I've had periods of time with lots of friends and a social group, but every time I get really sick I lose friends and have to start over again. I get self destructive and impulsive when I'm not well, and it's hard for most people to understand. I don't have a big group of friends right now, but I have a few good ones, so I'm lucky. My closest friends all have mental health problems - 2 are bipolar, and 1 has intermittent psychosis and addiction. We support each other, and they understand the struggles. We end up talking about symptoms and coping, but we also talk about other things. I have one close friend who doesn't have MI, but she is very understanding. She is usually traveling though, so I don't see her much. It can be hard to keep up with friendships because things get busy, and when I have time off sometimes I just want to stay home and isolate. It helps having friends who have gone through mood problems themselves. I can spend time with people who don't have an MI, but I can't totally relate to them because my bipolar influences so much of how I see the world and the things that have happened to me. I don't understand people who don't have any existential crises, life would be very different.