I won't slap you but I will share my experience with this same thought pattern. I tried about a year ago to taper off all of my meds because I kept telling myself that I didn't have bipolar and that I just need to pull myself up by my boot straps and "get it together". The first 5-6 days were great and I thought that I was in the clear. Until about the 8th or 9th day I turned into a complete and total nightmare. My entire family was afraid of me because I was flying off the handle on very minor things. I almost lost my job because I started telling my bosses they were wrong about things and was very impolite to my coworkers as well. When my wife spoke up that it wasn't working I was infuriated and started screaming at her in a fit of rage and then finally realized I was going down in flames. I immediately called my doctor the next morning and got back on track. I personally have no family history of bipolar. (None officially diagnosed anyway.) I'd say my Father has some form of it as well. The moral of my story to me is that even though the medication doesn't take the bipolar away it really does help me deal with things. It gives me a slight edge. I am more calm in bad situations and even though it takes a lot of work on my behalf still I can keep myself in control.