Sharon on "The Young and the Restless" has bipolar. I wasn't watching it when she was diagnosed and manic. I know she burned down Victor's house. Since i tuned in the portrayal has been okay, with Sharon taking meds and seeing a therapist. She was being gaslighted but thought she was psychotic and had ECT and lost some memories. What i've seen of it has been fairly sensitive.

It hasn't been a big part of the story since i tuned in but it's nice to see bipolar referenced in such a matter-of-fact way on such a mainstream show. Does anyone else know what the earlier portrayal was like?

I also like the way bipolar is treated in what little i've seen of "Homeland." The discrete episodes of mania and depression are like my own experience. I'm happy with what i've seen of "Homeland" because the way bipolar is shown in "Silver Linings Playbook" doesn't resemble my experience at all.

A short-lived medical drama, "Private Practice," had a bipolar character. She was the sister of Taye Diggs. She had a psychotic mania where she was ranting about the stars and fell thru a window. Her performance of depression was also quite good. The actress was excellent. It was unrealistic, tho, because she ends up living in an institution, which doesn't happen these days.