In answering the question, we are identifying our attitude towards an aspect of ourselves -- is bipolar important to my identity or not? I would say, however, that just as with dwarfism, diabetes, or any other disease that requires redefining our behavior (actions) and personality (style of expressions), we are marked and change radically by our bipolar whether we identify with it or simply fight it as if it were some external thing.

I know my style, my personlality, my intensity, my volatility, the sprawl of my thoughts and the philosophical approaches I use to control the sprawl, have become such a muscular part of my personality that I can't even imagine who or what I would be if I didn't have the bipolar. I am my bipolar and I am more than it.