This one sentence of yours woke me up ... in a hurry !

As someone who has learned a lot of things the hard way, I must say - the fewer expectations you have of this world and the people in it, the easier your life will be

It's not just understanding about mental illnesses, it's a lot more. You'll find out that the world is a wicked place, family doesn't mean what they teach us in school, love and marriage are a hell of a lot more complicated than movies portray them to be, etc, etc.

That is ok, as long as you're prepared to accept it in your mind. It's really all about how you react to the world being the way it is, that will dictate the quality of your life. You can have a great life, despite all of this crap. Or a very miserable one.

Best