I guess it is also a question exactly what we mean by conforming to society. What does it mean for a person with MI to be a person who functions well in society? Is it to be able to work? For me the pressure that is making me really worse is the shaming I feel for not being able to work for long periods at a time. And I notice that the fact that I am have an ok financial situation makes me accepted despite of that. What does that tell me about society? That I would be less accepted if I was poor? The more money a person has, the higher respect he or she deserves? I am fortunate enough to have enough, and I really notice that people treat me like I am a better person just because of that fact alone..! And of course, like I mentioned before, the pressure to conform in terms of living in a relationship. That is also a really unfortunate demand from society, especially damaging for people with MI. What I mean by that is that people with MI often are more isolated from meeting new people etc, because of the nature of our illness. And I now that people struggle a lot with that. I have decided to focus on myself and celebrate every aspect of my singledom. But that is really hard in a world where we are constantly bombarded with images of happy couples in advertisement, in movies, in tv-shows etc. Really not a big help to people who are struggeling in that department. There are a lot of ways to live a fulfilling life that does not involve having a partner, and I really think that people with MI need to consider that.