So I have a friend who is bipolar and on lithium, now we have been very close friends for 3.5 years with a 3 month break at the beginning of last year...since becoming friends again it seems like she has gotten worse. She gets angry easy and about the smallest things, now I know it seems small to me but is big to her I understand that, I am just having a hard time to dealing with it. I know underneath there is a great person but the personal verbal attacks are becoming a lot to handle. For instant I have another best friend and my friend with bi poloar says that she is not my friend because I already have a best friend, so its like I can only have one best friend. It has gotten to the point that I had to unfriend yet another friend from fb because she doenst like her, and this other friend has done nothing to my bp friend..but in my bp friends eyes she thinks my fb friend has an alterior motive....my bp friend has extreme paranoia. I feel bad to unfriend my other friend as I don't know what to do and I am afraid that my fb will eventually move on and not want to be friends with me , mpw my bp friend says I mock her illness, when I don't, I am trying to understand this......

We just finished having a huge fight that lasted probably two weeks and a lot was said in anger. The last two days have been good and now she is triggered again by me adding a certain on fb, she has been up for 28hrs now and says she will sleep for a couple of hours then she will be good as new, she is very educated on her bp illness but when it comes to close people she doesn't know why she can fly off the handle, the way she talks to me she would never talk to anyone else like that, just very very close pple like her husband and myself she says things without thinking but for someone outside of the circle she can control herself...why is that?

I want to learn everything and anything about this illness, as a person being close to someone who suffers with bp it is getting very frustrating as sometimes I want to close the chapter on our friendship, I have now seen her loose it so to speak twice now ...

Her highs or euphoria mania are awesome, but when she comes down she knows she is starting to feel depressed and doesn't know why, then paranoia sets in, accusations start to fly, her temper is quick, she thinks she is always right , she will argue a point to the bitter end, if you try to get away from the argument you are dismissing her feelings and punishing her with silent treatment that is what she thinks, but in reality all you are doing is stepping back because it does not matter what you say you are wrong in what you say.. its like she has to have complete control...

so as you can see I am very frustrated and really need to converse with someone to get a better understanding and how to handle this .....

feeling very frustrated