If you compare yourself with your peers, you'll only set yourself for disappointment. Think of us with bipolar as an alien race, living on this planet. Our body clocks run at a different speed, our hormones peak and drop at different times, we perceive the world through different eyes, we relate to people in different ways. Different is okay. Accept what you have and how it confers different gifts and advantages. Read John Mcanamy's Five Rules for a Bipolar Relationship. He's extraordinarily articulate and puts this illness, vis-a-vis, romantic relationship, in a most unique light. G'day.