I have never seen black box and I have only watched pieces of Homeland - I tend not to like how Bipolar Disorder is portrayed on television and/or in movies.

I am, however, an extremely loyal L&O SVU watcher and have seen the episodes about Stabler's daughter being diagnosed and further episodes after that. I will definitely admit that I could relate to Kathleen - her "eccentric" behavior before and while she was in the hospital. I was very similar at first (there's nothing wrong with me, I'm just having fun, etc...). I also was not bothered by the way it was portrayed in Stabler's mother. As I have learned over the years, while the diagnosis may be bipolar, everyone is different and it can manifest very differently in different people. I have to say, I appreciated that Kathleen did decide to agree to treatment and it is evident in following episodes. For those who are not as gung-ho about the show as I am - Kathleen goes on to live a "normal" (forgive me for the term) life. Personally I think this sheds light on the fact that when in treatment/with help people with bipolar disorder are not out of their minds all of the time. I think that is one of the biggest misconceptions that people hold.

There is another show that has not been mentioned, probably because it does not always specifically address mental illness but has anyone seen Without a Trace? There is one specific episode that gets me every time. It is about a girl with bipolar disorder who disappears for a few days. As the show flashes back to the days before she disappears you see the progression of a manic episode - a truly manic episode and how her family struggles to understand what is happening. In the interest of not writing a full novel I will skip to the end, when they find her. I do not know if this is appropriate to post since I am very new to the community, but let's just say she crashed as the depression took hold - and the higher your fly, the harder you crash...They found her at home, in her parents' bath tub (that's all I am going to say).

I found this particular episode eye opening, not just for me but also for the families of people who have bipolar disorder. When I am depressed, I have a very hard time explaining what is bothering me (mostly I don't even know) to my husband, my friends, etc. I think that they just don't understand how bad it can get - especially when I hear "just get over it" or "why are you so miserable?" My husband watched this episode with me once and I think it opened his eyes a bit about how extreme the swings can be at times and just what can happen without support and caring - even if you don't understand.

Sorry for the novel, but reading through this thread I thought Without a Trace should get a mention.