absolutely nothing to do with the bipolar disorder, but come from the way I think. I think like the hurt child I was growing up, making me introverted, antisocial, afraid, paranoid, easily irratable and the like, which is a prime example of the citations you provided.

Thank you for the post. I'm a firm beleiver in "what is normal, and who came up with it?"